Roots...

While reading the article written by Bernie Swain in HBR, my mind started racing to recall incidents that left a deep and indelible impression in my mind about my father who was my real hero….it is 30 years since we lost him, but memories are still so fresh…small acts of his that have remained permanently etched in our memories!

I was in the last batch of student community in West Bengal state going through 8 + 3 program at school, which was later changed to 10 + 2. Bengal as a state, was a laggard when it came to conducting Board Examinations and declaring results. When I passed out in the year 1976 from a multipurpose school run by Durgapur Steel Plant, results from all other states in India had already been declared and admissions were coming to a close. My parents had decided that I must join a reputed college in South, if I were to make a career and so, the day results were announced, my father landed at my school to talk to the principal to get the marks sheet, get copies of it typed out (no photocopy facility those days…) and get them attested by the Principal. His intention was for us to catch the Howrah Madras Mail departing from Howrah Station at 9:30 PM, the same day. Durgapur, around 170 KM’s from Howrah was well connected by trains, but there used to be a lull period between 12 noon and 6:00 PM with no connections available. The only train we could take was an odd train called Toofan Express coming from New Delhi heading towards Howrah. Its scheduled arrival at Durgapur was 12:30. This train was notoriously known to be delayed on all days between 1 and 3 hours. We were in luck when my sister called the station to check and was told that it was 2 hours late. It was a race against time as the school Principal was nowhere around to receive the package containing all the students marks sheets. By the time we were able to locate him and request his help to issue the original marks sheet and thereafter sign the ‘True Copies’, it was 1 PM. After a quick bite and packing some essentials for our journey into the unknown, we headed for Durgapur station. It was a good 12 KM’s from the place where we lived. While the roads were deserted, it did take time to negotiate all the junctions and the lorry traffic on the grand trunk road, part of which we had to take to reach the station. It was 2:30 PM when we reached the station.

The train had already arrived and we could see it from the ticket counter. My memory gets a little fuzzy here. Events happened so swiftly, that we never realized what we were doing, but went through the sequence on a hunch and both my dad and myself got into the running train that had just started when we reached the platform. We didn’t even have time to say our good byes to my second elder sister, her husband and my mom who had played a major role in helping us push ourselves into this running train. My brother-in-law had also managed in the confusion to buy the train tickets to Howrah and slip it into my pocket.

So much about the train ride to Howrah, but the real test was getting into Madras Mail and traveling two nights without reservation in an unreserved compartment! Howrah station in the mid 70’s used to be extremely chaotic. Announcement over the public address system would be something, and the reality would be entirely different. There would be last minute changes in the platform allotment for the empty rakes of long distance trains. Dependence on the coolies would be very high; information would somehow reach them much before the traveling public. One can imagine the mad scramble amongst the passengers if the platform was changed in the last minute.

In those good old days, three unreserved compartments would be set aside for the last minute travellers – ones who had not booked in advance. Windows in these carriages would not have protective bars, making it easy for agile youngsters to dive into the compartment as the empty rake was slowly rolled into the platform. My father made me wait at a particular place and said he would make arrangements for two seats in the unreserved compartment. Little did I know that he would, like the youngsters jump in through the window and occupy two seats for us. Once the train came to a standstill, he informed the other occupants to take care of the seats he had occupied, while he walked back to where I was and return with me and luggage. The story doesn’t end here…he was determined to talk to the traveling ticket examiners (TTE’s) to see if he could get two berths for us.

The first stop was Kharagpur after a two hour run – At 3,519 feet, this city has the distinction of having the third longest platform in the world after Gorakhpur in UP, and Kollam in Kerala. This is a junction where the track from Howrah splits in two major arteries – one goes down south to Madras and the other goes west to Bombay. This is also where the electric loco is swapped for a diesel loco during a 30 minute halt for south bound trains.

My dad was confident that he would be able to find a way out with the TTE’s and get two berths while the train was standing at Kharagpur. The situation was much more complex in reality! At Kharagpur the TTE’s shift changeover takes place and in the handing and taking over process, none of them entertain any discussion on berth availability. My dad then ran back to the unreserved compartment to inform me that he would ride with the TTE’s in the sleeper coach until he obtained the berth and come back to fetch me at the next stop. Although he asked me not to worry and also requested other fellow passengers to keep an eye on me; this was all new to me as I had always travelled with the entire family in the past.

