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Guilty, as charged!!

The Human Condition and Guilt are intricately enmeshed. Not a day goes by without regrets, a feeling that I should not have done what I did, & then agonizing over past deeds and their outcomes. While doing something makes one feel bad, sometimes we feel guilty without any act or commission. Thoughts, plans, emotions also take us on a guilt trip…how can I think like this? why am I planning to do this? how can I feel so negatively about that person? all of these are rabbit holes dragging us down in a negative spiral…and the omni-present guilt!!

Sounds familiar? Each one of us understands the truth of Gorky’s words as life goes on and we learn to introspect. Having lost our innocence, we soon experience Al-Rahbani’s wisdom as we continue to careen on the incessant treadmill we call life!! This goes back to Voltaire’s aphorism: Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains!! and do we feel happy? No we bristle against the chains & feel guilty in the process. दिल वो है कि फ़रियाद से लबरेज़ है हर वक़्त, हम वो हैं कि कुछ मुँह से निकलने नहीं देते|What could have been, always over-shadows what is in front of us; we perpetually chase a chimera, wallowing in guilt, & feeling miserable in the process.

अपने ही लाश का खुद मज़ार आदमी

And yet, feelings of guilt have their place: when you are contemplating a course of action that would hurt or harm. Going to War, Firing an employee, Insulting someone, Bullying & Bull-dozing ones’ POV, Cheating or misleading….all of these are classic examples of the acts that make us think about consequences & how history would judge us.

Guilt awakens and ripens in a social context. I am always concerned how others would see me, whether I would be “found out”. Guilt comes when you are not sure whether you did the right thing? whether you will be saddled with outcomes you had not bargained for?? Zig Ziglar puts it so well, ” With integrity, you have nothing to fear, since you have nothing to hide. With integrity, you will do the right thing, so you will have no guilt”. But breathes there a man who will always be on the side of Integrity & Correctness? We know that even Saints have a past. And it is when you pass the path of “brimstone and fire” you will rise anew: but for that, we must go through the deep valley of Guilt and atonement.

Possibly the dilemma & consequences of guilt & a wrong act are best captured in the anguish of Lady Macbeth. Having killed her King, she loses her sleep, dreams of her dastardly act, & keeps washing her hands to rid them of blood. Her guilt keeps the blood on her hands fresh & visible, leading to the famous words, ” Yet here’s a spot…Out, damned spot; out, I say… What, will these hands ne’er be clean? … Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” (Act V Scene 1). While Lady Macbeth feels guilty, think about Kansa who killed 6 children of Devaki immediately after they were born. Did he feel any guilt? Rather he felt righteous. Genghis Khan first tasted war when he was 9 years of age when his father was poisoned & he was held captive. His notoriety ever increased till he died 65 years of age. Nowhere is there any mention in history of remorse or regret for the barbarism that his armies unleashed & Genghis Khan himself led.

Guilt as an emotion has been around since the definition of good & bad, correct & wrong. The Biblical reference of Adam’s Fall from the Garden of Eden, the practice of Confession and Absolution all have an underlying logic of guilt. If you do not go to Church regularly, if you do not confess, you would burn in Hell: an euphemism for the pangs of Guilt which would rack & wreck you. But then, why go so far, to understand the all-pervading nature of guilt ?

Our mothers & wives keep us well aware of the power of guilt. ” Eat all that is on your plate, there are people who do not get 2 square meals a day!!” “Alcohol/Drinking is bad. If you continue like this you will bring ruin on to the entire family” “you have so many advantages that people do not have. When will you learn to value them?” Anyone who has been on a diet to reduce weight has felt the weight of guilt on his conscience. Why did I eat that sweet? Can I take a “cheat day” today instead of next week? Guilt keeps us guessing as we careen down the diet plan. Sometimes I feel Wives and Mothers are there just to tell us what we are doing wrong & what we need to atone for! If not at home, there is the boss at the office telling you, in full stereophonic sound, what you need to change & how. When he stops, our colleagues & peers take over driving the Guilt Train, explaining in great detail what we did wrong & how it has hurt them.

जाये तो जाये कहाँ समझे गI कौन यहाँ दर्द भरे दिल की जुबान

Is all this blame game totally objective? Am I really guilty as charged? Is there a lot of subjectivity at stake here and what if all my accusers were wrong? Is Justice ever Absolute? Are Guilty verdicts turned in by the Courts & Jury a true reflection of causality & consequent Guilt? If they are, why do we have Courts of Appeal? How often does the Higher Court over rule the judgement delivered by the lower court? If that is possible, what about a Higher, Higher Court to stand in judgment over the Lower Court’s decision of Guilt? Where does all this stop? I have very often wondered about the mindset of the condemned living out their last days on the “Death Row”. Do they feel guilty?

Do they repent what they did?? Did Ram feel bad about subjecting Sita to an “agni pariksha”? Did Sita regret crossing the “Laxman Resha”? Did Hitler, Himmler, Goebbels, Bormann, van Ribbentrop, Joseph Mengele ever feel guilty about the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust? The social context of Guilt gets exacerbated when we talk of the Holocaust, as even today Neo Nazi groups are ready to defend Hitler & the Nazis & even walk the path shown then!!

So who is Guilty? Who is not Guilty? Like most emotions and feelings…it is all in your mind! A Mussolini justifies inequalities. A Martin Luther King stands against it. A Gandhi gets freedom for a nation through non-violent Satyagraha. But does that make a Subhash Chandra Bose any less relevant? The sacrifices of Chaphekar Bandhu or Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev & Rajguru did not go in vain per Indians. But for the British? The revolutionaries felt no guilt on the noose. But, did Saunders regret his actions? Did the British rulers rue the Jallianwala Bagh? General Dyer was the toast of the British society when he was shot down by Sardar Udham Singh. Who bears the guilt? Britain became Great on the loot and plunder of Africa and Asia. But History has never shamed or blamed the British. It is said the Hunter will always be the hero, till the Lions learn to write their own stories. So indeed, Guilt is a construct, a concept, up for interpretation.

I go back to Shakespeare’s Macbeth to conclude:
“And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death… Life’s but a walking shadow… It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”

So do not get waylaid dear friends by Guilt as you traverse this tortuous path. Learn to Let Go. Move forward and be ready to face the new sun with a smile on your face. Shrug off the negativity and guilt. It is just sound & fury, signifying nothing. Feel and Heal!!!

I will end by reminding you: Let It Go! Never let the past weigh you down. The lighter you travel, the faster will be your journey: vikas

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Hey Ram !

Ram, Ramu, Ramchandra Rao is no more.

My partner in Basil HR Advisory left for his heavenly abode on 17th Feb night. I was away at Surat in an L&T program, a client we had worked on together since 2015. One of our first clients, after starting BasilHR in 2014 Oct. It is a testimony to Ramu’s contributions and commitment that since 2015 we have been regularly working for L&T Hazira!! In the process there have been multiple line leaders of L&T who co-ordinated & directed our cultural transformation initiatives. Yet the succeeding generation of leaders kept us engaged…the biggest certificate for Ram sir’s strategic orientation on how BasilHR can add value. The ultimate proof of this : L&T team actually observed 2 mins silence, to pay respects to the departed soul on 18th itself. I can’t think of another example where a large corporate does this for a mere external consultant.

