I have always believed that learning and education need not go together. I have met people in life who have never gone to a formal school but know the world. On the other hand, the best of professionals from the world’s best educational institutions ,do not sometimes inspire us, with their knowledge or skills.

I was reflecting on this subject on “what inspires you to learn from whom ?”. I thought about the people I meet every day and got my insight.

I meet people who have worked in multinational corporations in very senior positions but their every day behaviour puts me off. Then I have met graduates from the best educational institutions in the country, whose arrogance repels you from them.

On the other hand ,I meet a housekeeping staff in my community, who inspires me every single day. Starting from her genuine “Good morning” wish to her enchanting smile, everything about her makes me a good learner.

I meet her everyday and learn in every meeting of mine. Her work ethic is unparalleled. She comes to our community at 630 am so that she can earn a little more by taking additional responsibilities beyond her work hours which commences at 8:30 am.

She is meticulous in her work and does not need any supervision for her quality of output. Her smile is endearing and I have never seen her in a tiff with any of her colleagues. She is ever willing to take up additional work and support her colleagues at work.

She volunteers to make tea for all of her colleagues and is the first to come to work and almost the last to leave. I have never seen her complain about anyone or about work to me or any other office bearers of the community.

She is ever helpful to her colleagues and to everyone who seeks her support. She goes out of the way to get support staff for our residents whenever they need one. I had recently wanted a temporary housekeeping staff since my regular help was down with typhoid.

She recommended a young widow to work for us. This girl came and did her duties in the absence of our regular staff. I assumed she was her relative or friend. But my respect for her went up when I came to know that she did not even know her but wanted to help her since she came to know that she is a young widow with two children and was in the look out for a job.

So, my insight from all these experiences is that you need a great attitude and willingness to share ,to learn from others. This lady is the best in whatever she does and her attitude is worth a million. She is always smiling and willing to share. I am not even sure if she has any formal education. But that does not matter ,for you to be the best in whatever you do and also share your smile with others.

I wish I could be as simple, grounded and caring as my colleague in the community is.

May be worth trying.

S Ramesh Shankar

8th Jan 2022