However, I did not have to wait for long…within a couple of hours, when the train had briefly halted at an outer signal near a lesser known town, I heard him calling my name from outside. He had been successful in talking his way through the TTE and got us the much needed berths. There was a rider though…he said it was an unscheduled stop for want of clear signal and nobody could predict when it would turn ‘Green’! It was anybody’s guess…He thought for a split second and then said, let’s take our chance…we grabbed our luggage and ran all the way to the coach where we had been allotted berths, once again just-in-time before the signal changed and the train started moving.

Years later, when I was reconstructing this incident in my mind, after completing his annual ceremony, what struck was his simplicity, honesty and integrity. He was pretty high up in the ranks, but consciously avoided use of his powers in his official capacity for a personal need. It was this quality that earned him tremendous respect amongst the rank and file of the organization he served till his last breadth. This was the journey that eventually took me to R E College at Tiruchirapalli and the person who made this possible against all odds was my dad…To me, this indeed was a defining start…and I am sure, each and every one of you will have someone in your life who would have played a very decisive role in shaping who you are and what successes you have achieved. Take some time to reflect and give credit to whosoever deserves!

Leveraging Conflict!

It wasn’t a usual 6E232 Chennai-Bengaluru flight last night, 25^th November 2016. Indigo to a very large extent keeps their schedule departure time unaltered on all sectors. Perhaps, it is a form of training that is imparted to all new joinees, that they are pretty-much committed to ‘On Time’ departure and arrival and do whatever it takes! So much so, that they take pride during the departure announcement as, “Indigo Departure Time”…sole reason probably for their runaway success!

Last night however, while waiting at Chennai airport, I noticed that the departure time mentioned in the closed circuit TV panels showed a 15 minute delay. There was no announcement of this change from 21:15 to 21:30 Hours, whereas, a 15 minute delay in departure of their flight to Kolkata must have been announced over the Public Address system at least 3 to 4 times, if not more. All passengers one-by-one started walking up to the ground force at the departure gate to ask for the status. Not having a plausible reason to offer as an excuse for the delay, I guess the ground personnel decided to move away from the desk to avoid questions. They did however return when there was 25 minutes left for the revised departure time. Having been allotted a seat in first row, I had to wait till all passengers had walked in, as boarding was taking place through the aerobridge.

As I entered the aircraft I noticed that the Chief Flight Attendant was visibly angry and was having a heated argument with ground personnel in charge of loading food and beverages. It may be interesting to note, that variety of food served to passengers who pre-order their choice of refreshments is demarcated, based on duration of the flight. Short haul flights like Chennai-Bengaluru, there really isn’t any time to ask each passenger and serve a meal of their choice. Only passengers who have ordered at the time of booking their tickets are served and even the snack choice is limited between two/three varieties of soft drinks and between cashew nuts or cookies. Taj Sats – the catering agency for Indigo at Chennai had goofed up on 25^th November 2016. They had loaded food that was meant for a long haul flight; this meant,  no nuts and cookies and to make matters worse the soft drinks and water loaded, were at room temperature in Chennai weather.

Couple of rows behind me, a frequent flyer, who made it known to all of us within his earshot that he flew 150 times each year was unhappy when a warm Nimbu Pani was offered to him. He asked for Aam Panna; normally Indigo offers this as an alternative on Chennai-Bengaluru sector under the brand ‘PaperBoat’. Having had a heated exchange with the ground personnel in-charge of loading food, the flight attendent’s patience just snapped. She rudely told the passenger that this was all she had in the aircraft today and the passenger had no choice but to accept the warm Nimbu Pani – almost a ‘take it or leave it’ kind…

Not wanting to be taken for granted, the passenger spoke in a firm voice about his preference. The attendant, now besides herself with rage, first on the Caterers, then on the Ground Personnel, Passenger asking for something that she was not in a position to offer was the proverbial last straw. She lost her cool and allowed emotions to take over and yelled at the passenger. In the same breadth, she went back to the ground personnel and accused them of goofing up the loading and finally said she would not allow the flight to take off if she did not get the variety meant for this short haul flight or deplane the rude passenger. It was as if she was leveraging on the conflict with a passenger to drive home the point with Ground personnel that they were sloppy in their execution. She even went to the extent of asking the ground personnel to convince the passenger by accepting their responsibility of the goof up. Sitting close to the front entrance, I was privy to these discussions. It was also clear that the ground personnel were least interested either in replenishing the stock or own up to their mistake and tender an apology to the passenger, the flight attendant was insisting on. Personally, I was quite in agreement with the way the flight attendant was fixing accountability and responsibility, but did we have the time to see who would blink first?

