Tag Archives: narayana murthy

BOOK REVIEW: INDIA’S GREATEST SPEECHES compiled by Nitin Agarwal

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Khidki (Window)

–Read India Initiative—

This is only an attempt to create interest in reading. We may not get the time to read all the books in our lifetime. But such reviews, talk and synopsis will at least convey what the book is all about.

‘INDIA’S GREATEST SPEECHES’

compiled by Nitin Agarwal.

Publisher: Grapevine India Publishers Ltd.

Published in 2014.

Price Rs/ 195.

Pages 325

    Most of the speeches are available in the archives. Yet, I would say Nitin has done a good job of providing them in a ready made platter.  The selection of speeches and the introduction of the personality before each speech is also quite absorbing. At times we all feel we know a celebrity quite well but when you start reading about him you feel otherwise.

    On the whole, it’s a stimulating collection of thoughtful speeches delivered by some of the most prominent personalities of India. But then, one view point could be, why, read these speeches at all? Why look back? What do you gain out of them? Well, let me tell you. Behind, every speech lies the covert and overt accomplishment of the personality. The essence of the orator’s personality, which knowingly or unknowingly, directly or indirectly comes out for the betterment of the common man. There is a verse in Gita that says, ‘Masses follow the classes.’ Moreover, speeches often silhouette the inveterate mind-set of the orator. It at times, even, doubles up as a mini biography of the personality.

    Set to inspire, the book includes, some of the most stirring and eloquent addresses by Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Mother Teresa, JRD Tata, Abdul Kalam, Narendra Modi and many other influential Indian leaders.

    Book starts with a short insight from Bhagavad Gita. It then goes on to cover twenty five speeches of 23 cynosure personalities of India. One will find, a good amount of historical perspective in some of the speeches. Almost all speeches are loaded with aspects of challenge, failure, success struggle, decision making, telling of tough tales and life lessons and in the ultimate, the making of those towering personalities.

    An interesting pattern that unknowingly emerges out of the book is, the feel of what India, or the bigwigs of India were, towards the end of the nineteenth century, when Swami Vivekananda delivered that famous speech in Chicago in 1893 up to almost a decade and a half after independence say 1965, and how India changed after 1965, and with that, the personalities, the viewpoints, the values and even the ambitions. The world of today has become more complex, where competition has intensified, struggles, have become long and even tougher. Globalisation has taken over issues and nothing is isolated and everything is known to everyone. The speeches post 1965 reflect that in some way or the other.  So, times have changed. The span of speeches is from 1893 to present days.

    There are two speeches of Mahatma Gandhi delivered in the years 1912 and 1922. When you read these speeches you get an eerie feeling, as to how different, India has become, since then. Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s famous daring statement before Lahore High Court Bench exhibits his jasba … his passion for his motherland—India.

    In the year 1937 Veer Damodar Savarkar then president of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha delivered a speech in Karnavati defining Hinduism which is very interesting. There are other master pieces too, namely Tagore in 1941, and Dr Radhakrishnan in 1947.

    Then you have the famous speeches of Subhas Chandra Bose—Give me Blood and I promise you Freedom, and Nehru’s ‘Tryst with Destiny.’

    In the year 1948 Sardar Vallabhbai Patel delivered his famous speech at Calcutta Maidan on unification of India. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya a very important leader of Jana Sangh, (now morphed into BJP) in the year 1965 had addressed a full house on Integral Humanism.

    One is really moved by the humbleness of Mother Teresa when one goes through her address that she made in 1979 in that historic speech at the time of accepting the Nobel Peace Prize and JRD Tata’s, superlative speech in the year 1982 on his Historic Flight Re-enactment and that famous speech of Mrs Gandhi, her last one in 1984 after which she was assassinated.

    Who can forget Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s famous 2001 address in United Nations General Assembly? And, Narayana Murthy, in his 2007, pre-commencement address at New York University describing his volatile journey.

