I was recently reading somewhere that “Plan versus Actual is life” and I tend to agree. We all dream big and aspire to fulfil our dreams to the best of our ability.

However, when reality bites us, we realise that what we planned is different from our current realities and that is life. This does not mean we should not plan, nor it means that the current reality may not drive us towards our goals.

This means that either our plan was inadequate or the execution beyond the plan, was not good enough. It is almost like the new year resolutions ,most of us make. We are high on enthusiasm when we make those resolutions but within weeks, if not days, we realise that reality is far from the promises, we made to ourselves.

It is almost like the gym ,in most offices today. While all employees desire to have the best of gym in their workplace; after a few months, if not weeks of its inauguration, we see that most gyms are either closed down or highly underutilised.

This is not because a gym at work ,is not a desirable thing. It also does not mean that employees do not want to be healthy. What is means is, there is a huge gap between plan vis a vis actuals and that is life.

If we move to the business situation, we understand it much better. All of us plan grandiosely. However, even before the end of the first quarter ,of a new financial year, we talk of revising the plans for the subsequent quarters since the actuals of the first quarter makes us realise the ground realities.

So, we need to realise that our life and work are not very different. At both places, we need to plan and then execute it meticulously. The gap between plan and actuals, is life. We need to realise that our life will be as good as our planning and execution.

If we either do not plan well or we do not execute well, we face failure in life and that disappoints us. It may be simple to assume that we need to go back to the drawing board and look at our plans or the gap between our plans and execution strategies.

Both at life and work, our planning has to be continual and evolving. Our execution also has to adapt to the changing needs of the environment. If we have planned well and implement our plans meticulously, the chances of disappointments are less. However, the environment around us may not always be under our control.

So our plans and implementation strategies have to be adaptive and evolving. We need to fine tune them ,keeping in mind the changing circumstances and our own moving milestones.

If we positively accept life, then our ability to execute what we have planned more realistically ,becomes a reality. On the other hand, if we surrender to current reality and refuse to change ourselves, then our plans will continue to be ,building castles in the air.

Let’s start living life positively from today.

S Ramesh Shankar

2nd Jan 2025

I was watching a music reality show on TV and one of the judges mentioned in Hindi – “ Ghar banane ke liye, ghar chodna padta hai “. If translated, it literally means that “If you want make a home, you have to leave your home”. Although translations many a time do not convey the real meaning of the quote, it is very insightful.

If you want to make a mark in your career, you have to leave the comforts of your home. Many of us grow up in small towns, villages or even in cities but never like to leave them since we get attached to our family, friends and the ethos of that place.

I hail from Chennai in South India. We used to have a joke in my college days that if you have the courage to cross Basin bridge station ( the station next to Chennai Central station), your mind will broaden. I have experienced this and agree with this world view.

We may pursue any career in life. We could work in corporates, run our own business or become a professional sports person. It does not matter. We may be able to excel in whatever we do ,the day we venture out of our comfort zone.

Even as students, we tend to study in the same town or city, where we have grown up as a child. We resist moving out of that city or town, even to pursue higher studies. This makes us like a frog in a well. However, if we get over this inertia and move out of our city of up- bringing, to pursue higher education, our mind broadens and our learning multiplies.

This is equally true at the work place. Many employees want to learn and grow in the city or state ,of their origin. When faced with a transfer, even on promotion, they resist and give some excuse to stay back in the city of their birth or up -bringing.

In my view, this could become a limiting factor ,in their career. We learn not only from the role we play in the organisation but the environment around us ,too. The teams would be different, the culture and ethos of the new city or town ,could open our eyes and tickle our brains.

I can state with empirical evidence of my own experience of living and working, in ten different towns/cities ,that my world view has grown and evolved ,because of these multifaceted experiences. If I had lived and worked only in one city, I may have evolved as an uni-dimensional professional. However, these experiences made me learn and adapt to different environments and learn from one another.

I have seen this in my children too. They have also lived, studied and worked in different towns/cities and this has made them adapt to different cultures and professional environments. Today, they can thrive in any scenario because they are not limited ,to live and work ,in one environment.

Life is a never ending learning journey. The more we spread our experiences and environments, the more we learn. The pandemic has further necessitated the need to learn and adapt to different situations at a short notice or no notice at all.

Let us learn to re discover ourselves everyday.

S Ramesh Shankar

24th Dec 2024

I went on a heritage tour of temples of the Pandya dynasty (3rd century to 8th century AD). This tour was more from a temple architecture, and history perspective rather than a religious one.

These heritage tours ,can be invaluable learning lessons, in our lives. If we are willing to learn from history, the opportunities to learn are limitless. Let me illustrate with my learning’s from the Pandya dynasty, which ruled South India.

While the learnings were many, I would like to highlight a few of them. It was indeed an eye opener for me and I learnt the following life lessons from the tour :

1. Being minimalistic : The Pandyas believed in minimalistic living. If we look at their architecture or living styles, we realise, it was more functional than exhibitionistic. They did not want to waste money on architecture, which did not serve any purpose. This proved that, although they had all the money needed to lead a pompous life, they utilised it effectively, to lead a meaningful life.

2. Fairness and equity : The Kings in the Pandya dynasty ,were guided by fairness and equity ,in all their dealings. Even succession of the king was defined clearly ,so that there is no conflict ,in the minds of their heirs. Managing land or distribution of rewards, was linked to contributions by the citizens.

3. Respect for all : One of the traits, which really impressed me was their respect, for all citizens. The well read were respected and so were the artisans and the farming community. Everyone was given their place and respect in society and made to feel valued ,for their contributions to the community.

4. Care for the common man: The king was always cognisant ,of the fact that ,all their actions should ultimately lead to the care of common man. The common man ,believed in the fairness and justice of the kings, since everything was done transparently and thereby kings earned the respect of their citizens.

5. Fairness in all trade dealings: Another important learning was the fairness in trade dealings. We were told ,that if a consignment got damaged or lost in the high seas, the loss was borne by the supplier and the customer ,in equal proportions. This was a sign of fairness, which was agreed upon, even before a consignment left the shores for the customer.

6. Respecting knowledge and rewarding intellectuals: The intellectuals were respected and rewarded. The men and women of letters ,were identified and given special land and houses ,so that they can continue to pursue their journey ,to acquire more knowledge. The society was geared ,to respect the intellectuals, at all times.

7. Transparency in all walks of life : Every process in the society, was attempted to be made transparent and fair ,for all citizens. For eg, how the elections are to be held for the local village communities, was well defined. It was also defined, as to who could contest and who could not. The criminals and their close relatives were debarred ,from participating in the election process.

8. Respect for all religions: Today, we speak of secularism and respect for all religions. The Pandyas practised this ,centuries before and their culture and tradition ,still pervades in the territories they ruled, during their time. There is no known case of religious intolerance in the towns and cities even today, which owe their lineage to the pandya dynasty.

9. Water management: Water has always been a valued resource, in time. The Pandyas taught us how to manage water by building dams and canals and ensuring availability of water, in all regions of their kingdom ,right through the year. Even today, we struggle in managing water effectively ,even in areas where there is abundant rainfall and natural sources of water, like rivers and lakes.

10. Managing finances: The Pandya Kings always managed their finances of the state ,very optimally. The kings believed ,never to touch the money inherited from their predecessors ,in the treasury. Every king believed in generating revenue and spending it ,for their citizens. This is quite unlike the modern governments, where the ruling parties empty the coffers before the next government takes over.

We have a lot to learn from history and heritage. Let us open our eyes today.

S Ramesh Shankar

23rd Dec 2024