Unfortunately, the drama that was unfolding before us was having a silent toll on time. We had long crossed the ETD of 21:30 and it was getting to be 21:55. Few of us fellow passengers had to intervene with this flight attendant to calm her frayed nerves, wave the white flag and call for a truce to allow the plane to take the skies. Apparently, the ground personnel were waiting for such a window of opportunity to escape and it came to them on a platter. They quickly took a sign-off from the Captain and deplaned. Once the main doors were shut, locked and cross checked, our now infamous flight purser took control of the situation and was back in command doing whatever she needed to do, when in-charge! She did approach the passenger after we landed at Bengaluru, post a 20 minute circle over the Bengaluru skies, Queued at No 20 in the landing sequence and asked him to cooperate and explain the entire sequence of events to senior leadership team at Indigo. She promised him that she would seek justice from her organization on his behalf. While we may not get to know the final outcome, at least we should be happy that ‘quality of service’ will always be the discerning or deciding factor between companies that are good to companies that are great.

Come to think of ‘Conflicts’, most of them are like the one described above. The root cause is always far away from the stakeholders at loggerheads. A human mind is rather hard wired to jump to quick egoistic conclusions, a distressed me versus them, with “I” always assumed to be at the receiving end! In times of conflict, the world comes to a momentary halt, as the head begins its spin…and how we wish for the inverse!!  

Spare the Rod and Spoil the Child!

Ever wondered what direction India’s education system is heading towards?

It would be good if all Indian parents hear Raghu Raman’s TEDx talk at IIT BHU published on 26^th June 2015 in YouTube. The talk is titled “Order in Chaos”! In one part Raghu categorically states “sweat in peace, sweat in peace, so that you don’t have to bleed in war”. Raghu talks eloquently about our young armed forces – a crop of courageous, brave, intelligent, self-less, die-hard, never compromising men. Compare this to the modern day graduates and under graduates (XII – Standard POF; pass or fail)…do they ever struggle in their 12, 15 or 16 years of their academic career these days?

As parents, we need to take a good percentage of blame for the evolution in upbringing that has slowly creeped in. With the new norm of nuclear families, DIOK – double income one kid we have become over protective to the point of stifling our children’s growth. We want them to have the best of every comfort so that they can live our dreams. Do we ever take a moment and reflect on the child’s likes and strengths and then propel them in a direction of their choice? Hardly! This doesn't in any way mean that all parents are uniformly alike, there are exceptions…and we only wish there were more such kind of parents around as a guide or a mentor. Then there families with no regular sources of income. Not knowing when or where the next family meal would come from, educating their young is never a priority.

In the same breadth, students too must stop blaming their parents for not having done enough. J K Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series in her graduation day speech at Harvard Business School has said this so nicely: “There has to be an expiry date to the blame you pile on your parents.” Wake up boys and girls, stop complaining about the decision your parents took on your behalf and instead, train yourselves hard to face the tough competitive world we live in today. There is no short cut to success!

A quick look at the metamorphosis in educating our young in the last 50 years. Back in my days in 60’s, 70’s and very early 80’s, each academic year used to be broken into three terms and it was made clear at the beginning what portions in each subject would be covered in each term. There was no question in not knowing what was in store during that one academic year. At the end of each week of class studies and associated home studies including homework, we used to have something called as unit test and this used to happen with clockwork regularity, every Friday. Performance in this unit tests would carry a weight-age in each of the three terms scorecard. It just meant that in order for a child to be promoted to the next higher standard, the scoring in the weekly unit tests and the three terms mattered. This was also a very good guide for the teachers to understand which child or student was falling back and what kind of support they required from the teachers. The parent-teachers meet would also be focussed on the score card – it served as a good measuring yardstick to check on the performance and rope in the parents when necessary. Besides the weekly unit tests, there would be surprise tests also – I suspect, teachers used this to get some free time to catch up on their own mounting paper work, not forgetting the time they had to spend on correcting test papers and homework. While they had their hands full, they never hesitated to give a free, frank and honest feedback to the parents regarding an erring child or a student lagging behind the average in the classroom. Some teachers were a terror; there was no hesitation to punish the wrong doers, but to be fair to them, we seldom saw a bias. In general, principals had no patience for complaints coming his or her way from any of their teachers. It would mean a solid rap on the knuckles of both hands or a kneel-down punishment just outside the classroom so that all other students of the school would get to see…you either felt publicly humiliated and became a rebel or learnt to rein in your ego and make corrections to never repeat your mistake.