    There are two speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered in 2014, one at FICCI Ahmedabad and the second on Independence Day that outlines India’s future and what he intends doing for the country. Then we have President Abdul Kalam’s par-excellence speech that he delivered in 2011 which is so very educative.

    On the creative side there is AR Rahman’s 2009, Oscar Awards Acceptance address and Shahrukh Khan’s famous, ‘Courage in Success’ delivered in 2013.

    Lifetime Achievement Awards don’t come easy. Everyone knows about the struggle Azim Premji took to erect his mighty Empire. He speaks on the occasion in the year 2013, at the Economic Times Awards.

    And last but not the least the making of the world champions. Sports achievements are one of the toughest where you start alone and if you’re not successful you go into oblivion followed by depression. There are three wonderful speeches. One is by Viswanathan Anand, 2007, Speech at NIIT Chennai, second is by Abhinav Bindra, 2013, at GoSports Foundation Conclave and the third is by Master Blaster Sachin Tendular, 2013, A Farewell to Cricket.

    Overall it’s an interesting read, if you want to know about these personalities and their tedious journey to fame.

A list of speeches is as follows:     

  1. Swami Vivekananda 1893 The Chicago Address (Opening Day).
  2. Mahatma Gandhi 1912 Banaras Hindu University Speech.
  3. Mahatma Gandhi 1922 The Great Trial of 1922.
  4. Shaheed Bhagat Singh 1930 Statement before the Lahore High Court Bench.
  5. Veer Damodar Savarkar 1937 Presidential Address, Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha defining Hinduism.
  6. Rabindranath Tagore, 1941, Civilization’s Crisis, The Last Testament of Tagore.
  7. Subhas Chandra Bose, 1944, Give Me Blood and I Promise You Freedom.
  8. Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, 1947, Speech as First Vice-President of India.
  9. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, 1947, Tryst with Destiny.
  10. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, 1948, Speech at Calcutta Maidan.
  11. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, 1965, Lecture on Integral Humanism.
  12. Mother Teresa, 1979, Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance.
  13. JRD Tata, 1982, Historic Flight Re-enactment.
  14. Indira Gandhi, 1984, The Last Speech.
  15. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, 2001, United Nations General Assembly Speech.
  16. Narayana Murthy, 2007, Pre-commencement address at New York University.
  17. Viswanathan Anand, 2007, Speech at NIIT, Chennai.
  18. AR Rahman, 2009, Oscar Awards Acceptance.
  19. APJ Abdul Kalam, 2011, Vision of India.
  20. Abhinav Bindra, 2013, GoSports Foundation Conclave.
  21. Shahrukh Khan, 2013, Courage in Success.
  22. Sachin Tendulkar, 2013, A Farewell to Cricket.
  23. Azim Premji, 2013, Lifetime Achievement Award Acceptance, Economic Times Awards.
  24. Narendra Modi, 2014, Speech at FICCI, Ahmedabad.
  25. Narendra Modi, 2014, Independence Day Speech.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

*

Share it if you like it

*

Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

 

 

 

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INDIA’S GREATEST SPEECHES compiled by Nitin Agarwal

Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Copyright@shravancharitymission

Khidki (Window)

–Read India Initiative—

This is only an attempt to create interest in reading. We may not get the time to read all the books in our lifetime. But such reviews, talk and synopsis will at least convey what the book is all about.

     The publisher of this book is Grapevine India Publishers Ltd, published in 2014. The price of this book is Rs 195. It comprises of 325 pages. Most of the speeches are available in the archives. Yet, I would say Nitin has done a good job of providing them in a readymade platter.  The selection of speeches and the introduction of the personality before each speech is also quite absorbing. Friends, at times we all feel we know a celebrity quite well but when you start reading about him you feel otherwise.