But then, Ramu was never a mere consultant. He got involved intricately with whoever he came in touch with & left an indelible mark. Having studied in Darbhanga, Bihar, Ramu’s chaste Hindi diction & his wide ranging vocabulary, would automatically put any Bombaiyya hindi-wallah on the back foot. His repertoire of curse words and off-colour anecdotes would put many a sailor to shame. But that was a put on persona.

Other times he was a true “ladies man” immaculately dressed with total, upmarket branded clothes, properly polished shoes with laces!!! so well groomed that one could easily take him to meet the Queen & he would be totally at home there!!! Or to any client, or prospective client. With his most prim & proper board room behavior he could charm any client. And when he spoke, people listened. His ability to work through objections & suggestions others made, blending their ideas with his agenda, made us a very successful team. All our present clients have been giving us repeat business for years & years. Because of Ramu’s demeanor, BasilHR became the first port of call for many clients who required HR support.

This meant we were on the road, together, for 20 plus days of a month. we travelled and worked together so very much that we were like a married couple, still in love!! And a more classic Odd Couple you would not find after Walter Matthau & Jack Lemmon. Every which way we were perfectly mis-matched. To his broad picture, world view I was the nuts and bolts guy. To his sartorial elegance, were my crumpled shirts and mis-matched trousers. When I met him I was shocked to hear he had 800 Rs haircuts and regularly indulged in grooming makeovers, while my criteria to select a barber was just close distance from home & cap of 80 Rs haircut!! His love for food, against my “”Lunch/Dinner is just a time to get through”. I think the only thing we both agreed upon was our passionate love for our drink: but here also he was a sophisticate Whiskey guy; while I am a committed sadak chaap Old Monk drinker. But still, after all the hurly burly is done, we both loved drinking.

Possibly that is not fair. Another thing we both thought important was family. His eyes would light up everytime he talked of his grand children. His affection for his 2 daughters continued unabated till the end. Family is my priority, too

What always surprised me was his outgoing nature & ability to have a truly mixed caboodle of friends, belonging to all strata & factions of society. Builders, Professors, Contractors, Doctors, Businessmen, Politicos, Academics, Corporate Professionals all considered him as one of their own!! Despite such a wide spectrum of friends, he was always hungry for more contacts. He was a pied piper let loose: he could get along & befriend anybody, from a canteen worker to a CEO. Always ready to help, taking on other people’s battles endeared him to many! I have often see him work his charm on all & sundry and come out of every interaction with more friends, more people wanting to go out of their way to help him.

For an introvert like me, forever wary of speaking to the other sex, Ramu gave me an insight how Krishna must have been with the Gopis. From the first glance, Ramu had made a connect. And could always find things to talk. His light banter always charmed, and I have not seen a single lady who could resist his charm. Well dressed, soft spoken, neatly coiffured, he had the entire audience hanging on his words. And he could get away with any comment, any innuendo because of his charming smile & engagement with all.

He openly admitted being an XLRI graduate by accident. His brother, an IIT-ian, was the brain in his family. Ramu was often at the receiving end from his parents, due to the odious comparison. But he remained true to his core. Living in a small town, (where everyone knew his father), meant when Ram had to use the town’s Christian Cemetery as his smoking lounge! Advantage: no one came there! So he & his merry band from school sat on the grave stones & smoked. Before going home they ate raw mango leaves to mask the smell. Post marriage he used chewing gum to mask the smell of cigarette & liquor on his breath. Yet he was honest to admit: ghar walon ko sab pata hota hai, they just pretend they do not know, to protect your image.

With such a rich & varied people orientation, it was no surprise he was very successful HR professional. In Indal, VIP, Wockhardt, Hinduja Group, and GVK, he led his team to great heights. He was happy with the fact that many of his chelas became HR heads with much larger roles than what he had ever played. He felt beholden that he could recount 20/25 names of people who worked in his team & then rose to be Heads of HR in different companies. In the course of our travel, I had the opportunity to meet many of them & they all treated him with the deference & respect due to a true Guru, who led by example & groomed his team to go to greater heights by his challenges.

For me personally it is a great loss. I can never meet another partner who could challenge & jell with me at the same time. I feel super proud of what we achieved together. The value add we jointly created will live on beyond him. And will keep reminding me & our clients that we had a Giant walking amidst us. A Giant with a heart. A Giant with a gentle step. Suffused with love for all. If I miss him so much, I can well what his family must be going through. He loved his daughters and his grandchildren and often talked of the support his wife gave him through his journey. Ramu would want them to be happy. So I hope they find their solace soon.

To them and to his many many professional fans i will only say झालेत बहू होतील बहू परंतु ह्या समा हाच!! ( There were many before, there will be many later; But no one will be quite like this one!)

Let us be happy that we met & enjoyed with Ramu for the years we did.

Ramu keep loving & blessing us as you always did: in grief, vikas

PS: My wife who is my QC for every blog told me that writing about his smoking & drinking, is it ok? I told her that was the Ramu I loved & so would not like to edit it out. I hope you, my readers, agree

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To be or not to be

Deepika Padukone at the height of her career & success gets into depression and needs professional help. One of the highest-paid actresses in India, her accolades include three Filmfare Awards. She features in listings of the nation’s most popular personalities. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018!! And, she suffers from depression!!!

Deepika is not alone. Abraham Lincoln, Halle Berry, Dwayne Johnson (the Rock), Lady Gaga, Princess Diana, Michael Phelps winner of 28 Gold Medals in Olympics, Anne Hathaway, world’s highest paid actress, are all famous people who have publicly admitted being victims of clinical depression & suicidal thoughts. Tennessee Williams, America’s most famous playwrights, could not bear a string of flops after A Streetcar Named Desire & The Glass Menagerie, and had to be institutionalized. As Kristen Bell put it succinctly,” “Anxiety and depression are impervious to accolades or achievements. Anyone can be affected, despite their level of success or their place on the food chain.” Eminem, Johnny Depp, are cases in point. Ellen Degeneres, being thrown out of her most popular sitcom because she gathered the courage to declare she was gay, pushed her into depression. Consider, Catherine Delevingne, the most sought-after supermodels in the world. By age 15, Delevingne was rich & famous, but was also hit with a “massive wave of depression, anxiety, & self-hatred.” Delevingne said, “I was packing my bags, and suddenly I just wanted to end it. I had a way, and it was right there in front of me. And I was like, I need to decide whether I love myself as much as I love the idea of death.”

Jim Carrey easily makes the short list of history’s most influential comedians. The funnyman shocked a lot of people when he acknowledged he has spent much of his life dealing with depression. After the second of his two failed marriages, Carrey sought the help of a psychiatrist who prescribed him Prozac. Though Carrey admits the antidepressant helped him out of an initial jam, he also realized that he couldn’t be one of those who stay on the drug forever. “You need to get out of bed every day and say that life is good. That’s what I did, although at times it was very difficult for me.” Carrey credits a healthy diet & natural supplements for his improved mental health. The question still looms large: why does a comedian suffer depression?

