Month: May 2017

Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music – May, 2017

Welcome to May, 2017 edition of Carnival of Blogs on Golden Era of Hindi Film Music.

Month of May also has brought in two very specific posts:

Singing for a better tomorrow: A Hindi film song helpline for May Day – Ashwini Deshpande

On International Workers’ Day, a reminder of the times when lyricists, in Hindi films. These songs were filled with optimism, hope and dreams of a better life marked by equality.

Month of May also has a most significant milestone for Indian Cinema. DG Phalke’s labour of love ‘Raja Harishchandra’ was released on May 3, 1913. Here is what went into the making of the first Indian feature film – Sruthi Ganapathy Raman  recalls  that it was far from easy to make.

We will now take up the posts on the anniversaries or eulogies:

Passing away of Vinod Khanna did result in a downpour of eulogies, form all and different quarters.

  • Vinod Khanna conquered Hindi cinema by just being there – Mustansir Dalvi – When not playing the villain, Vinod Khanna played straight man to the more garrulous co-stars.
  • Thus Endeth Another Chapter of “a man with sad eyes, self-confident without being arrogant, the quietness of a man who was – finally – at peace with himself. For someone who was so much a man’s man, so ruggedly handsome, what remains with me is the half-smile that quirked his lips in the most endearing way, and the way his eyes lit up when he smiled. That smile made him at once real, and human.”
  • In Tribute: Vinod Khanna (1946-2017) – The deeply nuanced roles that went to actors like Sanjeev Kumar may not have been Vinod Khanna’s, but the roles he played, he played well. He played them convincingly, and he played them with a flair that was very appealing.
  • ‘Where are the available men’ and other tales from the sets of the sexual liberation drama ‘Rihaee’ – Arunaraje Patil faced typical and unforeseen challenges while directing her first solo feature in Gujarat in 1988 – edited excerpts from her autobiography Freedom My Story– “It was during the dubbing of Rihaee, that Vinod, finding me preoccupied, literally cornered me into telling him what the problem was. When he found out what was bothering me, he stepped out of the studio, went to his car and got me thirty thousand rupees. This was exactly what I needed for the first print. When I made a fuss about taking it, he thrust it in my hands and said, ‘Don’t worry, payable when able.’”
  • Remembering (and Re-Introducing) Vinod Khanna – Little wonder then that this strikingly handsome man, who might have made a career out of being a poster boy, letting his sunglasses and open shirts do most of the work for him, participated in a number of relatively offbeat or understated films – starting with Gulzar’s Mere Apne and Achanak and Sunil Dutt’s Reshma aur Shera, and continuing for the next two decades, through Meera, Lekin… , Muzaffar Ali’s uncompleted Zooni, or Patil’s Rihaee

Zohra Sehgal was the mother of all screen grandmothers – Rhea Nath – In movie after movie, the dancer and stage actress played a matriarch as charming as she is crusty.

Waqt Ne Kiya – The Introspective Songs of Kaifi Azmi – Peeyush Sharma – We have picked up one rare song here and one – one of the finest – at the end of our episode:

Aaj ki kaali ghata  – Uski Kahani, 1966 – Geeta Dutt – Kanu Roy

Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana: Shankar Jaikishan’s Melodies of 1971 – 18 Films, 104 Songs – Peeyush Sharma – Shankar, bade goodbye to this world on 26 April 1987. Jaikishan departed on 12th September, 1971. SJ (Shankar-Jaikishan) had 18 Hindi and one Telugu film releases this year. They had also now started working with a variety of lyricists; Hasrat was the regular as always, they added Rajendra Krishan, S H Bihari, Neeraj, Shaili Shailendra, Anand Bakshi, Varma Mallik, Indeevar and even Gulzar. Jaikishan had earlier appeared on screen way back performing on the Mukesh song, Ae pyase dil bezubaan, tujhko le jaaun kahan, in Begunaah in 1957. This year he made an appearance as Jaikishan himself, working on a balancing machine while recording the Kishore song Naach Meri Jaan Fatafat. The song went on Mehmood.

We have picked up three songs form the Telugu film Jeevitha Chakram:

Kallallo Kallupetti

Kanti Choopu (Female)

And its male version

Shankar-Jaikishan’s duets (1): Mukesh/Rafi with female singers and Shankar Jaikishan’s duets (2) is the continuum of singerwise posts for Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh, Rafi, Manna Dey, ‘Other singers’ and two posts on their dance songs – for Lata Mangeshkar and female dance duets.