    Overall, it’s a stimulating collection of thoughtful speeches delivered by some of the most prominent personalities of India. But then, one view point could be, why, read these speeches at all? And, what do you gain out of them? Well, let me tell you. Behind every speech lies the covert and overt accomplishment of the personality. Rather, the essence of the orator’s personality, which knowingly or unknowingly, directly or indirectly comes out for the betterment of the common man. There is a verse in Gita that says, ‘Masses follow the classes.’ Moreover, speeches often silhouette the inveterate mindset of the orator. It at times even doubles up as a mini biography of the personality.

    Set to inspire, the book includes some of the most stirring and eloquent addresses by Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Mother Teresa, JRD Tata, Abdul Kalam, Narendra Modi and many other influential Indian leaders.

    Book starts with a short insight from Bhagavad Gita. It then goes on to cover twenty five speeches of 23 cynosure personalities of India. One will find, a good amount of historical perspective in some of the speeches. Almost all speeches are loaded with aspects of challenge, failure, success struggle, decision making, telling of tough tales and life lessons and in the ultimate, the making of those towering personalities.

    An interesting pattern that unknowingly emerges out of the book is, the feel, of what India, or the bigwigs of India were, towards the end of the nineteenth century, when Swami Vivekananda delivered that famous speech in Chicago in 1893 up to almost a decade and a half after independence say 1965, and how India changed after 1965, and with that, the personalities, the viewpoints, the values and even the ambitions. The world of today has become more complex, competition has intensified, struggles have become long and even tougher. Globalisation has taken over issues and nothing is isolated and everything is known to everyone. The speeches post 1965 reflect that in some way or the other.  So, times have changed. The span of speeches is from 1893 to present days.

    There are two speeches of Mahatma Gandhi delivered in the years 1912 and 1922. When you read these speeches you get an eerie feeling, as to how different, India has become, since then. Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s famous daring statement before Lahore High Court Bench exhibits his jasba … his passion for his motherland—India.

    In the year 1937 Veer Damodar Savarkar then president of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha delivered a speech in Karnavati defining Hinduism which is very interesting. There are other master pieces too, namely Tagore in 1941, and Dr Radhakrishnan in 1947.

    Then you have the famous speeches of Subhas Chandra Bose—Give me Blood and I promise you Freedom, and Nehru’s ‘Tryst with Destiny.’

    In the year 1948 Sardar Vallabhbai Patel delivered his famous speech at Calcutta Maidan on unification of India. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya a very important leader of Jana Sangh, (now morphed into BJP) in the year 1965 had addressed a full house on Integral Humanism. One is really moved by the humbleness of Mother Teresa when one goes through her address that she made in 1979 in that historic speech at the time of accepting the Nobel Peace Prize and JRD Tata’s, superlative speech in the year 1982 on his Historic Flight Re-enactment and that famous speech of Mrs Gandhi, her last one in 1984 after which she was assassinated.

    Who can forget Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s famous 2001 address in United Nations General Assembly. And, Narayana Murthy, in his 2007, Pre-commencement address at New York University describing his volatile journey.

    There are two Speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered in 2014, one at FICCI Ahmedabad and the second on Independence Day that outlines India’s future and what he intends doing for the country. Then we have President Abdul Kalam’s par-excellence speech that he delivered in 2011 which is so very educative.

    On the creative side there are AR Rahman’s 2009, Oscar Awards Acceptance address and Shahrukh Khan’s famous, ‘Courage in Success’ delivered in 2013.

    Lifetime Achievement Awards don’t come easy. Everyone knows about the struggle Azim Premji took to erect his mighty Empire. He speaks on the occasion in the year 2013, at the Economic Times Awards.  And last but not the least the making of the world champions. Sports achievements are one of the toughest where you start alone and if you’re not successful you go into oblivion followed by depression. There are three wonderful speeches. One is by Viswanathan Anand, 2007, Speech at NIIT Chennai, second is by Abhinav Bindra, 2013, at GoSports Foundation Conclave and the third is by Master Blaster Sachin Tendular, 2013, A Farewell to Cricket.

    Overall it’s an interesting read, if you want to know about these personalities and their tedious journey to fame.