Fast forward this to the modern day…it is a common sight to see parents lead their children to the front entrance of the schools. Had the principal been a bit lenient, these parents would lead their wards to their classrooms as well, and may be stay back for additional time until the school bell rang. A teachers role as an educator is indeed stressful these days as one cannot scold a child, let alone spank! The teachers cannot take the children to task if they do not complete their homework or project work. The unit tests, term and final exams at the end of each academic year are realms of the past. The grading system that has replaced the score card just does not say anything about the what the child / student has learned or what he / she has not learnt! To make it more liberal, we have done away with making students repeat the academic year for poor performance. With all the so called private schools and colleges charging exorbitant fees, the management I guess feels obligated to the parents donations and the first signs of complaint about a tough no-nonsense teacher, the principal gets rid of these educationists. It is a vicious circle, as all teachers are scared stiff about what they can or can’t do. An easy way out is to tolerate under-performance and just learn to look the other way, while it is time to promote them.

By the way, did I mention that in India, teachers in private schools and the government law enforcers are the most poorly paid? It would be incorrect to make a sweeping generalization, because there are still good and honest teachers around who take their work very seriously and perhaps we can apply the Pareto’s principle to state with some degree of confidence that 20% of our teachers make a positive mark in their student’s lives and we owe the country’s progress to these 20% of the teacher’s population.

The question is, if all are in agreement with the deteriorated education standards and have kind off accepted it as a way of life, then who is complaining? No marks for guessing this correctly!! It is the employment industry; and I am not specifying any one type…it includes just about all! Having spent the last 15 years in the ITES industry in various capacities, I can say this for sure that the quality of graduates who walk in to these organizations is a far cry from what these companies would like to hire, especially now. Could the situation have been different? I would say one hundred percent! It now makes sense to state what Raghu Raman has said in his TEDx talk: “Sweat in peace, sweat in peace, so that you don’t have to bleed in war!” His TEDx talk can be viewed from the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ-IBRGfJyY

Can we go back to our educational institutions and provide them with the right platform and freedom to educate our GenY so that they learn that nothing in life is a cake-walk. Studying and training hard, so hard that employment opportunities would be for their taking and not the other way around. Consider this, for every 100 graduates who walk in for an employment opportunity roughly 5 to 7% succeed and they succeed not because they are way above the rest, but because somewhere someone in these organizations took a decision that these are trainable folks. Companies spend a good 2 to 6 months training these new hires to help them reach a level from where they perhaps can be on their own, albeit with small ongoing support and encouragement. While the organizations can take comfort from the fact they are indirectly helping GenY  and brand this as a CSR activity, our successive governments must become aware that the “Chalega” or “Casual” approach to everything, starting from educational institutions is a retrograde step. A close analogy could be found in our airports in India. From the time a person enters the main terminal of any airport in India, he or she is subjected to 4 or 5 levels of security checks before finally being cleared to board the aeroplane. It is because the first security check at the entry takes it cool thinking that there are four ahead of me and If I miss anything, heavens are not going to fall down – let the others also take their job seriously! This is a sure shot way to mediocrity and pretty much, our education system has also followed on these footsteps. Is it a surprise then that none of India's 700 universities and 35,539 colleges has made it to the top 100 list?

The final question: By being over protective have we made the GenY too soft and sensitive to travel the turbulent roads in work life? I would once again say a one hundred percent! From the day of joining, the question on top of their mind is, “What’s in it for me?” The work environment has to be to their liking, as they come in with big expectations. Not finding those immediately leads to disappointment. God forbid, if one of the monthly feedback discussions goes a bit hard because of under-performance! It wouldn't surprise many in the organization, if this person did not return to work the following morning. Grow up boys and girls – a positive attitude, a willingness to learn new skills and a thirst for knowledge are the fundamentals that will help you flourish in your chosen field.

While we are pushing for “Make in India”, if we do not “Make it right, in India” the hopes of our politicians can at best remain a pipe dream to push growth to double digit figures. Brahmagupta or Aryabhata may have introduced “Zero” in mathematics or the concept of nothingness, on a different context, there is a danger in us being branded as a country of Zeros and not Hero’s!!       

Don't Burn your Bridges!

The phrase “Burning your Bridges” can be traced to military action of burning a bridge you have just crossed to prevent your enemy from crossing it after you. It also meant that it stops you from the thought of retreat and forces you to advance. In businesses today, ‘burning bridges’ could mean that there is no way of going back to the previous ways of doing things. It is a ‘push’ to enforce ‘change’ - a deliberate way to help people concentrate their minds on moving forward.