All these and more examples only underline the huge challenge we face in our repressed society. If this is the state of our so called “successful people”, who seemingly have everything going for them, pomp, glamour, public acclaim, what then would be the state of the average man on the street? Mental Health issues are rampant, but at the same time there is a large scale connivance afoot to push this under the surface & not take the help required to overcome these issues. Rarely is the mold broken. Anjelina Jolie-Pitt & Harrison Ford were possibly lucky that they could control the negative spiral and use their work to climb out of severe depression. Yet the most capable Guru Dutt succumbed to his desire to commit suicide. Deepika’s personal struggles gave rise to The Live Laugh Love Foundation a non-profit NGO to bring awareness to mental health in India. In 2016, the organization launched a program called “You Are Not Alone”. Facebook is working with the organization to prevent suicides from being livestreamed.

Both society at large, as well as movies & fiction, tend to gloss over what the person goes through. खुल्या सरखो कर्ता (acts like a fool) is the shorthand mostly used to lump the inexplicable behavior of our near & dear ones…..merely because we do not understand it & do not know how to deal with it. Unable to appreciate fully the import of what our loved one is going through, we tend to give facile advice, simplistic solutions and generally tell the person to get his/her act together. As we continue to push back & not take cognizance of the gravity of what the other person is going through, we tend to drive ourselves further & further away from the person suffering & push him/her into a corner. And the isolation of the person who is suffering takes it’s toll. S/he just does not understand why & how you cannot see the seriousness of what s/he is gong through. Your lack of empathy typically serves to isolate & withdraw the person who is suffering, as somehow the message they get is….you do not appreciate their challenges and reality & so there is no meeting ground for resolution.

The reason why I have listed so many illustrious examples is just to drive home the point: depression is real. It can hit anyone at any stage and situation. And we all who are supposedly learned, educated, forward thinking must accept the fact that this major issue needs to be taken far more seriously by us, than we have taken hitherto. The challenge is to change our mindset, be more sensitive. Empathetic. Caring. Understanding

Recently the song from Marathi film Redu written by Guru Thakur is an inspired piece of advice:

फाटक्या झोळीत येऊन पडते/ रोजची नवी निराशा

सपान गाठीला धरत वेठीला/ कशी रं सुटावी आशा

अवसेची रात नशिबाला /पुनवेची राख पदराला

होईन पुनव मनाशी जागव / खचून जाऊ नको

येईल मुठीत तुझ्याही आभाळ/ माघार घेऊ नको

उगाच भयाण वादळ वाऱ्याच्या / पाऊल रोखू नको

साद घाली दिस उद्याचा नव्याने/ इसर गजाल कालची रे

देवाक काळजी रे/ माझ्या देवाक काळजी रे

Transliteration:

In my torn bag falls/ Always new disappointment/ Dreams are held at ransom/How can one leave hope?/Moonless night is in my fate/ New moon’s ashes in the padar (पदर means पल्लू. Basically, it means you are getting purnima’s ashes, so in other words, disappointment)/Yet, the new moon will happen, awaken (your) mind/Don’t lose all hope/The sky shall embrace you/ Do not turn back/During the terrible storm for no reason/ Do not stop walking/A new tomorrow calls you/ Forget the mutterings of the past/

देवांक् काळजी रे God cares

माझ्या देवांक् काळजी रे My God care(s)

Overall, indeed, there is a lot to look forward to. Forget the past. And sally forth boldly to face the future. Knock adequate doors, some will open. And you will find a new way out of your conundrum. The trick is to not lose hope. Big Shots are little shots who kept plugging away. Life is positive and we must look on it with hope and positivity.

इसर गजाल कालची रे, देवाक काळजी रे, माझ्या देवाक काळजी रे

देव बरे करो : vikas

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Happy 2022 (100)

A milestone brings with it some unknown joy….a lump in the heart, a positive valence, a looking forward, brighter expectations. The human mind is so funny, every week we look FW to the Sunday, every Monday signals a “new” week, a new beginning. So an year end and a New Year is expectations multiplied literally like a second coming of Christ, something to look up to, something which we believe will be a harbinger of new directions, new achievements and new experiences.

Coming from the trough of 2020 & 2021, the watershed COVID years, Lockdowns, Deaths, fears of the virus: I feel, already, 2022 is overloaded with our expectations for a better future. The Pandemic year has shown us what we can bear. And we all have found in ourselves mountains of resilience and valleys of forbearance. On this background, we all wish that the new year may remove all the negative energy and enlighten our lives. Will 2022 fulfill our cherished dreams or will it be a damp squib, more of the same thing? A year of “same difference” rather than heralding a New Normal, a New Next as all public pronouncements make us believe?

For the https://wordpress.com/post/vikasshirodkar.blog also it is a significant milestone. This is my 100th post since I began 4 years ago. So these questions dog me personally too. Will I turn the corner, now that I am 100 posts old? will I write something different? will my readers continue to remain engaged? will I be able to create a new experience? Will I be able to share my thoughts and questions? Will I be able to live up to the promise I had made in my first blog?

That fateful day as I stared at a blank computer screen, looking for inspiration, wondering what to write? and how to write? I had reminded myself of the famous exposition of Sir Philip Sidney, ” Fool , look in thy heart and write.” The journey has been interesting for me, writing about various subjects which interested me and offering the blogs to the readers. Always excited when I got feedback, correcting me, complimenting me. Every encouragement, building my resolve, to keep blogging.

We all could take inspiration from the great advice of Meister Eckhart ,”Be willing to be a beginner every single morning”. There is a stupid joke which goes, “when is your birthday? And the answer from a dolt like me, ” Every Year” Whichever day you were born, is every day not a “birthday”? Are you not reborn every day? Do you not have a chance to reinvent yourself and chart a new course every day you are alive?

In India, we have a practice of celebrating a newborn’s “birthday” every month. With every passing day, the child is learning new things, getting shaped and honed. The practice of celebrating every month commemorates this fact. It is sad that we stop it once the child is one year old. But really till the Death Day, every Day is a Birthday and every day in an year is New Year beginning with as much potential and promise as the transition between 31/12 and 1/1.

The Greek Philosophers really understood this continuity of life. Every end is a new beginning, like the fluidity of a circle which is continuous and has no start or end point, Every full stop heralds the start of a new sentence. Truly, Life goes on. As Seneca had observed, ” Every new beginning comes from the end of some other beginning’s end.” Obviously, the time for new beginnings is NOW. New Beginnings are sometime camouflaged as painful endings. But with every closing door, another one opens: if only we look around for new openings, new beginnings, rather than fill our eyes with tears, for the door that closed. The Beginning is always TODAY. TODAY you can begin to become whatever you want to be. TODAY, not next Monday, not 1st of next month, not 1st Jan, not await the “auspicious” day. Today brings its own magic which will see your plans through. Socrates guides,” The secret to change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new”. And build the NEW, NOW. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Carpe Diem….seize the day.