    A list of speeches follows:     

  1. Swami Vivekananda 1893 The Chicago Address (Opening Day)
  2. Mahatma Gandhi 1912 Banaras Hindu University Speech
  3. Mahatma Gandhi 1922 The Great Trial of 1922
  4. Shaheed Bhagat Singh 1930 Statement before the Lahore High Court Bench
  5. Veer Damodar Savarkar 1937 Presidential Address, Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha defining Hinduism.
  6. Rabindranath Tagore, 1941, Civilization’s Crisis, The Last Testament of Tagore
  7. Subhas Chandra Bose, 1944, Give Me Blood and I Promise You Freedom
  8. Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, 1947, Speech as First Vice-President of India
  9. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, 1947, Tryst with Destiny
  10. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, 1948, Speech at Calcutta Maidan
  11. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, 1965, Lecture on Integral Humanism
  12. Mother Teresa, 1979, Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance
  13. JRD Tata, 1982, Historic Flight Re-enactment
  14. Indira Gandhi, 1984, The Last Speech
  15. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, 2001, United Nations General Assembly Speech
  16. Narayana Murthy, 2007, Pre-commencement address at New York University
  17. Viswanathan Anand, 2007, Speech at NIIT, Chennai
  18. AR Rahman, 2009, Oscar Awards Acceptance
  19. APJ Abdul Kalam, 2011, Vision of India
  20. Abhinav Bindra, 2013, GoSports Foundation Conclave
  21. Shahrukh Khan, 2013, Courage in Success
  22. Sachin Tendulkar, 2013, A Farewell to Cricket
  23. Azim Premji, 2013, Lifetime Achievement Award Acceptance, Economic Times Awards
  24. Narendra Modi, 2014, Speech at FICCI, Ahmedabad
  25. Narendra Modi, 2014, Independence Day Speech

By Kamlesh Tripathi

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

*

Share it if you like it

*

Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

 

 

 

INTERESTING FACTS FIGURES AND QUOTES, EPISODE 31

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Copyright@shravancharitymission

 

There is a tendency in India if something is good, mix some kind of politics in it and destroy it. After all politics is the will of the people.

Double, double, toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble.‘ is one of the most famous lines in English literature. These lines are spoken in unison by three witches who predict Macbeth’s future throughout the play. These lines show how what the witches say can have double meanings and can be contradictory.

Non-violence is the first article of my faith. It is also the last article of my creed—Mahatma Gandhi.

A country has a trade-deficit when it imports more than it exports. Trump thinks of it as as something bad which it is not. I run a trade deficit with my domestic help and my local grocery store. I buy more from them then they do from me.

The greater misfortune is that the Englishmen and their Indian associates in the administration of the country do not know that they are engaged in a crime I have attempted to describe—Mahatma Gandhi in his oral statement on March 18, 1922.

That quintessential American product, the I-Phone, uses parts from 43 countries. As local products rise in price because of expensive foreign parts, price rise, demand goes down, jobs are lost and everyone is worse off.

According to a German philosopher, we are what we eat, as what we eat makes up not just our bodies but also shapes our tastes, inclinations and personality in general.

‘Don’t let the fox guard the hen house’ means don’t assign the duty of protecting or controlling valuable information or resources to someone who is likely to exploit that opportunity.

The proverb ‘fence eating the crop’ comes from a skepticism of those who break laws they are supposed to uphold.

When you are finished changing, you are finished—Benjamin Franklin.

The Kingdom of Nepal stands out today as the only Hindu Kingdom in the world whose independence is recognised by England, France, Italy and other great powers—Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, 1937.

One cannot believe that Indians are in any way inferior to the Japanese in intellectual capacity. The most effective difference between these two eastern peoples is that whereas India lies at the mercy of the British, Japan has been spared the shadow of domination—Rabindranath Tagore, 1941.

All brands of people are arrayed on Congress Platform. If there can be a magic box which contains a Cobra and a mongoose living together, it is Congress—Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.

