Author: S Ramesh Shankar

Born in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India, I have been brought up in different parts of India. Graduate in chemistry and post graduate in personnel management and industrial relations. Have been a HR practitioner for 38 years in the industry and have experience in working in steel , automobiles, FMCG and engineering industry. Was head of HR for Siemens in South Asia based out of Mumbai till March 2019. Currently founded hrishti - joy forever, a social enterprise to give back to society and work as Chief Joy Officer.

Nature has its way

I have always been an ardent admirer of Nature. I have never had enough of nature and every day I am astonished at the miracles around me. I recently had a few experiences which made me admire nature more and learn important life lessons.

The first one was when my Christmas tree was growing up in the garden. As we know, Xmas tree grows tall and so was mine. One day its tip reached below the leaves of my coconut tree. I thought I will have to ask my gardener to chop of the coconuts fronds. But before I realised, the leaves of the Xmas tree found its way through the leaves of the coconut tree and continued to grow tall without complaining to anyone.

The second instance was when I saw a lotus pond near the place I stayed in Pondicherry. I had requested the estate manager to get me a small lotus sapling from the pond. But every time he tried, he could not. I was disappointed till my visit last month. He presented me the same and I brought it diligently to Bangalore and put it in my lily pond. Within days the lotus sapling dried and died. I realised and learnt that a lotus pond is more than 20 feet deep and my Lilly pond is around 3 feet only. Hence, there was no way that the lotus could survive in a shallow lily pond.

Both these experiences are great learnings in life for me. The first was to let people learn and grow their way. We should not interfere and want them to do it our way. In the second experience, nature taught me that I should not mess up with nature. If I try to force people to do it my way or learn my way, they may not succeed. Encourage people to do it their way and let them bloom in their own backyard.

If we sit down and reflect, we learn a lot of life lessons from nature every day. Many of us tend to complain and crib all the time that we are not able to grow for any number of reasons in the organisation. We sometimes say bad boss, poor opportunities, lack of support or resources or something else. If we are willing to learn from nature, we will not allow anything to come in our way and will continue to learn and grow.

Similarly, as leaders and parents we tend to make people behave as we think since we feel it is the best way to do. It may or may not be right. If we create a work environment as a leader or a home environment as a parent and let our colleagues and our kids learn and grow as they would like to do, they may prosper. If we try to force fit like I did with the lotus tree in my Lilly pond, nobody prospers.

Nature teaches us every day in every way. It is upto us to admire, observe and learn.

Time to start is today.

S Ramesh Shankar

8th March 2022

More than fortunate

Many of us crib day in and night out for something or the other. We crib about not having a car or being unhappy with our career or not being able to go on a holiday abroad due to the pandemic.

This cribbing nature starts from our childhood. and continues through our adolescence and even as adults. We die by comparisons in everything from food, material things, vacations and life in general.

The only catch is that we tend to compare with people who are better off than us and not the people who are not as well placed as we are. When someone points out that we need to compare with the less privileged, we shrug it off stating that it is their destiny, what can we do about it. But the same is not our destiny when we compare and feel jealous than the better off than us.

I want to share two real life stories, which can help us reflect on what life has given us and why we need to be grateful for all that we have and not crib about all that we don’t. Both these stories are real and I have personally known them. I am changing the name of the person and place for anonymity and to respect their privacy.

The first story is that of Padma who was a house help in my house in Mumbai. She is married to a carpenter and has two lovely kids. Her husband works in a garment factory. She has admitted both her children in an english medium school since she wants them to do well in their lives.

Padma’s husband is an alcoholic and comes home drunk every day and ill treats his wife and even his kids. Apart from not contributing to the family’s finances, he ends up spending all his money on his drinking habit. He further ends up with huge debts due to this habit. His wife works in 4 houses from morning 830 am to evening 630 pm every day, six days a week and manages all the finances of the house and takes care of her young aspiring children , playing the role of mother and father to the kids.

The second story is that of Radha. Radha lives in a small town of Jabalpur. Her husband was pulling carts and now runs a small petty shop. She goes around as a beautician and earns by giving home service to women who need her services. She had two sons. The younger of the two , died ten years back committing suicide because of the poor condition of the family. Radha along with her husband with their meagre income educated her elder son. He got his MBA and today works in a bank. However, at the age of 25, instead of being grateful and indebted to his hard working parents, has become an alcoholic and misbehaves with his parents, who have made him successful in life.

I had tears in my eyes when I heard both these stories. I have personally interacted with both these women and tried to counsel them in my own way.

It is time to look at our own lives with these lenses of Radha and Padma. If we do not feel most fortunate , then there is something wrong in us. We need to look at the mirror again and again till tears dry up in our eyes.

It is time to reflect and be grateful always.

S Ramesh Shankar

25th March 2022

I have no time

“I have no time” is something I have heard from people from all walks of life and at various life stages. I have always found it mysterious since I have never found lack of time in anything I wanted to do in life.

I have seen students stating they don’t have time to study. I have seen players claiming that they don’t have time to practise and employees claiming they don’t have time to complete their work. Spouses in the family also state they don’t have time to do household chores.

I have been a student, played sports, worked in corporates for almost four decades and happily married for the last 38 years years but never felt that time was ever a constraint for me.

I may or may not have succeeded in all my endeavours as a student, player, employee or a spouse but can never blame time for my failure in anything.

I once asked a colleague as to why he was late for a meeting at my office in Mumbai. He blamed the traffic for the same. I asked him if he would have a missed a flight if he was going on a holiday to Goa. He smiled and said no. So, it our attitude to life and our priorities, which makes all the difference.

As a student if I don’t have time to study or play, it is because I am not planning well and prioritising what is important for me. How can I blame my school or my home for the same. I can neither blame my parents nor my teachers. I need to blame myself only.

If I move to the workplace, I find employees claiming they are under heavy work pressure and do not have time for other things like hobbies or even time to spend with their family. I find this amusing too. Having been through all stages of my work life, I never felt that I did not have time for hobbies or my family. Of course there could be some days when you are tied down but it cannot be an excuse forever.

Life is no different from study, play or work. Many of us think that life is a journey of doing things we may not enjoy all the time. It is not true. It is the way we define what we want in life. It is like if you take the road and drive without any destination in mind, you may reach where you do not want to go. But, if you plan your drive you will go where you desire always.

It is time to challenge ourselves and ask the fundamental question – “What are my priorities in life ?” . How do I want to spend the rest of my life ? I am responsible for my life. The day we realise it, we have crossed the bridge.

We can prioritise both our personal and work related things. Then plan for it and make it happen. We have to be like an Olympian who after winning a gold does not rest but starts preparing for the next Olympics, which is four years away. Let us believe we have all the time in the world to do what we want to do.

Let the new journey of life begin today.

S Ramesh Shankar

12th February 2022