So really, I have great hope and positivity for the future. Call it 2022, or call it tomorrow. Next week, Next Month all is good if I begin with a positive resolve in my heart. Tomorrow has to be good, better, best. After all we are going to spend the rest of lives there. The Good Book ( Revelation 21:5) promises, “Behold, I make all things new” . Do not listen to the defeatists, there are many in the world. Chart your own course. Spread positivity and light. Remember, the world is changed by your example, not your opinion!

To return to my personal milestone: I am happy that you, my readers, have welcomed my outpourings, my posts. You have complimented and loved some (Being a Good person had 7970 hits on LinkedIn and What HR has taught me 11,702); pilloried me for some (Sentire Ergo Sum 32 hits; A Hero’s Journey 40 hits); but, all in all, have been very supportive of me. From one icon of Smilie or Thumbs Up to long, page full comments as feedback, I have enjoyed it all. So to me 2022 will not be a new year. It will be more of the Same Difference. I will keep posting. And I will keep looking forward to your feedback. The harsher the better so that I can find my groove. Frankly, I am a masochist at heart!!

So 2021 is about to end. Hope you have captured all the learnings and are ready to move on. New Beginnings in 2022. I have reached a milestone of 100 blogs. The 101 blog topic is already in my mind. New Blog in 2022. The cycle continues.

The Circle never ends. Join me in the journey ahead.

Love: vikas

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Zindagi….ik paheli (Life…an enigma)

जो उलझी थी कभी आदम के हाथों,
वो गुत्थी आज तक सुलझा रहा हूँ| (that which got entangled by the hands of Adam, even today I am trying to unravel that knot) Indeed Firaq Gorakhpuri said it rightly. From times immemorial, life has truly been an intractable puzzle. Generations before me, and people certainly much smarter than me, have tried to understand life and it’s conundrums. But the jury is still out. None are able to make sense of the constant twists and turns. While the What & the How are somewhat intelligible, the Why still eludes us and we are all the time wondering how to play the cards Life has dealt us.

The constant refrain is of wonder….wonder Why this is happening??? And Why is this happening to me???? The questions continue. Over a period we see the answers to the same question changes. Very similar to a roving spotlight that reveals more and more of the object as the spotlight moves. But try as we will, we never get to understand the whole picture, see the entire object, understand life in toto and what it entails!!!!

The whole experience is akin to the words of Adeem Hashmi who sings वो के ख़ुशबू की तरह फैला था मेरे चार सू,
मैं उसे महसूस कर सकता था छू सकता न था| (It was like a perfume that spread all around me; I could feel it but I could not touch it) That truly is the beauty of life. We are in the fish bowl. We are surrounded by the water. We sense and feel the water and all that it envelopes. We see the other fish…swimming, struggling, moving all around us. But we can only “spectate”. The “साक्षी भIव sakshi bhav” propounded by Hindu & Buddhist scriptures as the ideal mindset to be in, while in the world.

See everything as a spectator, do not involve, do not entangle. Much like the glob of mercury which changes shape even as you touch it, you can never hold the mercurial Life, as it will always shy away, transmute and tease you as you go closer. Grasping never lets you hold the sand of life. The particles are too thin. You must keep an open palm, not try to hold or grasp, but rather keep your self open to experience the sands of time and the grains of Life. They are free agents and will not be molded even as they shape you.

हम किस को दिखIते हैं शब-ए-फुरकत की उदासी

सब ख्वाब में थे रात को बेदार हम ही थे (To whom could I show the sadness of the night of separation? All were deep in their dreams and I alone was disturbed in the night). (Taashshuq Lakhnavi) Travails of the Life you face are indeed so personal that try as you will, you may never be able to get others to understand and live your pain. Possibly that is why Voltaire averred,:” Man is a social animal, but everywhere he is in chains”.

The chains, the walls around us, the constraints, the loneliness, the pain….all are real and tangible. To you. You are confined only by the walls you build yourself. And all this is creating & shaping your Life/experience. A signature experience. Living together, having the same roof, traversing the same path, experiencing the same friends…still we all lead very different lives. Even couples are independent logs floating down the same river, parallelly, but independently; together yet separate. So the faster we understand Firaq Gorakhpuri who tells the Powers that Be भरम तेरे सितम का खुल चुका है,
मैं तुझसे आज क्यों शर्मा रहा हूँ| We must quickly see through the irony, the mischievousness, the sheer tyranny of Life and living in the garb of joke, to be able to maintain our keel and dignity amidst buffeting storms and towering waves of the perfect storm that we call Life.

“About suffering they were never wrong,
The Old Masters: how well they understood…” begins the famous poem “Musee des Beaux Arts” by W H Auden. Some of you may know the poem by Auden, inspired by the painting by Breughel, of Icarus falling from the sky into the green water to his death. Poets and painters understand suffering, and the related phenomena: how others shy away, pretend not to notice, like the ploughman working his field, and the passengers aboard the delicate ship that sails calmly on. When a stupendous flight of Icarus to the Sun goes unnoticed, who indeed are we mere mortals?

What makes understanding & living Life difficult is our very human-ness. Being human we soon become enmeshed in all that surrounds us. We talk of My family, My child, My house, My Friends, My Company, and so on. As Firaq Gorakhpuri observes मुहब्बत अब मुहब्बत हो चली है,
तुझे कुछ भूलता-सा जा रहा हूँ| Being too close to the problem, our independent identity ceases. We soon become a part of the problem and so cannot find a solution, as we are as much a part of the problem, as we are a part of the solution. Identity fuses together. Try a simple experiment to understand what I am saying. Move a chair while standing independent of it. Easy? Now sit on the chair. Firmly, with both your feet on the ground. Can you move the chair now? The same chair is impossible to move now. Because you are too close to it. Only distance will help you take an objective stance. मुहब्बत हो चली है then independent POV is impossible. It is natural then that तुझे कुछ भूलता-सा जा रहा हूँ| The human condition and its dilemma is well captured by Adeem Hashmi’s couplet ये भी सब वीरानियाँ उस के जुदा होने से थीं, आँख धुँधलाई हुई थी, शहर धुँधलाया न था| (All the barrenness has come after separating from her; my eyes have got clouded but the city still surrounds me). However much you try, the situational reality remains the same and continues to haunt you.

Given this background and the negativity all around, I take heart in the words of Napoleon,” I am driven towards an end that I do not know. As I reach it, as I become unnecessary, an atom shall suffice to shatter me. Until then, all forces of humankind can do nothing to stop me”. Remember, the bigger they are, the harder they fall!!

सितारों से उलझता जा रहा हूँ,
शब-ए-फ़ुरक़त बहुत घबरा रहा हूँ|…...विकास

( I am fighting with the stars, as the night of separation comes close, I am afraid….vikas)

PS : Gratefully acknowledge Shri Krishna Sharmaji’s blog https://samaysakshi.in/blog which has been an inspiration for many of the sher quoted here

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“I am sorry!”

