Evolving to become the arm chair rulers of the world

It’s the latest buzz word in the media today …. Stress. It’s abnormal to go through a newspaper and not find a single article on stress. People say Stress kills reduces average lifespan and blah blah blah …. Little do people realize that stress has always been a part of the human race as for the matter all mammals and birds. Its not that suddenly humans are under stress after millions of years of evolution and natural selection, stress has always been a part of life , Its just that now we are so used to a laid back and relaxed lifestyle that even a slightest amount of discomfort annoys us. We fail to appreciate that stress is a part of the life and the very essence of our survival as a species.
That leaves us with one question, What’s all the fuss about the current research about “stress causes medical problems”??. Since I am no doctor I would like to give my interpretation of the issue and would further add by saying that I might be wrong. Let’s start off by comparing the life of an individual in the 1980’s vis-à-vis the life of a modern day homo sapiens. Back then (1980’s) life was a lot more difficult owning a car was restricted to a privileges few and modern day convenience of a mobile phone or a computer were still on the drawing board, all this meant life was like a car with a manual gear box which required some input before we got any output. Every time you wanted to give someone a message you had to either go to the person or got to a nearest telephone booth. Thus the human body got its daily workout just doing the daily job. Compare it today’s world where we have made life so convenient that things which took hours to do previously can be done at the press of a button. The whole world is at arm lengths distance from the individual. Since every thing can be done at the press of a button, we are confines to our cozy ergonomic chairs letting the machines do the dirty work.
So the million of years of human evolution of the human race has taken place so that we humans can just sit back in our chairs like spineless creatures and try to run the world through our grey cells. So what we are essentially witnessing is that humans are digging their own grave and evolving to de-evolve. That’s when the human body fights back and results in the so called stress.
So if you are feeling stressed out just take a 15minutes break and go for a short jog.

Enlightenment in a Mercedes S-class

The title might seem weird but it’s a fact that is driving me crazy. I’am referring to all these so called Maharajs , BABA’s and BAPU’s (Asaramji babu, sudhanshu maharaj, Shri Ravi shankar………..and the tones of others) who portray the looks of an enlightened being , messenger of god……. And hide the underlying mentality of a dacoit. These guys are worse than the plunders and daku’s as they operate incognito to discount the masses of truck loads of money.

India has always been a reglious heaven which has been exploited by frauds to siphon off money from the devotees under the promise of attainment of enlightenment. To add to the above point I also feel it’s the people who are equally responsible. To just give you an idea these so called modern day sadhu’s travel in business class jets and some of them even own their own private jets, As far as the road is concerned nothing less than a S-class Mercedes will suffice , and the means of accommodation the presidential suite of the 7 star hotel will be sufficient. The way these guys operate is simple and evident, but with the masses blind folded with the blinkers of faith they get through clean. These guys operate by organizing free satsanghs . They start off small, organizing small satsanghs which are mostly free for all. The next step is to expand the number of followers they have by means of talking about what is right what is wrong , what is and what ought to be……..the path to fulfillment, and the masses who act kinda dumb walk straight into the trap. Once they have a strong fan following it’s the time for them to start the extraction process. These guys act like leaches that suck your life blood keeping you clueless of what they are upto! To make matters worse unlike the leaches they don’t fall off when they are content.

The thing that bugs me the most is even educated people fall pray to all this non-sense. These sadhu’s charge money on hourly basis for spiritual consultancy (a niche area where even mskinsey has failed to break into) and the amount charged is ludicrously large some of them charge such a lot that it gives the term profitability a whole new meaning (or demeaning ) ☺. The thing that torments my soul the most is these guys are extremely influential and even though every now and again some of their deeds come to light they are instantly shoved under the carpet.

That leaves me wondering is this the same land where gautam Buddha, Mahavir once treaded where enlightenment was more than just a bottled item could sell like bottles of coconut oil.

An Angry letter from a young lady to JRD Tata.