Britishers were a representative of the West, ruled this country for over a century and, during this period adopted such measures whereby in the minds of our people, a contempt for things Bharatiya and respect for everything Western were subtly created.—Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, 1965.

Mother Teresa believed that abortion is the highest form of evil, as it is the killing of a life that has already been conceived.

It is less important, I believe, where you start. It is more important how and what you learn. If the learning is high, the development gradient is steep, and, given time, you can find yourself in a previously unattainable place. I believe the Infosys story is living proof of this—Narayana Murthy.

Sometimes when you have a goal in front of you it is easy to focus. Cyclists have pelotons who give them that focus as to what they should achieve in short bursts—Viswanathan Anand.

China and India have two of the world’s four largest militaries.

The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It has the world’s largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materials from the early modern period (1500–1750). The library was established by Henry Clay Folger in association with his wife, Emily Jordan Folger. It opened in 1932, two years after his death.

From Alexander onwards, the Greeks, the Turks, the Moguls, the Portuguese, the British, the French, the Dutch, all of them came and looted us, took over what was ours. Yet we have not done this to any other nation. We have not conquered anyone. We have not grabbed their land, their culture, their history and tried to enforce our way of life on them. Why? Because we respect the freedom of others—APJ Abdul Kalam.

No matter how many people support you and help you, when you perform, you are alone—Abhinav Bindra.

I may never be perfect. That’s okay. But I can always be better than I was yesterday—Abinav Bindra.

India imports 90% oil, 100% gold and 100% copper.

There is an old racist saying ‘once you go black you can’t go back’ (a Google search will reveal its meaning).

What makes PM2.5 particles extremely dangerous is their cancerous ability to penetrate human body and stick onto to the insides of the lungs. According to a recent study conducted by IIT Kanpur the mix sources responsible for PM2.5 changes seasonally in the region. In winters vehicular emissions account for 25% of PM2.5; 30% is accounted for by sulphur and nitrogen oxide emissions from vehicles, industry and power generation facilities; 26% comes from burning of wood, cow dung, and agricultural waste for cooking and heating; 8% comes from burning of garbage; 5% from the burning of coal and fly ash; 4% from agricultural and road dust; and 2% from construction dust.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

*

Share it if you like it

*

Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

 

 

 