Just 3 small words!! They should be easy to say? But they always get stuck in the throat!! Though a poor cousin of the more illustrious phrase ” I love you” , this one “I am sorry” is perhaps the most under used part of our vocabulary. Though the chances to say sorry are legion, & we continue to create newer opportunities by the dozen every day, still we will try every possible subterfuge to avoid accepting I did something wrong. One of the most profound interactions that can occur between people, apologies have the power to heal humiliations, free the mind from deep-seated guilt, remove the desire for vengeance, and thus ultimately restore broken relationships. But do we say we are sorry?

Have you ever wondered why saying sorry is difficult? Clearly it is our ego that comes in the way. Firstly we believe we are infallible. To accept our mistake requires humility. But we are full of the opposite: our pride, comes in the way. Even when the mistake is obvious, it takes courage to eat the humble pie & accept your fault. Traditionally we are wired to defend ourselves, argue, to try and prove that the other person actually erred, & you are the wronged person, someone who needs the apology, rather than accepting that I need to make an apology. This is not a good place to be in, since as soon as you accept that you made a mistake, you are ready to move on. Remember Robin Sharma,” There are no mistakes in life, only lessons. …From struggle comes strength. Even pain can be a wonderful teacher”.

Think about it…. Saying sorry & learning from the mistake is far better than the others who are stuck there quibbling over right and wrong & trying to apportion blame. Think of your life as an open book. Move forward, close a chapter & start afresh. “Proper apologies have three parts: 1) What I did was wrong. 2) I feel bad that I hurt you. 3) How do I make this better?” as Randy Pausch has noted. While 1 & 2 are important elements, the real focus should not be on the past, but on the future…how do we make it better? “Mistakes are the portals of discovery.” said James Joyce. It is not the mistakes we make but how we correct them that opens newer opportunities, leading to newer futures.

If you understand apologies better, what is involved is the heaviness of shame, guilt, and humiliation, that the person feels when he considers his act & wonders whether to apologize. Riddled with it is also the initial reluctance to apologize, since it involves accepting that you are wrong. But if you can jump over that chasm, you will be charmed by the simplicity of the act of apologizing,.. It is not really an Everest you made it out to be, it is just a step forward. And if your feelings are genuine & you can convey the heartfelt remorse, more often than not you will be met with the spontaneous generosity and forgiveness on the part of the offended. The cathartic feeling lifts both involved. The new-found warmth unleashes the transfer of power and respect between two parties. And this is where I am Sorry & I Love You both phases & phrases merge and you emerge stronger and more empowered than before.

I recollect 2 occasions of saying sorry which left a deep impact on my life. Here goes:

Very early in my career….1982, 2 years after marriage, I had got a job with Siemens. First time working in an MNC. Within a few weeks of joining the new job, was my wedding anniversary. First anniversary in Mumbai, surrounded by family, having recently shifted jobs & location. Everyone was invited to a big bash at home in the evening. Much planning had gone it to make the party memorable. Went to office in morning, promising I would be home by 6 pm, to help before guests arrived. Something came up in the office, I forget now what it was. 6 became 7, 7 became 8 and 8 became 9 pm. Guests had arrived, food was getting cold & I was still in office. I had called at 5 pm & told I would be late. But after that somehow I could not or did not call again. Obviously, this was well before the cell phone era. At 9 pm my resourceful, journalist father-in-law decided he should call Siemens’ Head Office & find out where I was. The Security Guard who picked the phone just said office is closed. Not to give up, my FIL used his contacts & found the residential telephone no of P. W. Khandekar, Personnel Director of Siemens India and called him up to say that I , a rookie new joinee, had not returned home from office. And could he help? PWK being PWK, he called the office, made the Security Guard climb up to Personnel Dept on 3rd floor, locate me in the conference room & tell me to go home immediately as PWK the Personnel Director was holding, on line & wanted a report that I had left office!!!! Imagine my embarrassment in front of new colleagues & bosses. But a Director’s orders have to be obeyed. I went home fuming & angry at the supreme embarrassment in a new company & amidst new colleagues. The party celebrations were a wash out. All had food and left. And I turned to my wife of 2 years & roundly berated her for insulting & embarrassing me. Needless to add, we slept with our backs to one another, anniversary regardless.

Next morning, I had convinced my FIL & my wife that they had stepped way out of line by calling PWK, a Director at home, for a husband missing a dinner. Sheepishly I went to office, sought an appointment at 5th floor with Khandekar & sallied forth with butterflies in my stomach to apologize to him. When I entered his cabin, I began profusely saying sorry. PWK looked at me top to toe. Asked me to sit down. I feared a sack, 1 month since joining. And then PWK spoke,” Why are you apologizing to me? Go home and say sorry to your wife!!! what you made her go through was terrible.” End of interview. Have never forgotten the lesson. (Sotto Voce : I am still apologizing to Vinita after 40 years, he he ha ha)

The second episode: I was an Asst Manager in Industrial Relations assisting the Chief Manager IR Policy, Mr Arun Bhende. I was deputed to handle an IR Crisis which had developed in our Nashik factory. Having just 3 years experience till then under my belt, all in recruitment and training functions, never worked in a plant environment, I went with much trepidation. Bhende’ one line direction to me was IR is practical logic, so do whatever you feel is right, I will back you from Head Office …..a tall order. But I took to IR like a fish to water, quick decisive, fast actions, & move forward was my agenda. Every evening I used to call to brief Bhende…more to restore my own confidence, to sense-check what I was doing. Bhende was always supportive. On one evening call, Bhende began saying, shall we brief Pandit ( our Executive VP). Brashness of youth took over, “Boss Pandit is fool, He does not understand IR. He is theoretical. He has only handled training” etc etc. All along Bhende is trying to stop me, ” Arre Vikas, But he is our super boss, we must put him in loop” etc. And unstoppable Vikas machine-guns on, “You talk to him if you want, I don’t want to talk to that impractical chap” & so on. Finally Bhende tells me, when I stop to catch my breath,” Vikas, Mr Pandit is in my room, you are on speaker phone, & he is hearing all.” My immediate reaction was to disconnect the line. Went all cold inside, thinking what a hole I have dug myself into. अभी तो जॉब पक्का गया. You don’t insult the top gun in HR in a feudal company like Siemens, you just don’t. After an hour of walking in the plant, I called back Bhende. His advice, come to Mumbai tomorrow, meet Pandit & apologize. That trip Nashik to Worli was the worst I have done. Continuously agonizing how will I broach the topic? How can I cover up? My goose looked well cooked. I reach Pandit’s room in Head Office ( incidentally the same room which Khandekar used to occupy) & as soon as I entered, Pandit begins,” Ok, now I know what you think of me. Impractical am I? A fool?” I am sitting with my head down, wishing the chair would swallow me. ” Sir I am sorry. I over stepped my boundary”. “No no, it is ok Now at least I know exactly your opinion of me” Don’t know which Fairy Godmother interceded on my behalf, but Pandit’s next words were,” Vikas you will be a senior manager some day. Do be careful. Don’t talk so loose. See where & to whom you are talking” I sheepishly yes sir, yes sir-ed my way out of the cabin. Truly admire the largeness of Pandit’s & Khandekar’s heart that they accepted my apology & taught me life’s lessons in the process.