However and at a personal level, it is probably prudent not to burn your bridges as you progress in your career. Should you do a Google search on ‘Manpower Attrition’, invariably the top reason that comes up is that people don’t leave good organizations, they leave poor managers. The question that immediately pops up in the mind, “How could we not burn bridges, while leaving poor managers?” While there may not be a quick fix solution or a ready-made answer, it would still be wise to look back or reflect on the past incidence or incidences that culminated in the tearing need for a hasty departure.

It wouldn't be incorrect to say that building a relationship, whether at a personal or professional level requires sheer hard work, grit and determination, not discounting the element of investment on time! But for a small percentage, for a majority of entrants as salaried employees, their future is etched on the first job or profession they get into, whatever be their academic background. A Banker always remains a Banker! In the career spanning 30 years, he/she may hop around different banking organizations or choose to navigate within the various departments in a branch or move to other branches of the same banking institution, but this person remains firmly grounded in a bank. Likewise, it is the same for Life or Health Insurance folks, or engineers working in a particular type of Industry viz. Cement, Fertilizer, Steel. The more recent additions to this list would be IT and ITES/BPO with personnel movement being similar to the earlier examples in traditional Industries. Then there are professions which seemingly do not have an alternative – Doctors and Lawyers. So we thought, until the ITES/BPO came along with their need of people from these two professions to cater to the ever increasing need of the outsourcing industry. It is a rarity that folks from a particular industry change over to a completely different one without a compelling reason. I would certainly fall into this odd category since I moved from the engineering industry in air & water pollution control to the ITES/BPO sector – a distant cousin of the IT industry, twice or thrice removed!! Finally, the question all should be asking is, “What connection does the above have with burning bridges?”

While young, and fresh in the work environment, it isn't possible to fathom the 30 year career span ahead of us – it is but natural to take it one day at a time. With a single minded focus on ‘income’ we wait for the salary to be credited to our account at the end of each month and watch it quickly disappear with dismay. In the beginning, the new found financial independence but impatience written all over the DNA, emotions could be mercurial and erratic! What could complicate things further is the foolhardy thought that ‘nothing could be worse than the present situation’ and at the first signs of heated discussion with an immediate senior – ‘Quit’ is the thought that races across the mind. Young and temperamentally immature, the first casualty is ‘reasoning skills’ when your own mind is playing games. Before long you are fighting your way out of the organization and your manager.

Now, didn't I say that “It’s a small world!”

A couple of years later, and after hopping across a few organizations, there is a good chance that you will bump into the same first person you had an argument with and quit. While you can talk your way into this organization because of your added experience and a specific skill or knowledge gathered over time, the chances of building the bridge that you destroyed to say the least, would be uphill task and that too, on a very steep incline. Your situation would be much like the mythological story of the Greek “The myth of Sisyphus” – This King of Ephyra was condemned to an eternity of rolling a bolder uphill then watching it roll back down again. Could your situation have been different? If only you had played your cards smartly and made a smooth exit in an amicable manner, the situation may have been totally different, after all. It is also quite likely that you would have been welcomed at the new organization with open arms and you would have hit the ground running! Perhaps, the future too would have held immense promise.

While at war, it is a fight to finish, it absolutely isn't in professional life…paths between a subordinate and senior will cross multiple times, given the scenario that we tend to remain within the industry vertical we started our career with. A close analogy is Gmail’s tag line: “Why delete messages when you can archive and use later!” It is the emotional maturity that we display at each crossroad that determines each time, whether we make it or lose it! It only makes sense to strengthen your bridges and create for yourselves a lifetime of opportunities. Don’t Burn your Bridges!!

JyothirLinga Temple at Omkar Ashrama

For a few months, my wife and I had been planning to visit the Dwadasha Jyothirlinga’s in Omkar ashrama…and we finally made it yesterday, 29^th March 2015. About 9 KM’s from where we live, this ahsrama is situated on the Uttarahalli – Mysore road (Kengeri - connector). This location is more familiarly known as Srinivasapura.