This is about a letter from a young lady to JRD Tata that made him change his rule.Sudha Murthy was livid when a job advertisement posted by a Tata company at the institution where she was completing her post graduation stated that "Lady Candidates need not apply". She dashed off a postcard to JRD Tata, protesting against the discrimination. Following this, Mrs Murthy was called for an interview and she became the first female engineer to work on the shop floor at Telco (now Tata Motors). It was the beginning of an association that would change her life in more ways than one.” THERE are two photographs that hang on my office wall. Everyday when I enter my office I look at them before starting my day. They are pictures of two old people. One is of a gentleman in a blue suit and the other is a black and white image of a man with dreamy eyes and a white beard. People have often asked me if the people in the photographs are related to me. Some have even asked me, "Is this black and white photo that of a Sufi saint or a religious Guru?" I smile and reply "No, nor are they related to me. These people made an impact on my life. I am grateful to them." "Who are they?" "The man in the blue suit is Bharat Ratna JRD Tata and the black and white photo is of Jamsetji Tata." "But why do you have them in your office?"" You can call it gratitude." Then, invariably, I have to tell the person the following story. It was a long time ago. I was young and bright, bold and idealistic.

I was in the final year of my Master's course in Computer Science at the Indian
Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore, then known as the Tata Institute. Life was full of fun and joy. I did not know what helplessness or injustice meant. It was probably the April of 1974. Bangalore was getting warm and gulmohars were blooming at the IISc campus. I was the only girl in my postgraduate department and was staying at the ladies' hostel. Other girls were pursuing research in different departments of Science. I was looking forward to going abroad to complete a doctorate in computer science. I had been offered scholarships from Universities in the US. I had not thought of taking up a job in India.

One day, while on the way to my hostel from our lecture-hall complex, I saw an advertisement on the notice board. It was a standard job-requirement notice from the famous automobile company Telco (now Tata Motors). It stated that the company required young, bright engineers, hardworking and with an excellent academic background, etc.At the bottom was a small line: "Lady Candidates need not apply." I read it and was very upset. For the first time in my life I was up against gender discrimination.

Though I was not keen on taking up the job, I saw it as a challenge. I had done extremely well in academics, better than most of my male peers. Little did I know then that in real life academic excellence is not enough to be successful? After reading the notice I went fuming to my room. I decided to inform the topmost person in Telco's management about the injustice the company was perpetrating. I got a postcard and started to write, but there was a problem: I did not know who headed Telco. I thought it must be one of the Tatas. I knew JRD Tata was the head of the Tata Group; I had seen his pictures in newspapers (actually, Sumant Moolgaokar was the company's chairman then).

I took the card, addressed it to JRD and started writing. To this day I remember clearly what I wrote. "The great Tatas have always been pioneers. They are the people who started the basic infrastructure industries in India, such as iron and steel, chemicals, textiles and locomotives. They have cared for higher education in India, such as iron and steel, chemicals, textiles and locomotives. They have cared for higher education in India since 1900 and they were responsible for the establishment of the Indian Institute of Science. Fortunately, I study there. But I am surprised how a company such as Telco is discriminating on the basis of gender."

I posted the letter and forgot about it. Less than 10 days later, I received a telegram stating that I had to appear for an interview at Telco's Pune facility at the company's expense. I was taken aback by the telegram. My hostel mates told me I should use the opportunity to go to Pune free of cost and buy them the famous Pune saris for cheap! I collected Rs 30 each from everyone who wanted a sari. When I look back, I feel like laughing at the reasons for my going, but back then they seemed good enough to make the trip. It was my first visit to Pune and I immediately fell in love with the city.

To this day it remains dear to me. I feel as much at home in Pune as I do in Hubli, my hometown. The place changed my life in so many ways.As directed, I went to Telco's Pimpri office for the interview. There were six people on the panel and I realised then that this was serious business.” This is the girl who wrote to JRD," I heard somebody whisper as soon as I entered the room. By then I knew for sure that I would not get the job. The realisation abolished all fear from my mind, so I was rather cool while the interview was being conducted. Even before the interview started, I reckoned the panel was biased, so I told them, rather impolitely, "I hope this is only a technical interview." They were taken aback by my rudeness, and even today I am ashamed about my attitude.