Speech of Narayana Murthy

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Exuberant speech of Narayana Murthy at New York University (Stern School of Business)
Dean Cooley, faculty, staff, distinguished guests, and, most importantly, the graduating class of 2007, it is a great privilege to speak at your commencement ceremonies.
I thank Dean Cooley and Prof Marti Subrahmanyam for their kind invitation. I am exhilarated to be part of such a joyous occasion. Congratulations to you, the class of 2007, on completing an important milestone in your life journey.
After some thought, I have decided to share with you some of my life lessons. I learned these lessons in the context of my early career struggles, a life lived under the influence of sometimes unplanned events which were the crucibles that tempered my character and reshaped my future.
I would like first to share some of these key life events with you, in the hope that these may help you understand my struggles and how chance events and unplanned encounters with influential persons shaped my life and career.
Later, I will share the deeper life lessons that I have learned. My sincere hope is that this sharing will help you see your own trials and tribulations for the hidden blessings they can be.
The first event occurred when I was a graduate student in Control Theory at IIT, Kanpur, in India. At breakfast on a bright Sunday morning in 1968, I had a chance encounter with a famous computer scientist on sabbatical from a well-known US university.
He was discussing exciting new developments in the field of computer science with a large group of students and how such developments would alter our future. He was articulate, passionate and quite convincing. I was hooked. I went straight from breakfast to the library, read four or five papers he had suggested, and left the library determined to study computer science.
Friends, when I look back today at that pivotal meeting, I marvel at how one role model can alter for the better the future of a young student. This experience taught me that valuable advice can sometimes come from an unexpected source, and chance events can sometimes open new doors.
The next event that left an indelible mark on me occurred in 1974. The location: Nis, a border town between former Yugoslavia, now Serbia, and Bulgaria. I was hitchhiking from Paris back to Mysore, India, my home town.
By the time a kind driver dropped me at Nis railway station at 9 p.m. on a Saturday night, the restaurant was closed. So was the bank the next morning, and I could not eat because I had no local money. I slept on the railway platform until 8.30 pm in the night when the Sofia Express pulled in.
The only passengers in my compartment were a girl and a boy. I struck a conversation in French with the young girl. She talked about the travails of living in an iron curtain country, until we were roughly interrupted by some policemen who, I later gathered, were summoned by the young man who thought we were criticising the communist government of Bulgaria.
The girl was led away; my backpack and sleeping bag were confiscated. I was dragged along the platform into a small 8×8 foot room with a cold stone floor and a hole in one corner by way of toilet facilities. I was held in that bitterly cold room without food or water for over 72 hours.
I had lost all hope of ever seeing the outside world again, when the door opened. I was again dragged out unceremoniously, locked up in the guard’s compartment on a departing freight train and told that I would be released 20 hours later upon reaching Istanbul. The guard’s final words still ring in my ears — “You are from a friendly country called India and that is why we are letting you go!”
The journey to Istanbul was lonely, and I was starving. This long, lonely, cold journey forced me to deeply rethink my convictions about Communism. Early on a dark Thursday morning, after being hungry for 108 hours, I was purged of any last vestiges of affinity for the Left.
I concluded that entrepreneurship, resulting in large-scale job creation, was the only viable mechanism for eradicating poverty in societies.
Deep in my heart, I always thank the Bulgarian guards for transforming me from a confused Leftist into a determined, compassionate capitalist! Inevitably, this sequence of events led to the eventual founding of Infosys in 1981.
While these first two events were rather fortuitous, the next two, both concerning the Infosys journey, were more planned and profoundly influenced my career trajectory.
On a chilly Saturday morning in winter 1990, five of the seven founders of Infosys met in our small office in a leafy Bangalore suburb. The decision at hand was the possible sale of Infosys for the enticing sum of $1 million. After nine years of toil in the then business-unfriendly India, we were quite happy at the prospect of seeing at least some money.
I let my younger colleagues talk about their future plans. Discussions about the travails of our journey thus far and our future challenges went on for about four hours. I had not yet spoken a word.
Finally, it was my turn. I spoke about our journey from a small Mumbai apartment in 1981 that had been beset with many challenges, but also of how I believed we were at the darkest hour before the dawn. I then took an audacious step. If they were all bent upon selling the company, I said, I would buy out all my colleagues, though I did not have a cent in my pocket.
There was a stunned silence in the room. My colleagues wondered aloud about my foolhardiness. But I remained silent. However, after an hour of my arguments, my colleagues changed their minds to my way of thinking. I urged them that if we wanted to create a great company, we should be optimistic and confident. They have more than lived up to their promise of that day.
In the seventeen years since that day, Infosys has grown to revenues in excess of $3.0 billion, a net income of more than $800 million and a market capitalisation of more than $28 billion, 28,000 times richer than the offer of $1 million on that day.
