3rd time lucky - An ode to Mr Sekhar Chandra
My first 3 bosses, in my rather short corporate carrier were from my own MBA Alma mater - xl. In fact only my current boss is not an xler.
The 3rd amongst those, but perhaps the one who left the most lasting impression on me, was Mr Sekhar Chandra. He retired a few days ago.
We gave him a good farewell. But he is the kind of guy who will celebrate it as his birthday. God given or acquired , on wouldn't know but he had an amazing sense of humour.
Here is one for the record. On the last day of his working life , he met another colleague while peeing at the toilet.He replied to goutom the colleague --- isiko Peer Pressure kehte hain.
If you gave a smart ass comment, you would get a smarter retort back.You sent him a cheeky mail, you would get a cheekier one from him back.He was my boss for a year.
He taught me some valuable lessons on tobacco industry,and taught me some rather invaluable lessons in life.
His corporate climb was far from spectacular, but his impact on me was spectacular.
I used to discuss golf with him, a sport i have no idea about. I gave him a pack of assorted confectionery some 13 months back. Going to his cabin, eating a candy and talking to him about anything was my favourite stess buster for a year.
In his last days he was busy writing anecdotes from around the ITC sales organization in the last 30-40 years. I was his part time editor, though i may have only edited a story or two. In fact he liked a blog entry of mine and used it too for his collection.
During the last phase of the project , during the last days of his active working life, we tried to find an appropriate title for his book. I was so stuck on Gen 42- the answer to the universal question in ITC , a double pun on 42 of hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and Gen 42 - an antiquated but an extremely useful report created for adequate stock planning in ITC. He showed me the folder which kept his collection of stories. Rather i peeked into the same, and saw that there was no presence of " Shit Happens" my blog entry which was to be made into a story.I was anyways going through some other strange notions on some other work and personal front related issues. I just added this , and i thought perhaps he never really put my story and just told me the same so that he could use my help.
15 minutes into my imagination, he casually showed all those stories to me , including my " Shit Happens" which was now renamed "Diary Notes". The story had been there all along.
He taught me perhaps the most important lesson on that day - the importance of trust.
Trust i guess is a weapon we need to rely on even when it gets broken. Its something we just need to trust.
That was Mr Sekhar Chandra. You can trust him to say a few lines on this passage. And trust me they will be memorable gems and not some random lines.
The 3rd amongst those, but perhaps the one who left the most lasting impression on me, was Mr Sekhar Chandra. He retired a few days ago.
We gave him a good farewell. But he is the kind of guy who will celebrate it as his birthday. God given or acquired , on wouldn't know but he had an amazing sense of humour.
Here is one for the record. On the last day of his working life , he met another colleague while peeing at the toilet.He replied to goutom the colleague --- isiko Peer Pressure kehte hain.
If you gave a smart ass comment, you would get a smarter retort back.You sent him a cheeky mail, you would get a cheekier one from him back.He was my boss for a year.
He taught me some valuable lessons on tobacco industry,and taught me some rather invaluable lessons in life.
His corporate climb was far from spectacular, but his impact on me was spectacular.
I used to discuss golf with him, a sport i have no idea about. I gave him a pack of assorted confectionery some 13 months back. Going to his cabin, eating a candy and talking to him about anything was my favourite stess buster for a year.
In his last days he was busy writing anecdotes from around the ITC sales organization in the last 30-40 years. I was his part time editor, though i may have only edited a story or two. In fact he liked a blog entry of mine and used it too for his collection.
During the last phase of the project , during the last days of his active working life, we tried to find an appropriate title for his book. I was so stuck on Gen 42- the answer to the universal question in ITC , a double pun on 42 of hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and Gen 42 - an antiquated but an extremely useful report created for adequate stock planning in ITC. He showed me the folder which kept his collection of stories. Rather i peeked into the same, and saw that there was no presence of " Shit Happens" my blog entry which was to be made into a story.I was anyways going through some other strange notions on some other work and personal front related issues. I just added this , and i thought perhaps he never really put my story and just told me the same so that he could use my help.
15 minutes into my imagination, he casually showed all those stories to me , including my " Shit Happens" which was now renamed "Diary Notes". The story had been there all along.
He taught me perhaps the most important lesson on that day - the importance of trust.
Trust i guess is a weapon we need to rely on even when it gets broken. Its something we just need to trust.
That was Mr Sekhar Chandra. You can trust him to say a few lines on this passage. And trust me they will be memorable gems and not some random lines.
posted by tanmay at
10:31 AM
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