The panel asked me technical questions and I answered all of them. Then an elderly gentleman with an affectionate voice told me, "Do you know why we said lady candidates need not apply? The reason is that we have never employed any ladies on the shop floor. This is not a co-ed college;this is a factory. When it comes to academics, you are a first ranker throughout. We appreciate that, but people like you should work in research laboratories." I was a young girl from small-town Hubli. My world had been a limited place. I did not know the ways of large corporate houses and their difficulties, so I answered, "But you must start somewhere, otherwise no woman will ever be able to work in your factories." Finally, after a long interview, I was told I had been successful. So this was what the future had in store for me. Never had I thought I would take up a job in Pune. I met a shy young man from Karnataka there, we became good friends and we got married.

It was only after joining Telco that I realised who JRD was: the uncrowned king of Indian industry. Now I was scared, but I did not get to meet him till I was transferred to Bombay. One day I had to show some reports to Mr Moolgaokar, our chairman, who we all knew as SM. I was in his office on the first floor of Bombay House (the Tata headquarters) when, suddenly JRD walked in. That was the first time I saw "appro JRD". Appro means "our" in Gujarati. This was the affectionate term by which people at Bombay House called him. I was feeling very nervous, remembering my postcard episode. SM introduced me nicely, "Jeh (that's what his close associates called him), this young woman is an engineer and that too a postgraduate. She is the first woman to work on the Telco shop floor." JRD looked at me. I was praying he would not ask me any questions about my interview (or the postcard that preceded it). Thankfully, he didn't. Instead, he remarked. "It is nice that girls are getting into engineering in our country. By the way, what is your name?"

"When I joined Telco I was Sudha Kulkarni, Sir," I replied. "Now I am Sudha Murthy." He smiled and kindly smile and started a discussion with SM. As for me, I almost ran out of the room. After that I used to see JRD on and off. He was the Tata Group chairman and I was merely an engineer. There was nothing that we had in common. I was in awe of him. One day I was waiting for Murthy, my husband, to pick me up after office hours. To my surprise I saw JRD standing next to me. I did not know how to react. Yet again I started worrying about that postcard. Looking back, I realise JRD had forgotten about it. It must have been a small incident for him, but not so for me.

"Young lady, why are you here?" he asked. "Office time is over." I said, "Sir, I'm waiting for my husband to come and pick me up." JRD said, "It is getting dark and there's no one in the corridor. I'll wait with you till your husband comes." I was quite used to waiting for Murthy, but having JRD waiting alongside made me extremely uncomfortable. I was nervous. Out of the corner of my eye I looked at him. He wore a simple white pant and shirt. He was old, yet his face was glowing. There wasn't any air of superiority about him. I was thinking, "Look at this person. He is a chairman, a well-respected man in our country and he is waiting for the sake of an ordinary employee." Then I saw Murthy and I rushed out. JRD called and said, "Young lady, tell your husband never to make his wife wait again." In 1982 I had to resign from my job at Telco. I was reluctant to go, but I really did not have a choice. I was coming down the steps of Bombay House after wrapping up my final settlement when I saw JRD coming up. He was absorbed in thought.

I wanted to say goodbye to him, so I stopped. He saw me and paused. Gently, he said, "So what are you doing, Mrs Kulkarni?" (That was the way he always addressed me .) "Sir, I am leaving Telco." "Where are you going?" he asked. "Pune, Sir. My husband is starting a company called Infosys and I'm shifting to Pune." "Oh! And what will you do when you are successful." "Sir, I don't know whether we will be successful." "Never start with diffidence," he advised me. "Always start with confidence. When you are successful you must give back to society. Society gives us so much; we must reciprocate. I wish you all the best." Then JRD continued walking up the stairs. I stood there for what seemed like a millennium. That was the last time I saw him alive. Many years later I met Ratan Tata in the same Bombay House, occupying the chair JRD once did. I told him of my many sweet memories of working with Telco. Later, he wrote to me, "It was nice hearing about Jeh from you. The sad part is that he's not alive to see you today.” I consider JRD a great man because, despite being an extremely busy person, he valued one postcard written by a young girl seeking justice.