Situated on a hillock, this temple has been conceptualized and constructed under the directions of Sri Sri Shivapuri Mahaswamiji, who founded the Omkara Ashrama Mahasamsthana in the year 1992 – some 23 years back in Bengaluru! Construction of this temple started in the year 2002 and the consecration was conducted on 16^th February 2011. This temple complex houses a replica of the 12 Jyothirlingas across India. The Jyothiralinga shrines are places where Lord Shiva is believed to have appeared as a fiery column of light. Originally believed to be 64 in number,  12 of them are considered to be the most auspicious and holy. These are at Somnath (Gujarat), Mallikarjuna at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh, Mahakaleshwara at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, Omkareshwara in Madhya Pradesh, Kedarnath in Uttarakhand, Bhimashankar in Maharashtra, Vishwanath at Kashi (Varanasi) in Uttar Pradesh, Triyamabakeshwara in Maharashtra, Vaidyanath in Deogharh at Jharkhand, Aundha Naganath in Maharashtra, Rameshwara at Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu, and Grishneshwara near Aurangabad at Maharashtra. These are listed in the order that they must be visited during pilgrimage.

What is unique about this temple complex:

The gopuram at the main entrance door to the temple complex is built under the traditional Dravadian style. Traditionally the gopurams are a dominant feature of a temple’s outer appearance and even overshadows the temples inner sanctum with its colossal size. Rectangular at its base, a gopuram is geometrically similar to the frustum of a pyramid. Gopurams are exquisitely decorated with sculpture and carvings and painted with a variety of themes from the Hindu mythology. And so is the one at the main entrance to this temple complex. However, the similarity ends here.

The two areas where temple architecture developed most markedly were the Deccan and Orissa style. In the Orissa style the temple tower over the main shrine, also called Vimana, is tall and cylindrical constructed on a square base and is situated right above the Garbha Griha (Gudi), unlike the southern style Gopuram which is a glorified entrance gate. The architect perhaps, wanted to give prominence to the God’s abode over all other buildings in the immediate vicinity and surrounding neighbourhood. The Orissan spire proclaims the presence of God far and wide, from its lofty and imposing structure. It is this style that has been adopted at Bengaluru’s dwadasha Jyothirlinga temple. Taking advantage of the natural elevation at Srinivasapura, this architecture style combined with a cluster of miniature towers gives it a distinct look that catches the eye while travelling on the Uttarahalli road.

Considering that 2 out 12 Jyothir Lingas are in the south, namely Srisaila and Rameshwara, the Vimana Gopurams above these two Garbha Griha (Gudi) is built in the Dravidian style, while the remaining 10 have Vimana Gopurams or spire, built in the Orissan style.

The devotee’s path while inside the temple premises is guided in the same order as the 12 Jyothirlingas across the country and this is what makes it unique. While laying the foundation of each of these 12 replicas, another 1008 smaller size Lingas have been embedded below 11 of the Jyotir Lingas and 2008 under Omkareshwara Linga. This means that one pradakshina of the entire temple followed with a Namaskara would mean that the devotee has the blessings of more than 13,000 Lingas! Sri Sri Shivapuri Swamiji’s grace and benevolence has enabled the common man undertake darshan of the 12 Jyothir Lingas, bask in the auspicious air surrounding them, which brings happiness, peace and harmony. Incidentally, all the Lingas have been carved out of stones obtained from River Narmada, considered to be the most auspicious.

Just behind this recently completed Dwadasha Jyothir Linga temple is a banyan tree and this is at the peak point of the hillock. The area surrounded by this banyan tree is named Sarvadharma Samanvaya Peetha and at the base of the main trunk is the idol of Mother Goddess Vana Durga, which is the Sthana-Devata of Omkara hills. While one corner houses the temple of Sri Matsya Narayana, there are 8 mini shrines to pay respect to other religions and sages/prophets built surrounding the banyan tree. Shrines have been built for Lord Jesus Christ, Prophet Mohammed, Lord Buddha, Lord Mahavira, Sri Shankaracharya, Sri Madhavacharya and Sri Ramanujacharya. 

Bhagwan Sri Matsya Narayana is the first of the Dashavatar of Lord Vishnu. In this avatar, Lord MahaVishnu takes the form of a fish to protect the creation from great deluge. By worshipping Lord MahaVishnu in his avatar as Sri Matsya Narayana, one could obtain good health, peace, prosperity besides cure from rare skin disorders.

A massive bronze bell weighing 1200 kilograms and a giant tower clock (bigger than the Big Ben of London) are the other attractions at this temple. Do make time to visit this temple and be blessed!!

An Unforgettable Experience

Most of you are aware that Facebook has a Timeline and one can trace back to the date you started sharing and receiving information of friends and relatives. You can also ruminate through the various anecdotes and photographs you would have uploaded and I am sure these bring back nostalgic memories.