To end this piece , I truly admire the Jain practice of मिच्छामि दुक्कडम् at the end of Paryushan. All greet each other as Micchami Dukkhadam i.e. I ask for your forgiveness for any harm I did to you knowingly or unknowingly by my words, actions or by my feelings. In effect what they are saying is “May my bad deeds (dushkrut) become fruitless (mithya).” ” May all the evil that has been done be in vain”. What a concept!!! What an Universal Apology!!! The power to heal & forgive comes through so strongly.

Most Humbly I accept, I am flawed, I err, again and again.

Micchami Dukkhadam: vikas

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Jab we Met

Unabashedly I am a confirmed movie buff. Since school times, till the lockdown there was not a week gone by, when I did not see a movie. And that too in the theaters. During school time I stole money from home, lied to my parents, did whatever had to be done to indulge my addiction. Post lockdown I have switched to OTT platforms and do binge watching. Just yesterday, I was up till 3 am to complete a series as I just could not leave it half way.

Though I plead guilty to this movie mania, no movie has made me more mad than Jab we Met. I have watched this movie 68 times, 40 odd times in part, as it was on when I switched on the TV, & then I had to watch till it ended. But 25 plus times I have watched it beginning to end, waiting for ad breaks to get water or make water. I believe, therefore, I am well qualified, 68 times over, to write why I like Jab we Met *ing Shahid & Kareena. So here goes.

A simple plot of a distraught, rich kid, ditched by his beloved, getting on a train and having a ride of his life. Aditya meets Geet, a chatterbox, who forcibly befriends him and changes him totally. Till interval. And post interval, the roles reverse: Geet is in depression, & using the same things Geet has taught him, Aditya brings her out of depression and helps her face life. Simple story, stitched together with some amazingly beautiful songs, and mind shattering learnings in the shape of pithy dialogues that rock. Which is the subject of this blog.

Early in the film, in a run down Hotel Decent in Ratlam, Geet helps Aditya deal with his royal ditch. She asks Aditya to burn a photo of his erstwhile beloved & flush it down the drain. ” जला दो साली को…. and just flush her out of your life” What great advice to solve hurts and pain & rejection!! First Aditya objects to this बचपना. And after doing this Geet asks him अच्छा लग रहा है? And Aditya realizes that the childish action has indeed helped him overcome his pain. Imagine, how often we “lovingly” hold on to our pain, put-me-downs, and rejections!! is it not better to just flush it all out of our lives??

A little later Geet and Aditya are sitting on a bridge overlooking a lake, and Geet suggests that they jump in the water. Aditya refuses, but Geet persists with the clincher argument, ” बचपना किया, अच्छा लगा ना ? अब पागलपन करके देखो” They both jump, frolic in the water and come out giggling and happy. Their relationship takes a new turn here. To me what this episode teaches is the importance of Letting Go. Jump. Do things you have never done. Experience, Try out. Transcend your boundaries. You have nothing to loose but your limitations, as Aditya learnt.

Later when Geet is running away from home to meet her paramour Anshuman, as a friend Aditya, is worried & is trying to hold her back. He tells her what Geet is doing is wrong & will hurt others. Geet not only holds firm to her running away plan, she actually encourages Aditya to run away with her, & counsels him,” देखना जो होगा वो अच्छा ही होगा. इसीलिए मैं वही करती हूँ जो मुझे सही लगता है” How many of us follow our heart? actually that is the way to happiness and to the Right Thing. But we let our head overrule our heart. We intellectualize, we think, we analyze, we prevaricate….and we lose the courage to do what our heart believes, what is right. And after the event we invariably curse ourselves and feel if only I had followed my heart, if only…And come the next dilemma we again suppress our heart!! Follow Geet: do what your heart tells you. You cannot go wrong!!

Doing what your heart tells you is actually priming the pump for success and joy. As Geet tells elsewhere in the movie,” जो कुछ इंसान असल में चाहता है ना.. real में ..वो उसे मिल ही जाता है” What a lovely crystallization of the Power of Attraction…of Positive Thinking…of Affirmations…of Visualizations. The only question is do you trust yourself enough? is your desire really that strong? Is your hunger that sharp? Can you focus on your heart’s desire to the sheer exclusion of all else? If you can, success has to be yours!!

Challenges will be there. Adversities must be faced. But keep the confidence alive that this too shall pass, seasons will change, things will happen in my favor. Geet is running off from her home, she knows her family will be upset, she does not know what future has in store for her; but in the midst of this agony, she regales Aditya,” ये जो बुरा वक़्त है ना ? देखना, हम इसके बारे में सोचेंगे और हसेंगे” Be Positive. Look ahead with confidence. Things will turn for the better. I just need to keep my faith & look ahead towards the sun. If is not by chance that this dialogue/situation is picturized in the night, and Geet is telling Aditya to be strong till the next dawn.

Where does Geet garner all this confidence despite all misfortunes and difficult circumstances? Geet answers that early in the movie when she tells Aditya, “मैं अपने आप की favorite हूँ”.

How many of us can say that? we are rather constantly berating ourselves. We focus on our faults and short comings. And the game goes to the one who focusing on strengths & leveraging their own confidence to add sharpness to their innate capabilities. We need to re-think all the negativity and turn it on it’s head. Modern management is also stressing on understanding and leveraging our strengths rather than trying to overcome weaknesses. Weaknesses take much more effort to over come. Rather, if you are good at backhand tennis, try to take all shots on your back hand, if you are a hook player in cricket, go FW and take your hook shots. You are more likely to succeed this way. Be your own favorite, Enjoy yourself.

So you see, Jab we Met is no mere movie. Imtiaz Ali, the Director, has crafted sheer poetry on film. And in the process left us with some very great learnings. I will end with the last one: when at the end of the movie Geet has to decide between Anshuman and Aditya, she tells him one of Aditya’s own earlier dialogue,” मैं सिर्फ अपने दिल की सुनने वाली हूँ. फिर सब ठीक हो जायेगा” Truly if we gather the courage to follow our heart, we will always be on the right path. Faith in yourself, Trusting the process. Openness in facing life. Accepting what comes your way. Understanding that whatever happens, happens for the best. Relax. Don’t agonize. Go with the Flow. The river knows its way…just float!

I end with words from a song from the movie, looks like it has been written by me, for Jab we Met

छोड़े न छूटे कभी तोड़े न टूटे कभी
जो धागा जुड़ गया वफ़ा का
रास्ते मिल जाते है मंज़िलें मिल जाती है तुम से ही, तुम से ही

Thanking Imtiaz & the powers that be for Jab we Met : vikas the incurable romantic

P.S. Many thanks to my niece Minouti for encouraging me to pen this one

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Ça va sans dire !!

This French phrase means : It goes without saying. Night follows Day, ca va sans dire! A mother will always love her child: Es ist selbstverständlich! Time gone can never be recovered, ¡Por supuesto! True love can never be forgotten, बेशक ! Rules of arithmetic will remain the same, यकीनन !!