The May 2017 episode of Fading Memories, Unforgettable Songs was dedicated to Snehal Bhatkar. Snehal Bhatkar composed songs for 27 Hindi films and 12 Marathi films. His contribution in Marathi NFS is also highly respected.

Here are posts on other subjects as well:

Returning to the songs of Ningalenne Communistakki (but still looking for subtitles) presents songs from a classic Malayalam film Ningalenne Communistakki.

Ashwin Bhandrakar debuts with guest post Beena madhur madhur kacchu bol in unpretentious style peppered with a dash of humour on bees and honey.

‘Pakeezah’ resonates to the sound of Meena Kumari’s anklets – Manish Gaekwad – The soundtrack of the 1972 classic was by Ghulam Mohammed, who used the foot ornaments to startling effect.

Lovers burn up the phone wires in ‘Jalte Hai Jiske Liye’– Nandini Ramnath – The song from Bimal Roy’s 1959 classic ‘Sujata’ is one of the most quietly raging love songs out there.

‘Dil Dhoondta Hai’ and the heart that never stops searching – Bubla Basu -Gulzar’s ‘Mausam’ features two versions of a love. From the first words “Dil dhoondta hai” (the heart is searching), we slip into the nostalgic, compelling mood of the film. Someone, somewhere, somehow is searching for someone. The solo is an echo of a love that is lost but not forgotten…. Madan Mohan’s haunting music and Gulzar’s evocative lyrics ensure that we recognise the song later in the film when Sanjeev Kumar and Sharmila Tagore render a longer and livelier duet.

The original ‘Meri Pyari Bindu’ from ‘Padosan’ is more than just a comical tune – The popular song by Kishore Kumar from the 1968 comedy mixes traditional Baul music with elements of the qawwali and the love ballad.

Two Mukesh duets buzzing me today: Yeh Duniya Hai… Yahan Dil Ka Lagana Kis Ko Aata Hai (Shair,1949, Ghulam Mohammad) and   Khayalon Mein Kisi Ke Is Tarah Aaya Nahin Karate (Banware Nain, 1950, Roshan).

When the bhajan ‘Om Jai Jagdish Hare’ inspired a Pakistani love song – Karan Bali – ‘Phirni Aan Main Labdi’, from the 1957 movie ‘Nooran’, features Pakistani singing sensation Noor Jehan. – Written by Hazin Qadri, Phirni Aan Main Labdi is among several wonderful tunes by composer Safdar Hussain for Nooran.

We could not make any progress in annual Micro View of Best Songs 1948 @SoY.

We end our present episode with Kafi Azmi’s the song that just sweeps you away: Tum jo mil gaye ho (Hanste Zakhm, 1973, Madan Mohan). It has got the rhythm of the crashing waves and pouring rain in every note. It rises and falls like the tidal sea waves, races like the wind and then slows down to a gentle pitter-patter only to pick up the pace again at a frenetic speed. What an amazing song, composition and rendition by the trio of Kaifi Azmi-Madan Mohan-Rafi.

Tum bhi the khoye khoye, main bhi bujhaa-bujhaa
Thaa ajnabi zamaanaa apnaa koi na thha
Dil ko jo mil gayaa hai teraa sahaaraa

I trust you will always feel free to proffer your suggestions for making this series of posts more lively and informative….

Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs – May 2017

Welcome to May, 2017 edition of Carnival of Quality Management Articles and Blogs.

We will commence our episode with a very different perspective of Quality.

Zen and the Art of Quality – By Brad Stulberg – On 24th April, 2017, Robert M. Pirsig, author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Lila died at his home in South Berwick, Maine. He was 88. Though he wrote only those two books, each will be remembered as classics of modern philosophy. For the uninitiated, the main thread underlying both books is something called Quality, a word Pirsig capitalized to indicate that it represents a unique type of event. It’s when a subject and object (or actor and act) become so intertwined that they are hard to separate; they become one. Out of that relationship, wrote Pirsig, emerges a special kind of Quality….. “To live for some future goal is shallow,” he writes in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. “It’s the sides of the mountain that sustain life, not the top … The only Zen you find on the top of the mountains is the Zen you bring up there.”

