When a young Ganesh Natarajan, all of 24 years was waiting in the lobby of the corporate office of Crompton Greaves for a final Management Trainee interview, he forgot to be tense about the questions the panel would ask him, or whether he would get selected. For an unexpected distraction came his way. Seated next to him was a young, chirpy girl, talking nineteen to the dozen about the Indian economy and other such high funda stuff with other candidates. For a while he gave an ear, impressed by this bold and confident MBA from FMS Delhi. Slowly, his eyes fell on her and he made an instant decision not to let the opportunity to know her pass.
Reminiscing the moment of 10th April, 1981, Ganesh says, "I found this girl with a strong command over the English language, and being extraordinarily communicative. I was fascinated.’’ She was Uma, then 23 years old, who became his life partner a year and a half later. He says, “We both passed the interviews and got jobs at Crompton Greaves. This helped us to get to know each other, and we felt we were made for each other."
For Uma, it was Ganesh’s intellect that instantly appealed to her. She says admiringly, “At the first meeting itself, I found him to be an amazingly articulate person. As our relationship grew, I admired his ability to connect with people by being interactive at a very personal level. He took interest in varied things, a need that continues to this day. Most importantly, he saw me as an individual in my own right. I was overwhelmed by his courteous manner. He treated me then and he does now, as his equal, which makes living together very happy and pleasant.’’ They married on 7th November, 1982.
Ganesh studied in a Christian missionary school in a village in Jharkhand and says, “Although the educational standard was not very good otherwise, we were trained to be proficient in English language by Fitzi, our Vice Principal and I have much to thank him for it. Knowing to converse in good English opens many doors globally today and it’s heartening that Indians have an edge over other countries in this regard. So when I heard this young girl equally confident about herself, if not more than me, it drew me towards her.’’ Uma too is convent educated. Her early years were at Nagpur and her parents worked at All India Radio. So, although both are South Indians, their childhood was spent in different states, which gave them a cosmopolitan outlook on life.
By Vinita Deshmukh