More recently I happened to lay my hands on my passport and while leafing through the first booklet issued to me in the year 1993 my eyes fell on the German Visa issued for a month long stay in that country. Incidentally, a passport can be compared to Facebook's Timeline, albeit a hard-copy one, with a time stamp of our international visits in a chronological order. Anyway, this was the first Visa stamp on my passport and I distinctly remember that it felt great to travel out of home country at a point in time when there were many travel restrictions imposed on Indians by our Government. It meant travelling to an alien land and resorting to sign language to make ourselves understood. You see, the Germans in smaller towns and villages did not have any need for knowing English. My travel to Germany was organized by BMD Industries Ltd. – I had joined this company when I stepped into Bangalore after my 10 year long stay at Kolkata. BMD was known for its Foundry Machinery Manufacturing expertise and as part of forward integration, they had tied up with a small entity ‘BMD-Garant’ to manufacture air pollution control equipments. My assignment was to learn and transition the technology to BMD India. How did I do this and how long it took to transition, is an entirely different story and something that is not in the scope of this short essay.

What I set out to talk about was a comical episode that still brings a smile on my face whenever I recall that incident. The manufacturing unit of Garant was situated in a small village Friesenheim, tucked in the southern tip of unified Germany and close to the Swiss border of Basel. After landing in Frankfurt, we took the underground metro to Frankfurt Central. We were scheduled to board an express train operated by Deutsch Bahn or German Railways that would take an hour and half to reach the nearby town, Offenberg. None of the express trains halt at Friesenheim as it is truly a tiny village with a population not exceeding 10,000 people in the early 90’s. Thankfully we were informed that a gentleman would receive us at Offenberg station and take us to Friesenheim – the final destination being hotel Gasthof Krone. Typically like most Indians who take pride in weathering any storm in scant warm clothing, my colleague Ramkumar and I travelled wearing just a simple cardigan and a wind cheater. Although the weather was biting cold at minus 4^o one does not get exposed to this extreme temperature while changing from planes, trains and buses. We got our taste of the cold atmosphere, the moment we landed at Offenberg – the station is designed similar to our small town stations in India, not enclosed and open to general atmospheric conditions. The temperature was a couple of degrees lower than in Frankfurt and we just got frozen the moment we set foot on the platform. Being the only two Asians around, it wasn't difficult for our host to spot us and quickly usher us into his car with heater turned to its peak! For a pretty long time we could not utter a single word as the lower jaws were uncontrollably chattering…

Having had a taste of the extreme cold conditions, the following morning we set out by foot to BMD Garant from out hotel which was just half-a-kilometre away. This time we were careful and had completely en-caged ourselves in layers and layers of warm clothing, mufflers, monkey caps et al. Being a tiny hamlet, the town is built around the National Highway,called Autobahn. Our hotel Gasthof Krone was situated very close to the Autobahn and we had to negotiate a signal crossing to cross over to the opposite side and walk towards the factory. So far so good…both Ramkumar and I came to our end of the zebra crossing waiting for the signal to turn green. Being a highway, cars are restricted to 40 MPH within village limits, but it is still a tad too fast for us to attempt bolting across in the typical Indian style. Wanting to place our best foot forward and show these Germans how disciplined we Indians are, we decided to wait for the signal to turn green. And unbelievably, it remained red. We were dumbstruck and were mentally cursing the German traffic engineers for having provided a zebra crossing but no opportunity to use it! Between the two of us, we even tracked the pattern of traffic lights to see how traffic flow was regulated and at what time intervals the signals turned red or green. While we were oblivious, a young kid from his room in upper floor of his home on the opposite side was watching us from the glass window and was equally puzzled why we were standing at the same spot for such a long time. The smart kid however guessed that we were not aware about the pedestrian override button provided at the signal post and started waving his hands wildly trying to convey a message that we had to press the green switch provided.

The kids frantic gestures caught our eye no doubt, but we mistook that to be an enthusiastic greeting and waved back in acknowledgement, wearing a guarded smile. You can imagine the frustration of the kid when we failed to follow what he intended to convey. Looking at our sad plight, the kid came down from his home, walked to his end of the pedestrian signal and pressed the green switch meant for the pedestrian ‘override’. Only then did we realize what the kid was trying to convey through his frenetic gestures.

We thanked him profusely, waited for the signal to turn green for us to ‘Walk’ and walk we did, into our future…

Chai-Tea

Dear Friends,

I bet all of you know the origins of the humble cup of “Chai” or “Tea” happened around 1500 BCE (Before the Christian Era). It was more used as a medicinal drink than as a refreshing drink or a stimulant. The earliest credible record of tea drinking happened around 3^rd century AD. Thanks to the British for making it a popular drink somewhere around 17^th century AD and also, let us give the British the credit for having brought it to India in order to counter the monopoly China had over Tea.