Robert Pirsig : Photo – William Morrow-HarperCollins

As can be expected, different obituaries have some or other additional input on Robert Pirsig. We have picked up two from these:

Robert Pirsig has looked at Quality not from the traditional view of the word Quality. The following discussions will open us the world of his interpretation of Quality.

Metaphysics of Quality (MoQ) is a theory of reality introduced in Robert Pirsig’s philosophical novel, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974) and expanded in Lila: An Inquiry into Morals (1991). The MOQ incorporates facets of East Asian philosophy, pragmatism, the work of F. S. C. Northrop, and indigenous American philosophy. Pirsig argues that the MOQ is a better lens through which to view reality than the traditional Dvaita/dualistic subjective/objective mindset found in the West and originated in the East. The book talks about the Indian concept of Tat Tvam Asi as opposed to Dvaita.

Robert Pirsig’s Metaphysics of Quality has a rich repertoire of resources on this subject. MOQ.org exists to provide a forum for discussion and study of the Metaphysics of Quality as proposed by Robert M Pirsig in his books.

An overview of the Metaphysics of Quality provides good basic information on the Here are some video clips on the subject.

What is the Metaphysics of Quality?

Robert M Pirsig NPR Interview July 12, 1974 is an excellent interview

YT has several more interesting video clips on the subject.

We will now turn to our regular sections:

For the present episode we have picked up the article Abandonment, Concentration & Pareto’s Law: A Tested Way to Achieve Quantum Leaps in Individual and Organizational Productivity from Drucker Perspective column @ Management Matters Network.

“Concentration is the key to economic results… Economic results require managers concentrate their efforts on the smallest number of products, product lines, services, customers, markets, distributive channels, end-uses, and so on, that will produce the largest amount of revenue.” — Peter F. Drucker

Drucker, Zipf, and Juran observed that aggregate data misinform, misdirect, mislead…Every manager, to be effective, must assume an imbalance exists with respect to resource allocation—and must work hard to incrementally change the ratio…The relationship between efforts and results are generally in a state of imbalance. The imbalance may be 65/35, 70/30, 75/25, 80/20 or 99/1, or any set of numbers in between. ..The key is to alter the ratio between effort and results.

From Ask The Experts, I have picked up a question – Defining Qualification, Verification, and Validation – which many of quality professional would be interested in revisiting. The answer has laid out the classic definitions from ISO 9000 and explained the terms from different angles as well.

There is no update in our ASQ CEO, Bill Troy column this time. So I went to the beginning of the A View from the Q and find a post:  The Century of Quality – That in other word would mean: “What would it take for the 21st Century to be the Century of Quality?” This is a challenge for the quality community. We need to reach executives and convince them to provide visible leadership on the topic of quality. What language do we use (to communicate with others in this regards)? Jennifer Stepniowski provides great advice— keep it simple and relevant….Let’s pay special attention to executives who get it and work to make sure their voices are heard!

We now watch two of the latest ASQ TV  episode:

  • Ralph de la Vega, Vice Chairman at AT&T, announces today as the Golden Age of Quality; a time when companies need to build quality into the product and service and detect problems before they occur.
  • SR and Quality: A Perfect Fit – Willy Vandenbrande, founder and president, QS Consult, tells quality professionals they are in a perfect position to take on their organizations’ SR initiatives and that SR fits well into the future of quality.
  • Lean, Change, and Invaluable People – Scott McAllister, Vice President of Growth, Prosci, describes research detailing the direct correlation between change management effectiveness and business results improvement. The research also shows sponsorship to be the most important factor. McAllister shares a method to get the most out of sponsors.
  • Root Cause Analysis – Learn about a new approach to Five Whys and Root Cause Analysis and get a refresher on the “Is/Is Not” analysis — plus, the case for asking “Why not?”

“Square in the Crosshairs”, Matthew Barsalou, QP, 2017

  • Asking “Why Not?” – The five whys method is a way of drilling down to the root of a problem. Consider adding the question “why not?”

“Five Whys and a Why Not”, Alan Fogle and Edward Kandler, QP, 2017

  • Is/Is Not Comparative Analysis Tool – An “is/is not” comparative analysis can be a good tool for figuring out the root cause-or, what the problem is or is not about. This tool is useful when you need to: Understand plausible problem causes amid many possible causes Identify issues that are not related to the problem.