He must have received thousands of letters everyday. He could have thrown mine away, but he didn't do that. He respected the intentions of that unknown girl, who had neither influence nor money, and gave her an opportunity in his company. He did not merely give her a job; he changed her life and mindset forever. Close to 50 per cent of the students in today's engineering colleges are girls. And there are women on the shop floor in many industry segments. I see these changes and I think of JRD. If at all time stops and asks me what I want from life, I would say I wish JRD were alive today to see how the company we started has grown. He would have enjoyed it wholeheartedly.

My love and respect for the House of Tata remains undiminished by the passage of time. I always looked up to JRD. I saw him as a role model for his simplicity, his generosity, his kindness and the care he took of his employees. Those blue eyes always reminded me of the sky; they had the same vastness and magnificence."

The Aspirations of a unplugged soul

In this world where cannibalism is the order of the day we forget what we always wanted to be. Here cannibalism does not imply its obvious but it means the cannibalism of ones aspiration and dreams .To cut the philosophical crap and come to the point i would like to ask every one simple question. What did you want to be when you were 12 years old? I’m sure you might think "It’s ridiculous; I was 12 years old dude! and all I knew was what my class teacher (Mrs. Daniels) told me". But that’s what I’m getting to, when you were 12 years old nobody told you "Nikhil you have to study hard and become a engineer". Everyone thought that you were still not prepared for the decision. That does not mean that you had no right to dream - see your self doing some job that sounded unmatched. If we backtrack now and thought I wonder how many of us would have even dreamt of doing what we are today? I’m sure it is only a handful. How many of us thought of becoming consultants and merchant bankers at the age of 12. For sure I didn’t!

At 12 the only thing I could think I was going to become is a "Truck driver”. Yes, it’s true I wanted to be a truck driver and there was a very good reason for it. Lets start by saying I have always been a motor head, I was fascinated machines, cars, bikes, planes etc. To be truthful the way i looked at it back then I a 12 year old kid had a bicycle (which loved more than anything on earth?) every one around seemed to be owning the next best thing a motorbike and my father who was a well to do businessman owned the car which was the next best thing to a bike, I saw a pattern as the size increased things got better. Ahhh so that means the best things on the roads are trucks because they are easily larger than busses and are the kings of the road. To cut the long story short i concluded the guy who owns a truck is the king of the road coz he has the badest wheels around.
Soon I found my self in a world where trucks are the kings and I couldn’t possibly get my mind of trucks for the next couple of years ( signs of maturity).I could not imagine myself 15-20 years down the timeline doing anything else but driving trucks. I never missed an opportunity to get a peek into truck within 6 months i new the truck number (1210 , 407 , 609...) better than my math’s tables, I was so inquisitive that i used to drive my father nuts asking him questions about trucks and all my father could manage was a very confused and blank look. I even tried involving my relatives into these knowledge pangs, all this lead to one theory in the family "Vijay what’s with this kid of yours and trucks! Has he got some friend whose father is truck drivers? If yes, I hope u realize he is in bad company ".

There I was, in a world ruled by trucks and truck drivers oblivious to the harsh realities of the world. As they say in management depreciation is part of operation, so are these dream a part of growing up. Life is different when you are 12 every thing you see is through the opening in your egg shell like an egg that is going to transform into a hatchling and the only visible signs of it are the egg tooth with which it cracks the shell. Now here I’m sitting in front of a laptop at 4:00 in the morning slogging it out over management studies, all I do now is I smirk at the thought of my childhood fantasies and the bubbles of glycerin called dreams.