We were a family consisting of my parents and us six brothers and sisters.
Then we grew up and the family bloomed to 27 members.
As we joined the business, our father who advised us, that a family working together should not stay together or vice versa. No one wanted to leave but gradually we all outgrew the little house we stayed in. One by one, as the birds leave the nest we too left our parental home as we got married to establish our own nuclear families.
Our family believed in investing every rupee we had in the family business.
In spite of all the protests of the womenfolk, all our lives we stayed in rented premises.
This may sound silly to people who withdraw their money from their businesses and invest in other businesses and properties. To us it meant that they saw better security and returns in these new investments rather than their core business. We believed in our work and bet everything in our company all our lives.
Faint of heart we were not, and we could not conceive of investing money in any other area than our own business. So that explains why we always stayed in rented premises.
A few years after I and Mohini wed, we moved to a small flat at Salunke Vihar on the outskirts of Pune city.
Salunke Vihar was a large construction project by the standards of those days, built for providing accommodation for members of the Indian Armed Forces at competitive rates and soft payment terms.
The society stood alone in the barren wilderness with only a dirt road access. Rents were cheap and flats available in abundance so it attracted lots of young people and new migrants to our city. The nearest main road was about three kilometres away where one could catch an auto rickshaw or bus to where ever people wanted to travel.
With a mixture of people serving in the Defence services with their disciplined manner and many civilian youngsters, there existed an atmosphere of camaraderie and fun. Most of the tenants were people, at a stage of transition in their lives starting new careers and families. Such was the atmosphere, where we had to cope with a lot of inconveniences that we became an interesting community where you could see a lot of good in people, even amongst relative strangers. Many of our neighbours have become lifelong friends.
Being a son of an industrialist albeit a small one I was amongst the people who owned a car in the society. Keeping with the spirit of the situation, every time we travelled the dirt road, we would offer a ride to fellow residents and even visitors. After giving them a ride sometimes people would thank us, sometimes they would not even acknowledge your assistance. This lack of appreciation and courtesy perturbed me.
I met many people and had some interesting experiences but one encounter changed my life. This experience changed me and my outlook on life completely.
Twenty five years later I can still remember the events very vividly. It was a hot day in May and about noon time. May is the season in Pune where the summer peaks. It is never as hot as in other places like the Punjab or Delhi but it got pretty uncomfortable.
It was a Thursday and our factory was closed for the day. I was on an errand and running a bit late. As I rushed out of the main gate of the housing complex I hit the dirt road. Rounding the corner, there I saw standing next to the road an old man. His back slightly stooped with age and a small bag by his side.
He had a round chubby and pleasant look about him. This old man wore a colourful bush shirt and had a big straw hat on his head. Looking like a character right out of a movie. The gentleman was mopping his forehead and face as he was sweating profusely. I debated stopping to give him a lift or continue rushing to my appointment.
Being a Boy Scout all my life, doing good deeds came naturally to me, and I enjoyed helping people. Feeling sympathetic towards this interesting looking person, I decided to be the Good Samaritan. I felt both compelled and obliged to offer him a ride.
Slowly the old man shuffled up to and into my car. For a second I regretted my decision to give him a lift as he was taking so long delaying me further. I wished he would move quicker but he dissolved my impatience by apologising and thanking me at the same time saying in Hindi “May God bless you and keep you happy”
On and on he went, blessing me and thanking me. When he thanked me for about the tenth time I grew embarrassed or was I irritated, or maybe both?
I told him, it wasn't a big deal and not an inconvenience for me to give him a ride. After all I was passing that way anyways. I added that at least he was appreciative of my kind gesture unlike many people who were ungrateful.
He smiled and nodded his head and said" I know what you mean and how it feels. May I ask you a question?"
Of course I like nothing more than an interesting conversation and that is why I probably gave people rides in the first place. I replied "No problem. Please ask."
"Why did you give me a ride?" He asked. " Did you see a man on the road and think that let me give him a ride and then he will feel obligated to me, or did your heart spoke with your conscience and asked you to do a good deed to this old man and give him a much needed ride?" he added.
I told him that I felt sorry for him and thought it would be nice to assist him.
He responded, “That means, you only followed your heart’s desire and did the good deed. So it should not make a difference to you whether I thank you or am grateful to you or not."
He continued “Your heart desired something and that you were able to accomplish it, that itself is your reward. It should matter not whether I thank you or not."
Finally he added, "The poor of the world are not only those who do not have shelter or enough food, but also those who cannot implement what their heart desires.You are blessed and truly rich for you re able to follow your heart’s desire."
We reached the main road in the few minutes we had this conversation, I was so captivated I wanted to hang on to this awesome man. He insisted that I dropped him there at the bus stop.
He stepped onto the bus and eventually out of sight, but he and his words have been with me forever.
I contemplated what had just happened. I felt foolish about my puny ego. In a matter of five minutes this seemingly insignificant yet great man had awoken me and transformed my life.
I learnt that unhappiness stems from unfilled expectations. If I had no expectations for the good that I did to others, I would give more, and yet be happier. It is my good fortune that I had the God given opportunity to be compassionate.
I never forgot the lesson. It guided me in building a world class organisation and the lesson was invaluable in helping me cope and recover, when I lost nearly everything, including my brothers, our organisation and the trust of thousands of people.
I also learnt that the the joy is in the doing and not in the reward.". “I should follow my heart and do good things and I would always be wealthy.
My dad had been bidding farewell gently, from the past three years. His vision dimmed, hearing gone, and his speech almost silent. Dad's being was blanketed by wonderful grace and an erie calmness.