There shall always be a day and a night, until the world meets its end! We shall always hope to sleep, and wake up to see another day! Such is life! So very often, we do not worry about causality. We just careen from one event, one experience to another without thought, without analysis. We have forgotten, Life is a gift; each day is a chance to do better, to be better, learn as we go along & become more erudite, more skilled, more happy as we live. In the Quran, God says that he created Day and Night, for us to remember him and to thank him for his blessings. They are a continuous chance to correct our mistakes, to do more good deeds, to learn more, to teach more, to help this world thrive again. Unfortunately the stark reality is that: So many people have a life, but, few people are living. Really, & Actually Living.

As humans, we consider ourselves at the top of the evolutionary totem pole. According to Hindu mythology, after going through eighty four lakh yonis, one gets the birth of a human being. And the Hindus always consider, it is a privilege to be born in India as it is a “Dev Bhoomi” Whether we believe these popular myths or not, we must acknowledge the fact some direction setting, some spiritual goal is indeed a part of the Indian Experience. And we can see and feel that every Next Gen is smarter, more evolved, capable and skilled than the generations that preceded. But, Are we using that knowledge, the evolutionary smartness to be better, reach out, and make a difference? Judge for yourself!

Some things seem to be viewed in similar ways by many people, and I think we should take another look at these, and truly question them. In our search for our own truth we need to ensure that we are not acting like sheep, merely following herd behavior. Even when many go through a common experience, the way each person is affected by it, understands it, and learns from it is very often different. We have all experienced this. Some mental calibration is thus required regularly in order to get the most out of the life we are privileged to lead. Consider e.g. that things are often regarded as opposites, things like black and white, day and night, light and dark, are obvious examples. Is it so? Challenge it!!!

A more open view might say, they are opposite sides of one coin. I would go a little further and suggest to you that they are actually part of the same thing. Just as the coin cannot exist without its two sides, I would suggest that our world cannot exist without these so called opposites. “They give us a spectrum to exist in, a matrix, or framework, that stretches between the two extremes (or polarities) to include every variation of light and shade that we sense or experience in-between.” says Julia Woodman, in No Paradox – Living Both In and Outside of the Matrix.

Remember, Nothing changes if nothing changes. The night has taught me never to fear the dark times, by giving way to the dawn of a new day. My partner calls this the महा मंत्र of Life. Continuous Change is the only constant and so I must be in-charge of the changes around me. To get new outcomes we must do things differently. If we continue to do what we have always done, we will continue to get what we have always got. If I want new results, better outcomes, an enriched life, I must let go of my past ways and accept that I will do different things. Then only can I get different end results, reactions or payoffs. Ça va sans dire !!

Mehmet Murat ildan, Turkish author says it so well, “Did you have a sad day? Don’t worry, you have all the night to compensate for it! Did you have a sad night? Don’t worry, you have all the day to compensate for it!”. Look ahead. Take charge and move. जीत आपकी ही होगी.

Rhonda Byrne popularized this visualization and affirmation technique in The Secret. Why go that far, our own superhero SRK in Om Shanti Om avers,” कहते है के किसी चीज़ को दिल से चाहो, तो पूरी क़ायनात उसे तुमसे मिलाने की कोशिश में लग जाती है!” ¡Por supuesto! as our Spanish brethren say.

Ajay Ghogavale crooned so well in Redu movie. See what he sings while reassuring us देवाक काळजी रे

होणार होतला जाणार जातला
मागे तू फिरू नको
उगाच सांडून खऱ्याची संगत
खोट्याची धरू नको
येईल दिवस तुझा हि माणसा
जिगर सोडू नको
तुझ्या हाती आहे डाव सारा
इसर गजाल कालची रे
Transliteration: Whatever is to happen will happen. Do not turn back. Don’t leave the company of the good, and run behind the bad. Your day will certainly come, do not lose hope. The whole game is in your hands. Forget what happened yesterday.

To that extent our direction is set. Decide what you want. And with dedicated focus pursue it till it is yours. And to emphasize the learning, SRK reaffirms elsewhere in the same movie,” इतनी शिद्दत से मैंने तुम्हे पाने की कोशिश की है…की हर ज़र्रे ने मुझे तुमसे मिलाने कोशिश की है”. So decide your goals, clarify your expectations and bring a commitment and effort that drives you forward always. Remember the Madhavan advice in 3 Idiots: बच्चे काबिल बनो, काबिल.. कामयाबी तो साली झक मारके पीछे भागेगी!!


To end, I echo C. Joybell who says: “The dance between darkness and light will always remain— the stars and the moon will always need the darkness to be seen, the darkness will just not be worth having without the moon and the stars.”


Joyously accept both & enjoy your journey: Ça va sans dire, says vikas

देवाक काळजी रे
माझ्या देवाक काळजी रे

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What a lifetime in HR has taught me

I am a die-hard, confirmed HR professional who has spent 32 years in Corporate HR and now 6 years in HR Consultancy. But it was Serendipity that brought me into HR. As a student, I was a English Literature aficionado and my career objective was to be an English Professor. I chose Humanities in my 9th standard in Senior Cambridge, much to the chagrin of my parents. When I came into college, an Uncle advised Psychology, rather than Literature. I went into Psychology only on the promise that if I did not like it, I would be able to transfer back to Literature in 1 semester. I continued & after my MA in Industrial & Organizational Psychology, the field of Management beckoned and I went for Fellowship in Personnel Management & Industrial Relations. And thus became a Personnel Officer.

Many opportunities came for me to change my field. But I remained glued to Personnel/IR/HR as I was enjoying myself too much. This is a field where, my fellow professionals would agree, every day is a नया नाटक: you are never bored, always challenged, forever stretching & continuously struggling… learning all the way. That is why even after 34 years in the job, I still am happily giving consultancy in the same field… as engaged & enthused, as I was in my first job in HCL. HCL, Siemens, Atul, Johnson & Johnson & finally General Motors. Had the opportunity to work for some great companies and learn a lot. And at 65 years of age, I am still learning daily as I work with a diverse set of companies. Family owned companies, Professionally run large corporations, Educational institutions, Co-operatives…all have taught me a lot. And I am sharing with you What a Life Time in HR has taught me.

First learning was that HR is an opportunity to serve others. Many friends unfortunately see HR as a power center, a chance to control, to say no, and throw the policy book at the employees. I have rather looked on HR as a chance to help others, support them and serve them & indirectly their families. To my HR team members, my challenge was, when an employee comes to meet us, can we begin the meeting by saying,” My answer is YES! now tell me what is your question?” By this simple mind change, the focus is on HR to interpret policy liberally, make exceptions when they are justified, change the policy book if it is restrictive. Good managers are not afraid of discriminations and bending rules. Find the logic for it, convince your stakeholders, But SERVE. HR gives us that chance and I have learnt a lot from that.

Second thing that HR has taught me is Gratitude. As a black sheep in family, choosing Humanities, everyone had written me off. But I rose to be an Asia Pacific Director in Johnson & Johnson. I feel grateful for what HR gave me. When I was travelling 20/22 days of the month for professional commitments, for the support my wife & family gave me I feel grateful. The colleagues and friends who helped me achieve professional goals, the brilliant colleagues I met in Siemens & General Motors, the Union leaders and workmen who guided and piloted my decisions, creating a safety net all around, that I would not break any bones, regardless of the mistakes I made….I feel immensely grateful. As HR we hear so many sob stories, hear so many challenges that people face, difficulties they need to overcome. Compared to their stories, I have indeed had a smooth sailing, for that I am grateful.