Today, the top 4 nations produce 3.3 Million Tons per annum, with China at 1.6, India at 1.0, Kenya at 0.35 and Sri Lanka at 0.35. This accounts for almost 75% of world production of 4.4 Million Tons. The word “Chai” in Hindi comes originally from Cantonese “Cha” and Persian “Chai”. What is less known is that the leaf size is the chief criterion for classification of tea plants. The three primary classifications are Assam type characterized by its largest leaves; China type with its smallest leaves and Cambodian type with its intermediate size. Blended tea can be done from plants in the same area of cultivation or with teas from different areas. The aim of blending is to get a superior flavor of the expensive variety with inferior taste of tea that is less expensive. With additives and special processing, these days one can find endless range of scented and flavoured variants.

Tea is the second most consumed liquid on earth after water. In India tea is one of the most popular hot beverage and is made with milk and sugar, with or without spices. Most often referred to as “doses” it is generally served with biscuits and people love eating their biscuits dipped in chai before consuming the brew. In the northern regions of India the piping hot tea is poured into the saucer provided with the cup and slurped directly from the saucer – sort of instant gratification as the larger surface area of the saucer allows the chai to cool down to acceptable levels of the tongue. In the eastern region, tea is served in small earthen pots called “Khullad”. The taste of Chai served in Khullad is truly heavenly – this reminds me of the 2 hour train journey between Howrah (Kolkata) and Durgapur in the evening rush hours. People (myself included!) would eagerly wait for the Coalfield Express to make its 2 minute halt at Panagarh station, just two stations away from Durgapur. A middle aged gentleman would enter with his freshly made Chai in a shining aluminum kettle and a shoulder bag with Khullads. In the late 70’s a Khullad of this heavenly brew would cost half-a-rupee and I would end up making the person linger for a few minutes more to have at least three helpings. Of late the tea bags, plastic and paper cups seems to have robbed the Chai of its original taste. What we get in the name of tea is sanitized hot water with the flavor of tea which can certainly fool the nose but not the tongue which is better hard-wired to the brain and its memory block!!

Hence, when my good friend Ganesh Prasad offered to take me to a small chai shop called “Chai Point” in Ulsoor, I was a bit skeptical not knowing what to expect, although he promised me that the experience would be pleasant. It turned out to be pretty elegant – the shop, a 10-by-10 square feet space was splashed with yellow all around, set with modern day equipment’s that churned out a variety of chai. This being my first visit, I settled for the most common version “normal” Chai (with milk & sugar but without spices) and surprisingly, it reminded me of the same taste that I used to enjoy in my regular weekly trips to Durgapur by Coalfield Express at Panagarh station. The only difference was the chai here was served in a glass made from real glass, much like the ones used in Mumbai and the rest of west. The piping hot tea went very well with small snacks (masala cookies) that is sold in these Chai Point stores. The biggest surprise however was not in the taste of Chai but the use of modern day technology for making the payment as well as the cost of a glass of Chai! While a glass cost Rs. 15, certainly much-much-more affordable than the coffee at Café Coffee Day, Chai Point has provided its customers with a MobileApp and the bar-code reader at the shop recognizes the bar-code on your cellphone and deducts the billed amount from your deposit amount. Depending on your drinking habit, you can charge Rupees one hundred or in multiples thereof through a few clicks using your link to the personal bank account. With Chai Points dotted across the city, drinking your favorite hot beverage will never be a problem again – definitely affordable and with a hassle free payment facility.

A quick look at the people who started this chain in Bangalore in 2011: Amuleek Singh Bijral is the Founder and CEO of Mountain Trail Foods Pvt. Ltd., and the owner of the brand “Chai Point”. With an MBA from Harvard Business School, he found in Mr. Tarun Khanna a mentor and funding investor in Chai Point. Tarun currently teaches at the Harvard Business School and is also the Faculty Chair for HBS activities in India. Presently Chai Point has 19 outlets in Bangalore and 3 in NCR of New Delhi. If Café Coffee Day caught the imagination of Indians with its catchy slogan – “A lot can happen over a cup of coffee”, Chai Point states in a matter of fact manner: “India Runs on Chai”!! Perhaps the only two beverages in the world today that can unequivocally state: “Drink and Drive”!!

Go ahead folks…try it…you might love it!!

Cheers!!