Meeting a commitment. It was early morning, 25th May 1995. The wife had gone for a walk to the park. I was at home packing and getting ready to travel to Goa by the afternoon flight. I had been invited by Bharat Forge Limited (BFL) group to be the keynote speaker at their annual retreat at a resort hotel in Goa. I had met their chairman Mr. Baba Kalyani some years earlier when I was working in Mazagon Docks Limited. He had then offered me a job as General Manager (Sales) in Automotive Axles Limited (Mysore) a BFL group company.. I had declined the offer, as I was not keen to get into Sales area. Since then, I had moved to Mukand as a profit center head and later to TVS Suzuki Limited as President, where I played a key role in the company’s spectacular turnaround from sickness to health. I was asked to share my experiences in the revival of our company. I had prepared carefully for my talk as I had great respect for Baba Kalyani, one of India’s outstanding business leaders. Suddenly, there was a phone call from my son who was then doing his doctorate at Harvard University. In an agitated voice, he informed me that my father (whom we fondly called Cheenu mama) had passed away half an hour earlier of a massive heart attack at New Jersey. My father was due to return to India a fortnight later and was keenly looking forward to it. I totally broke down. A few minutes later, I asked my son about funeral arrangements. He told me that the crematorium did not agree to preserve the body as my father was old and had been a diabetic. They were planning to cremate the body within the next few hours. There was no way I could reach Newark in time for the cremation. My wife returned from the walk and was shocked to hear the news. I decided that there was no point in my going to US, as the funeral rites which go on for thirteen days, could be better done in Bangalore. I spoke to my sister in New Jersey and asked her to air freight my father’s ashes for immersion in the sacred waters of the Cauvery at Paschim Vahini in Srirangapatnam. There was nothing for me to do for the next two days, until the ashes arrived. Though I was badly shaken, I decided to go ahead with my commitment to BFL. Thirty five years earlier I had received a phone call from INA (London)s office that my mother had passed away in Coimbatore. I continued to attend classes at RNC Greenwich, as I could not come back to India for the funeral. Sadly, history was repeating itself. I reached Goa in the evening and checked in the hotel. I did not join the dinner and entertainment which followed, pleading indisposition. The next day after breakfast, I was introduced to Mr. Baba Kalyani. He remembered meeting me and told me that he was much impressed with my achievements since we had last met. The meet started. I was introduced to the audience by the Chairman. I controlled my emotions carefully. I spoke to the officers about how TVS Suzuki Limited had turned around from the brink of disaster in 1990 to win the Economic Times/HBSAA (Harvard Business School Alumnus Association) award for best shareholder return within five years. Over the next two hours, I shared with them the story of labor trouble, hundred day lockout, steps we had taken for survival in difficult days, our gradual revival and finally how the company had adopted TQC as the mantra for improvement. As I had lived through the experience, I must have sounded convincing. I received a standing ovation. I answered many questions from the audience including the chairman. He then invited him to join him for dinner in the evening. I then told Mr. Kalyani that I had lost my father in USA the previous day and had to return to Bangalore in the evening. He was deeply shocked to hear about my loss. He was surprised that I had still traveled to Goa to talk to them. I told him that I had to wait for two days for my father’s ashes to arrive. Instead of moping in Bangalore, I had decided to keep my commitment to address his officers. He was deeply moved and told his officers that this was an example of true grit. He made sure that I was escorted to Goa Airport and seen off by a senior colleague. My father’s ashes arrived the next day from the US. I performed the remaining rites at Bangalore, including the vaikunta samarathane on the 13th day. It was fated that I could not be there when both my parents passed away and could not be present for the cremation. A few months later I was informed by the FIE Foundation at Ichalkaranji, (near Kolahpur) that I had been given an award for excellence in Engineering and Management. I traveled to Ichalkaranji for the award function along with Vijaya. I received a citation, a memento and a cash award of rupees 35000/- (which I donated to charity!) at a glittering function. Mr. Pranabh Mukherjee, Union Commerce Minister presided over the function. The award was handed over by Hon. CM of Maharashtra, Mr.Manohar Joshi. I wowed the audience by delivering a short speech of thanks in Marathi! Other awardees included Mr. Rahul Bajaj, Chairman of Bajaj Auto and Mr. Sridharan, chairman Konkan Railway (later the chairman of Delhi Metro) I later learnt that Mr. Baba Kalyani was one of the trustees of the foundation and had recommended me for the award!
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 15:42:45 +0000
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