Third learning was Humility. I have always tried to underplay the fact that I was a first Class First in BA & in MA, that I went to IIM Calcutta…that was because I saw so many smarter and more capable people around me. The chance to work with all these brilliant minds, who were much better at planning & execution made me a humble learner. All my peers and bosses have taught me. My team members and so-called subordinates were such great self-starters that I quickly learnt to get out of their way & let them run with the ball. The accolades we received were always because I was surrounded by people better than me & they helped make my path smoother, the goals achievable. My worker friends in Atul & Siemens and J&J & GM still continue to mentor and guide me. I feel like the Chosen One, one who has received more than what he can hold, and hence so very humble.

Every HR professional knows that solutions which work with one individual do not necessarily work with another. The same solution may work today & fall flat tomorrow. Most of the decisions we take in HR have long, long lead times, before we get to know whether the decision was right or wrong. There are no magic wands and spells which transform in the tool box of HR. All this, teaches me the virtue of Patience. HR is like farming, planting seeds and nurturing their growth…all in its own time. You cannot hurry the process and soon you master Patience. Patience while dealing with a plethora of “customers” & problems, both internal and external. Hand holding and waiting for the “flowering” and ensuring that during the wait, people trust the process and remain positive … certainly, this teaches Patience.

HR is about Human Relations. Human Relations require an investment of time and great effort, a commitment to the long term. There are really no shortcuts in Human Relations. But possibly the time has come for us to put the Relations back into HR. Even in today’s fast-paced life, the fundamentals of HR do not change. People basically turn to HR to get a sympathetic ear. They do not expect us to solve all 100% of their issues. I have found that if you give them a patient listening, half of the issues die out then and there. Somehow we have to make that journey from a Human Being to BEING HUMAN. The positivity you build by BEING HUMAN can open many doors and help you cross many fjords. Are you ready to BEING HUMAN?

I remember when I went IIM Calcutta for my Fellowship interview I was asked why do you want to join HR? Impromptu, my answer was ,” Everyone makes their own career…as HR I want to make other people’s career”. It was just a smart & sexy answer at that point of time!! But the last 34 years, I have day by day lived the truth of that pronouncement. HR gave me a chance to put Others before Self, work on making other people’s careers and in that process I have led a very fulfilling life.

So I end by repeating with ABBA:

If I had to do the same again, I would my friend…..vikas

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Words I have lived by

As I fast approach my 66th birthday…and given that I have no intention of living beyond 70….there is more to look back upon, than look forward to. In one of these introspective, retrospective moods I thought I must catalogue the WORDS I HAVE LIVED BY : words that have inspired & helped, supported & motivated, driven & directed me.

Being a Literature aficionado, I was privileged to read & internalize words, thoughts & images from diverse authors & other sources. English, Hindi, Marathi cinema has contributed a lot to my make up. And now of course, the all pervasive, super invasive Social Media shapes me, as much as it shapes you. But even in this cacophonic overload, some words survive, stuck as they are in my heart and head. I realize they exactly are the Words I Live By. This blog is an attempt to share some of these quotes with you.

Had read somewhere, possibly Kahlil Gibran’s advice:, “ If you have 3 Dirham, Spend 1 Dirham on food, so that you may live; Spend 1 Dirham on buying a Rose, so that you may know why to live; and Spend the last Dirham on a Book so that you may know how to live”. Having been surrounded by words through my life time I do believe:

At the start, I quote Walt Whitman , the Father of Free verse, words I resonate with:

Yes I am large. Most of the time goes in establishing boundaries and exploring new horizons. and as you go forward you understand the truth of Tennyson’s words, “I am a part of all that I have met./ Yet all experience is an arch wherethrough/Gleams that untraveled world/Whose margin fades/For ever and for ever when I move…” And, I continue:

I take solace and draw strength from 2 aphorisms fundamental to Hinduism:

I do believe God has made us in his own image and He is constantly telling us, ” Not my will, but Thy Will Be Done”. But in our Human condition we continue to be afraid and look out for clutches. Sad, since we are complete in ourselves. We need to remind ourselves:

To me it is obvious that we are put on this Earth to succeed and if we are still breathing our mission is not over. Trust the process, JUST BELIEVE

The Free Will believers will readily accept that I can choose a different future. But a different past? think about it. Past is what you carry with you in your mind & in your heart. Who stops us from setting the burden down? We only need to leverage our ability to Let Go.

“Yes Father, Yes” I have with great humility understood that our plans and efforts take us only thus far and finally you must ACCEPT & say, “Yes Father, Yes” . Remember John Lennon:

A King asked his Shaman to capture the wisdom of the world in a few words. The Shaman spoke the wisest words ever:

As a career HR person, I have had my share of battles & arguments, My discussions & debates. Till someone told me : Discuss (v) late 14c., discussen, “to examine, investigate,” from Latin discuss-, past participle stem of discutere “to dash to pieces, agitate, strike or shake apart,”. And Debate (n) early 14c., “a quarrel, dispute, disagreement” (now archaic), from Old French debat, from debatre. Sense of “contention by argument” That revelation made me silent. I learnt to keep my counsel to myself. But my faith was, there is no problem which together, all of us, cannot solve. I got a lot of backing from:

In my life, I have chosen to stand on shoulders of giants, and thus got to see farther and see better. But, as I live my life, I keep reminding myself of Einstein’s golden words:

We all would do well to remember this exhortation as we must go forward with enthusiasm & energy to conquer the challenges before us. Every challenge strengthens me and makes me more capable, more competent; indeed, a better leader:

A true leader knows his real mission is to create other leaders. When the Disciple overtakes the Master, curiously the Master is the happiest as he knows he has given back in full measure, what he has received. Just like, as parents we are happiest when our children succeed : that was our fondest dream. We owe this debt to Life itself, as Kahlil Gibran reminds us:

I have spoken of many commandments & made many pronouncements, so I must hasten to add 2 caveats which have kept me steady:

So where does that leave you? Confused?? That is good. As a teenager, my daughter Rashmi used to wear a T-shirt with a blurb: ” If you are not confused , you really don’t know what is going on!!! WAKE UP”

These Words to Live By are then wake up calls. Think about them. Mull over the meaning. Contemplate how they apply to you. So I am giving a bunch quotes which have been rules for living my life:

To end, I must 1) share with you my 5 best friends who have stayed next to me all my life and guided me to all the answers I sought; and 2) a quote I read first in MC Chagla’s autobiography, which puts a wistful smile on my face towards the dusk of my life:

If you did not like my list of Words I have Lived By, I will say:

And if you indeed liked what I shared, I would urge you to draw up a list of Words that You have Lived by. It is your own personal Geeta, Bible or Koran: The Holiest of Holy Words which guide Your life. And don’t tell me it is impossible, as:

Au Revoir, सुखस्तू पंथु, अलविदा, বিদায়, Arrivederci, Auf Weidersehen, Adios, See you soon: vikas