“Get to the Root of it”, David M. Rucker, QP, 2010

Jim L. Smith’s Jim’s Gems for the month of April, 2017:

  • Human Side of Six Sigma : The tools are nice, but they are less important than the team process – No matter how elegant a quality tool is it is impossible to implement solutions without giving consideration to the human factor. For Six Sigma, this means focusing efforts on employee involvement far beyond the color of someone’s belt.
  • You Become What You Think – The focus of your thinking becomes important when you realize the following formula RT = E + B. Your thoughts create results, which stem from your emotions, from which your behavior is created. It is actually your behavior that produces results whether it’s good or not so good…Mike Dooley, entrepreneur and best-selling author, says “Choose Them wisely: Thoughts Become Things.”

I look forward to your active participation in enriching the blog carnival as we pursue our journey in exploring the happenings across quality management blogs…………

Note: The images depicted here above are through courtesy of respective websites who have the copyrights for the respective images.

Fading Memories…. Unforgettable Songs: May, 2017

Snehal Bhatkar – Hamaari Yaad Aayegi

Most of the Hindi Film songs fans should not find it difficult to remember that composer of one of Mubarak Begum’s iconic Song Kabhi Tanhaiyon Mein…. Hamari Yaad Aayegi is Snehal Bhatkar.

Snehal Bhatkar (original name Vasudev Gangaram Bhatkar, a.k.a. Vasudev, B. Vasudev, Snehal and V G Bhatkar) – 17th July, 1919 / 29th May, 2007 has composed songs for 27 Hindi films and 12 Marathi films. His contribution in Marathi NFS is also highly respected.

Snehal Bhatkar’s maiden film as a music director was Rukamani Swayamvar, in 1946, jointly with Sudhir (Phadke). In the credits of the film, his name appears as Vasudev.

Mera Sandesha Le Jaa – Rukimani Swayamvar (1946) – Lalita Deulkar

His first film as a solo music director was Neel Kamal (1947) where his name appears as B Vasudev in the titles. This is also the debut film of Raj Kapoor and Madhubala.

Jaiyo Na Bides Mora Jiya Bhar Aayega – Neel Kamal (1947) – Rajkumari, B Vasudev – Lyrics : Kedar Sharma

All songs lip-synched by Raj Kapoor in this film have B Vasudev’s playback voice. Songs of Mukesh are rendered by other characters on the screen in the film.

Snehal Bhatkar continued to use B Vaudev for his next two films – Suhag Raat (1948) and Thes (1949)

Ye Bura Kiya Jo Saaf Saaf Keh Diya Ke Mere Sanware Piya, Tose Door Rah Ke Chain Paye Na Jiya – Suhag Raat (1948) – Rajkumari, Mukesh – Lyrics: Kedar Sharma

This the debut film of Bharat Bhushan and Geeta Bali.

In order to listen to Geeta Dutt under Snehal Bhatkar’s baton, we will take up one more song from this film.

Mere Dil Ki Ho Mere Sine Ki Mere Dhadkano Me Sakhi Kaun Aa Samaya – Suhag Raat (1948) – Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum – Lyrics: Kedar Sharma

In 1950, Shobhna Samarth took up her first production and directorial venture, Hamari Ladki. Probably, that prompted Snehal Bhatkar to switch his identity too. He now adopted Snehal Bhatkar as his new pseudonym. ‘Snehal’ in this name was prompted by the name of her new born daughter, Snehlata.

Tujhe Kaisa Dulha Bhaye Ri,Banki Dulhaniya – Hamari Beti (1950) – Nutan – Lyrics: Pt. Phani

Shobhna Samarth not only launched her older daughter Nutan with this film, she also introduced her younger daughter Tanuja as a ‘baby’ in the film. Nutan herself sings her first song on both sides of the screen.

An Aside:

It is so very well known that Nutan did sing for herself again in Chhabili (1960). This was also produced and directed by Shobhna Samarth and had Tanuja in side main role along with Nutan in the lead. Her songs Aye Mere Humsafar and Laheron Pe Lahar (with Hemant Kumar), Yaaron Kisi Na Kehna  (with Geeta Dutt) or Mila Le Haath (with Sudha Malhotra) are remembered even today.

Nutan also gave voice to her own songs in a 1983 film Mayuri, for which she also penned the lyrics as well. Kanu Roy had composed these songs.

Nainan Me Barsaat Man Me Kaajal Kaali Raat, Andhkar Hi Andhkar Hai Diwas Rain Ban Jaat – Nand Kishore 1951 – Lata Mangeshkar – Lyrics: Pt. Narendra Sharma

The film has had set up Lata Mangeshkar’s strong connection with Snehal Bhatkar.