In the process, Infosys has created more than 70,000 well-paying jobs, 2,000-plus dollar-millionaires and 20,000-plus rupee millionaires.
A final story: On a hot summer morning in 1995, a Fortune-10 corporation had sequestered all their Indian software vendors, including Infosys, in different rooms at the Taj Residency hotel in Bangalore so that the vendors could not communicate with one another. This customer’s propensity for tough negotiations was well-known. Our team was very nervous.
First of all, with revenues of only around $5 million, we were minnows compared to the customer.
Second, this customer contributed fully 25% of our revenues. The loss of this business would potentially devastate our recently-listed company.
Third, the customer’s negotiation style was very aggressive. The customer team would go from room to room, get the best terms out of each vendor and then pit one vendor against the other. This went on for several rounds. Our various arguments why a fair price — one that allowed us to invest in good people, R&D, infrastructure, technology and training — was actually in their interest failed to cut any ice with the customer.
By 5 p.m. on the last day, we had to make a decision right on the spot whether to accept the customer’s terms or to walk out.
All eyes were on me as I mulled over the decision. I closed my eyes, and reflected upon our journey until then. Through many a tough call, we had always thought about the long-term interests of Infosys. I communicated clearly to the customer team that we could not accept their terms, since it could well lead us to letting them down later. But I promised a smooth, professional transition to a vendor of customer’s choice.
This was a turning point for Infosys.
Subsequently, we created a Risk Mitigation Council which ensured that we would never again depend too much on any one client, technology, country, application area or key employee. The crisis was a blessing in disguise. Today, Infosys has a sound de-risking strategy that has stabilised its revenues and profits.
I want to share with you, next, the life lessons these events have taught me.
1. I will begin with the importance of learning from experience. It is less important, I believe, where you start. It is more important how and what you learn. If the quality of the learning is high, the development gradient is steep, and, given time, you can find yourself in a previously unattainable place. I believe the Infosys story is living proof of this.
Learning from experience, however, can be complicated. It can be much more difficult to learn from success than from failure. If we fail, we think carefully about the precise cause. Success can indiscriminately reinforce all our prior actions.
2. A second theme concerns the power of chance events. As I think across a wide variety of settings in my life, I am struck by the incredible role played by the interplay of chance events with intentional choices. While the turning points themselves are indeed often fortuitous, how we respond to them is anything but so. It is this very quality of how we respond systematically to chance events that is crucial.
3. Of course, the mindset one works with is also quite critical. As recent work by the psychologist, Carol Dweck, has shown, it matters greatly whether one believes in ability as inherent or that it can be developed. Put simply, the former view, a fixed mindset, creates a tendency to avoid challenges, to ignore useful negative feedback and leads such people to plateau early and not achieve their full potential.
The latter view, a growth mindset, leads to a tendency to embrace challenges, to learn from criticism and such people reach ever higher levels of achievement.
4. The fourth theme is a cornerstone of the Indian spiritual tradition: self-knowledge. Indeed, the highest form of knowledge, it is said, is self-knowledge. I believe this greater awareness and knowledge of oneself is what ultimately helps develop a more grounded belief in oneself, courage, determination, and, above all, humility, all qualities which enable one to wear one’s success with dignity and grace.
Based on my life experiences, I can assert that it is this belief in learning from experience, a growth mindset, the power of chance events, and self-reflection that have helped me grow to the present.
Back in the 1960s, the odds of my being in front of you today would have been zero. Yet here I stand before you! With every successive step, the odds kept changing in my favour, and it is these life lessons that made all the difference.
My young friends, I would like to end with some words of advice. Do you believe that your future is pre-ordained, and is already set? Or, do you believe that your future is yet to be written and that it will depend upon the sometimes fortuitous events?
Do you believe that these events can provide turning points to which you will respond with your energy and enthusiasm? Do you believe that you will learn from these events and that you will reflect on your setbacks? Do you believe that you will examine your successes with even greater care?
I hope you believe that the future will be shaped by several turning points with great learning opportunities. In fact, this is the path I have walked to much advantage.
A final word: When, one day, you have made your mark on the world, remember that, in the ultimate analysis, we are all mere temporary custodians of the wealth we generate, whether it be financial, intellectual, or emotional. The best use of all your wealth is to share it with those less fortunate.
I believe that we have all at some time eaten the fruit from trees that we did not plant. In the fullness of time, when it is our turn to give, it behooves us in turn to plant gardens that we may never eat the fruit of, which will largely benefit generations to come. I believe this is our sacred responsibility, one that I hope you will shoulder in time.
Thank you for your patience. Go forth and embrace your future with open arms, and pursue enthusiastically your own life journey of discovery!

By Kamlesh Tripathi

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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