വേരുകൾ

ഇടവപ്പാതി പല തവണ തകർത്തു പെയ്തു,

പഞ്ഞ കർക്കിടകം പലവട്ടം തല കാണിച്ചു.

മീനമാസ സൂര്യൻ പല ആണ്ടുകളെ വെന്തുരുക്കി,

എങ്കിലും ആ വൻമരം അവിടെ നിന്നു, വേരുകൾ ഉറപ്പിച്ചു തന്നെ.

തായ് തടിയും ശാഖകളും ഉപ ശാഖകളും,

പച്ചിലകളും പഴങ്ങളും, പ്രകൃതി കനിഞ്ഞു നൽകപ്പെട്ട മഹാമേരു.

ആ വൻ മരത്തോട്, ഒരിക്കൽ ഞാൻ ചോദിച്ചു, 'അല്ലയോ മഹാത്മാവേ എങ്ങനെ ഇങ്ങനെ ജീവിക്കുന്നു, എന്തിനീ നിസ്വാർത്ഥത?'

ഉത്തരം വളരെ ലളിതം.

'ജീവിക്കുക, നിനക്കും നിൻറെ കുടുംബത്തിനും വേണ്ടി.

കുടുംബം എന്നത് സമൂഹവും,

സമൂഹം എന്നത് രാജ്യവും ആണെന്ന ബോധ്യം ഉണ്ടാവുക.

നന്മകൾ മാത്രം ചെയ്യുക, തിന്മകൾ നിരൂപിക്കാതിരിക്കുക.

പരോപകാരം പുണ്യമായി കരുതുക, അത് നാലു പേർ അറിയാതെ ചെയ്യുക.

സ്നേഹം ഒരു സത്യമാണെന്ന് അറിയുക,

ആ സത്യത്തിന് അളവുകോൽ നൽകാതിരിക്കുക.

ജീവിതം മുഴുവനായിത്തന്നെ ജീവിക്കുക, 

മരണം വന്നു വിളിക്കുമ്പോൾ പുഞ്ചിരിയോടെ കടന്നുപോവുക.'

ആ വൻ മരം ഇന്നില്ല, 

പക്ഷേ പഠിപ്പിച്ച പാഠങ്ങളൊക്കെയും മനസ്സിൽ നിലനിൽക്കുന്നു, 

ആഴത്തിൽ വേരൂന്നി തന്നെ! 

The Boiling Point

Have you ever boiled fresh milk on a stove? If so, have you always taken the pan out right on time, so that the milk does not spill over? If you have not experienced this, I suggest you stop reading this now and get into your kitchen, try boiling some milk and experience these things for yourself first. This is important for you to understand what I am going to say next. Else you better have a solid sense of imagination.

You would have noticed that when you boil a pan of milk, unless you take the pan out at the right time, a considerable amount of milk will spill over on to the stove. Getting the stove cleaned is a herculean task. The spilled milk stains the pan as well which poses a big challenge to clean the pan properly. You could only wish that you had taken the pan out on time so that you avoid all the hassle.

What I am going to say next is not something I have invented. But this will definitely be a good reminder for all of us, including me, so that if we ever go through such a state, we will remember these words and hopefully will act accordingly.

Now imagine this. The pan we use is nothing but our life itself. The milk we try to boil is the bunch of emotions we go through daily. The stove is the society where we live and the environment around us.

Just like how the milk will reach a boiling point, our emotions too have an upper limit. The more we refuse to address the fact that we are reaching a tipping point of an emotional churn, the bigger will be the impact. The earlier we acknowledge that we need to take out the pan of emotions, the better will be our mental situation. Else just like how the spilled over boiled milk leaves us with a nasty job, we will be gifting ourselves and people around us with quite a difficult challenge to solve, a twisted life of ours.

Now the bigger question is, how do we avoid this situation? This is where we all need to consciously build a support system for ourselves. This could be someone we are closer to at home or a friend, with whom we could speak about the emotional turmoil that we are going through or someone at our professional environment with whom we could disclose some of these experiences.

Please note that I mentioned both personal and professional contacts. There is a reason for it. There are topics or incidents involving our emotional wellbeing that are personal or professional in nature. The support system we develop needs to cater to both. We can't be addressing only one of them. Hence, we need to have a healthy mix of both personal and professional support system in place so that whenever we need to express our emotional concerns, the party on the other side understands and empathise with us.

So much is spoken these days about mental health and emotional wellbeing. These are not magical words, instead as humankind we are capable of ensuring these to our fellow humans. All that is needed is being a good human and live the spirit of what humanity stands for.

Let us all take out our pans of emotions on time and like how we enjoy a well-prepared cup of coffee, let us lead a life that is beautiful, how it is meant to be!

The Tea Team!

Year 2006. I joined my first corporate job with Mindtree in Bangalore. Soon after my induction days, I was taken to my seat and in a matter of time I got settled at my desk.

I started going through some of the documents provided to me to understand the process in place for the department I joined. A few minutes later, I heard a friendly voice from behind saying ‘Tea’. I turned around and saw a young man holding a large tray with a bunch of white porcelain cups rimmed with golden paint and filled with piping hot tea. With a smile, full of genuine care, he placed one cup carefully on my desk and went ahead with his job of serving tea for the rest of the staff.  

That was the day I learned the wonderful story behind the team who served tea on the various floors in our office.

Apparently, when the new campus came up where we were placed, there was a proposal to install vending machines at the pantry which could make coffee or tea for the staff. That was when one of the founders of Mindtree intervened and said that was not a people friendly decision. Instead, he wanted to employ a bunch of young people who will work as a team of tea makers whose job was to make fresh tea during morning and afternoon and deliver them at the desks, of course with a smile!

As a person who experienced this first hand, I must say it was possibly one of the best decisions taken by the management. It not only provided job opportunities for scores of people, but also brought in the much-needed people touch in an industry where tremendous amount of brain power was consumed daily. You really needed the human touch to bring the balance.

True leadership is not only about targets or profits. It is also when we learn to realize that businesses exist because of people. We need to do our part to give back to the community we benefit from.

Let me also reiterate that great experiences gained from organizations leave a lasting impression on employees. These will be fondly remembered and most importantly reflect on them in their interactions with colleagues in the same organization and in future as well.

I do remember with gratitude the truly amazing leadership team we were blessed with at Mindtree!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, for not just giving me a job, but empowering me with an experience of a lifetime!