Rut Basant Ki Mad Bhari Phulo Ka Saringa, Aaja Mere Bhawara Kaliyan Kare pukar, Chaloge Kya Chaloge Kya Sang Mere Saath – Bhola Shankar (1951) – Rajkumari – Lyrics: Bharat VyasThe film has two each of Lata Mangeshkar’ s and Rajkumari’s solo songs. I have picked up one of Rajkumari’s playful solo song. Snehal Bhatkar has also sang a duet and two triplets in the film. However, soft links of these songs do not seem to be available.

Snehal Bhatkar did have one film – Gunaah – in 1953. Of the songs composed by Snehal Bhtakar, the songs available on YT are of Lata Mangeshkar. So, in order to get as many more singers to listen to under Snehal Bhatkar’s baton, we will take up his three films in 1955 and one in 1956.

Pyar Ki Nazro Se Unko Dekhta Jata Hai Dil, Baat Unke Samne Kahne Se Ghabrata Hai Dil – Aaj Ki Baat (1955) – Talat Mahmood – Lyrics: Raj Baldev Raj

This is Leela Chitnis’s maiden production – direction venture. The song is a rare Talat Mahmood song, which has been covered up in the dusts of oblivions.

Mera Resham Ka Rumaal Kare Jadu Ka Kamaal, Mai Aayi Hu Aasman Se Suno Jami Pe Rahne Walo, Aasman Par Bade Maje Hai, Aasman Ka Tiket Katalo Tiket Katalo – Daku 1955 – Anwar Husain, Asha Bhosle – Lyrics: Kaif Irani

Anwar Hussain is the son of second marriage of Jaddanbai – with Irshaad Meer Khan, and thus step brother of Nargis, who was the offspring of Jaddanbai’s third marriage – this time with Mohan Babu. In the present song, Asha Bhosale plays back for Azuri – a celebrated dancer of her time – and Anwar Hussain sings the song for himself more as a side kick.

Chupke Chupke Koi Mere Sapno Me Aane Laga….Dhire Dhire Koi Mere Dil Ko Tadpane Laga – Bindiya (1955) – Madhubala Zaveri – Lyrics: S H Bihari

When a music director has not succeeded on the box office, he gets more of B or C grade films. These films do not have budgets that neither can support famous singers nor can make room for these songs in their packed schedules. As a result, the music director has to up his creative talent and try out relatively not so successful singers. However, in the retrospect now, we as listeners are gainers.

Bhaun Bhaun Bhaun Bhaun….Chhota Sa Pappu Hun Jaau Kaha…. – Jaldeep (1956)

We now have a totally different, very light and apparently frivolous song, wherein we see Snehal Bhatkar in quite a new light. The playback singer for the songs is  identified. As can be seen in the notes to video clip, on  screen, we see three children. The elder male child is Ashok Sharma (son of Kidar Sharma). The female child is Preetibala, who later came into mainstream Hindi films as Zeb Rehman. The younger male child is Dubey.

Before we conclude today’s episode, we will take up the maiden solo song of Mahendra Kapoor.

Tere Dar Ki Bhik Mangi Hai O Daata Duiya -Diwali Ki Raat-1956 – Mahendra Kapoor – Lyrics: Madhukar Rajasthani

It is matter of well-settled records that Mahendra Kapoor’s maiden song in Hindi Films was Kisi Ke Zulm Ki Tasveer, a duet composed by V Balsara for Madmast (1953). D. Indorewala accopanied Mahendra Kapoor in that song. The present song goes in the records as a maiden solo song of Mahendra Kapoor.

Continuing with our tradition of ending every episode with a Mohammad Rafi song, we will end our present episode with the probably the first duet of Mukesh with Mohammad Rafi :

Baat To Kuchch Bhi Nahi, Dil Hai Ke Bhar Aaya Hai – Thes (1949) – Lyrics: Kedar Sharma

We will continue our search for Unforgettable Songs that seem to Fading away from our Memories every second Sunday of the month……..

Disclaimer: All images are sourced from net. All copyrights of the respective image remain with the original owner of the image.

Business Sutra |2.1 | Does a leader create, sustain or destroy?

Business Sutra |2| Leadership

In the first episode of the TV serial on CNBC 18, spread over three segments, Devdutt Pattanaik presented to us the most visible form of the business – the corporation : its meaning, its purpose and its action perspective.

In the second episode Devdutt Pattanaik discusses Leadership. What is the role of a leader? Does he exist for the goals or for the followers? The goals being too impersonal, he feels leadership should be about people. That is why Mughals rulers were called Jahanpanah – shelter of the world or Maratha rulers as Chhtrapati – the bearer of the roof. Leaders care for their people, give them direction and purpose. However a manager is, typically, focused on a goal. In fact, so much focused on the goal that, over the time, people, or ethics, stop to matter.

In our present post, take up first segment of the second episode and see whether a leader should be like Indra or be like Vishnu.

Business Sutra |2.1 | Does a leader create, sustain or destroy?

Leadership should be one of the most discussed, extensively studies and exhaustively documented subject in the field of management art and science.

So we will take only so much of references from the western world that can set the tone of our topic.

Marissa Levin’s article – Preserve, Destroy, Create: Your Only Path to Breakthrough Growth – quite succinctly reflects the western world’ views on role of the leadership w.r.t. to the title of our post:

Over lunch with my executive coach, Mike Harden (www.ceosuccesscoach.com) I learned that business activity falls into three buckets: Preservation, Destruction, or Creation. These buckets can actually be applied to any life situation, from something serious like ending a relationship,  to something “easy” like cleaning out your closet or changing your diet/workout habits.

Preservation: Keeping the lights on

Most organizational activity can be categorized as “Preservation.” Everything a business owner does to keep the company running falls into this bucket .All of these activities are necessary but too much of a focus on them creates a short-term mindset, or a mindset that is focused on immediate needs. Preservation happens when a company expends energy on leveraging existing competencies, rather than developing new competencies, or worrying about today’s competitors, rather than scanning the landscape for new entrants.

Destruction: Courage to discard the broken and outdated

For a business to grow, it must closely analyze what isn’t working. This is where the Destruction phase comes in…Not everything we do today works for us. It takes courage, but to move forward, we need to selectively forget the past. ..To quote one of my all-time favorite authors Marshall Goldsmith, “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.”  (http://www.marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com/html/marshall/books.html)

It is the pain of the change that brings the reward of the growth.

Creation: Infusing new life

Creation activities prepare your company for long-term growth – beyond survival.

Linear vs. non-linear thinking

Creation also means breaking away from linear thinking in which a company simply makes a current product better.

Non-linear thinking doesn’t make a product better; it makes a new product. It requires the ability to forget the past, move beyond organizational memory, and create a new future. It’s looking at all situations with a “wouldn’t-it-be-cool-if…” perspective to formulate ideas on where you want to be in the future.

Moving from surviving to thriving

So how does a company incorporate the three phases of Preservation, Destruction, and Creation? It starts with awareness of the idea that some practices just have to go. Simply being aware of the need to make a change is the first step in making it. This step, followed by the change itself (to include getting rid of the old to make room for the new), leads to breakthrough growth.

Awareness, courage, action, reward form the recipe for making the changes you need to take your organization to the next level.

The following image presents another – more mundane – facet of Destruction. This very clearly puts across the impact of role the leadership, knowingly or unknowingly, plays in this process.

Kathy Caprino, in her article – 7 Traits of Inspiring Leadership That Uplifts rather Than Destroys – provides direct linkages of the role of leadership on the destiny of the organization:

  • They are clear about the challenges ahead, but they inspire faith, hope and collaboration, not fear.
  • Blame is not in their rhetoric – they never stoop to recrimination or demeaning, belittling language.
  • Their self-esteem is strong enough to take constructive criticism and critique, and in fact, they welcome it.
  • Their communication style is positive, with words that inspire greatness and growth in us.
  • They don’t surround themselves only with people who “yes” them – they surround themselves with diversity, truth and openness.
  • The success that they long for is success and opportunity for all – not just one faction, group, or organization.
  • They operate at all times with integrity, truthfulness and transparency, even when that’s excruciatingly difficult to do.

Now, let us look at what Devdutt Pattanaik has to say in Segment 1 of the episode 2 – Does a leader create, sustain or destroy?

In his present talk, he has used the role models of Indra and Vishnu to present how Indian mythology looks at the role of leadership.

Indra, king of gods and the lord of heaven is in constant pursuit of success and wealth Lakshmi but Lakshmi prefers the side of Vishnu.  Are you Indra chasing success or are you Vishnu with success chasing you?

Therein lies the answer to who is a leader and what are the ideal leadership qualities.

Indra really is not a leader because the definition of leader here we are talking about is someone with a wider role. What is Vishnu’s role? He is taking care of the world.  In other words this means his reference point of action is the world, others not him. It is not about self-actualization. He is not trying to actualize himself. He is taking care of others and in just doing that he becomes a fortune magnet. Indra the other hand is taking care of nobody except for himself, his own self-actualization.

Indra is self-focused and therefore is insecure, and therefore chases Lakshmi.  Vishnu is focused on the others, therefore more secure, and therefore Lakshmi chases him.

In fact, Vishnu is not secure because he looks at the others. He is secure, and therefore looks at the others.

And yet when we talk about the creation of the world, we talk about three gods. At least, this is popular perception. These are: Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the God that maintains) and Shiv (the destroyer).  So the logical question is why is Vishnu the most important of these three gods and the most revered?

When we talk about creation, even the word creation implicitly visualizes the god as it is told in the Bible, one who creates the world. But in the Indian context the man who is creating the world is not worshipped, but the one who is destroying the world is being worshipped. Now either we are mad or there is a problem with our understanding of the words.

Creating what? Destroying what? Preserving what? These are the questions to be asked.

When we see Brahma’s action, when you read the scriptures, it can be seen that He is a God who is yearning constantly, he’s chasing things because he is seeking to understand who he is and therefore he creates the world to answer this question of who he is. When he creates the world, rather than figuring out the answer he starts chasing it and wants to possess it and wants to control it, wants to dominate it. In the process, he lost his eye and he has lost his original purpose. So he is forgotten, and therefore should not be worshipped. Because of his yearning he is chasing the wrong thing.

One could say that this Brahma is aham brahmasmi, you and I.  We, as human beings keep chasing something, so we keep losing sight of what we really want and we have to introspect to figure out what it is.

On the other hand the gods that are worshipped are Vishnu and Shiva. Neither of these gods chase the goddess but the goddesses comes to them. Now, the difference between these two gods is: Shiva says the world doesn’t matter, this is wrong, it is Maya , a  delusion, I shut my eyes to the world and I switch off. So he gives up, he lets go. Vishnu says when the world doesn’t matter so let us enjoy it. It is a question of perspective.

We, thus, have three different characters in mythology, which are engaging with the three currencies in a very different way. One says I (constantly) yearn for Lakshmi, Saraswathi and / or Durga. That’s Brahma. That’s you and I.  This is no average human being.  On the other extreme is Shiva who just switches off. He does not want any of these. So he is Vairagi, the Hermit. He is surrounded by cold icy mountains, the destruction. He is switched off. The goddess goes to him and says you know what you may have figured it out but the rest of the world has not. So please, open the eyes. She marries him, appeals to him to engage with the world.  Now, you have two forms of Shiva – Shiva whose eyes are shut and Shankara whose eyes are open. He is the benevolent one, the boon giving one.  He is engaged with the world. The Vishnu is that the server, his eyes are always open. So when you go to Vishnu temple, you will find his eyes are always open, he  is looking at you and is amused by you. He is amused because we are all Bramhas, he is caring, telling us that you know your direction is wrong. In that respect he is similar to Shankara.

This is what we need to try and be. This is what a leader should be, which means he is to be wise enough to care. So leader is someone who enables you to grow materially (L), intellectually (S) and emotionally (D). That is the role of the leader. In doing so, grows himself, so your growth becomes his growth.

So the logical question is – why is the Creator, the man who has helped create all of these, not given equal importance.

To answer this we have to find out what has he created. To know this, we have to go back to the Scriptures. He has created desire, he has created ignorance, he has created the chase. He has created the reckless human being, he has created rat race. Now would you worship the creator of the rat race or will you worship the person who tells you how to step out from the rat race so that the goddess of wealth chases you. You decide.

We have two apparently divergent views.  What would be applicable depends on the context of the situation. You decide which model you would follow

These discussions are as much applicable to leadership in the management of business as leadership in type of human activity.

In our next session next month, we will take up segment 2 of second episode – Leadership – of Devdutt Pattanaik’s TV serial Business Sutra viz. Context of leaders

Note: The images used in this post are the irrevocable property of their respective creator. They have been taken up courtesy the internet, so as to illustrate the point under discussion.