Showing students the path to prosperity

One cannot live in the wonderful city of Pune without meeting inspiring people

Somebody who has lived and worked here for nearly two decades, my list of inspirers goes on and on. To name just six, Baba Kalyani who always impresses with his forthright views and quick actions–he was the first to support Social Venture Partners in India with a generous grant when we started in 2012. Rahul Bajaj whose corporate success coupled with social consciousness probably dates back to the Gandhian roots of his illustrious family. Anu Aga who took me under her wing when I first moved to Pune and whose story of success despite personal tragedies is exceptional. Raghunath Mashelkar who still travels more than many of us who are or aspire to be global CEOs and who has been a supporter of our social initiatives for eight years. S. B. Mujumdar, an educationist supreme who retains his simplicity above all his extraordinary successes and Amol Palekar, actor, painter, filmmaker and thought leader who has been a family friend for a decade. The list can go on and on and it’s a pleasure to breathe the same air as these people do in our city!

However, the purpose of this column is not to extol the virtues of those who are already well-known names in the city and the country but to tell the story of a man who has inspired thousands of us with his efforts and accomplishments. His name was first mentioned to me by an extraordinarily talented One cannot live in the wonderful city of Pune without meeting inspiring people young lady, Snigdha Agarwal who walked into my home fifteen years ago armed with nothing but her eagerness and a new MBA degree and established her right to lead in every endeavor—corporate with Zensar Technologies, social with Social Venture Partners and bringing up a wonderful family with her husband, Akash Shah in the city of Kolkata. Snigdha’s inspiration was the man who set up the Sadhana Centre for Management after he left Symbiosis — Professor Pillai or Pillai Sir as his students would always refer to him.

He conceptualised and established SCMHRD (Symbiosis Centre for Management & Human Resource Development) for Symbiosis, an institution where I serve with pride on the Advisory Board and which has illustrious alumni like Vineet Patni, global CXO and the successful spearhead of the recently concluded TieCON event for entrepreneurs in Pune. Early was with Symbiosis Institute of Business Management.

When Professor Pillai chose to move from the Symbiosis group, his former students convinced him that his work in the education sector was not over. He established SCMLD (Sadhana) for students who would choose the road less travelled and built a unique curriculum, which included self-service, yoga, simple living and high thinking. No wonder then, that students like Snigdha went on to touch the stars in all their fields of human endeavour! Like her, Professor Pillai during his all too short life was instrumental in facilitating almost 10,000 of the youth of the country to find their path to prosperity and well-being, not by taking short cuts but by living the values he espoused and so effectively taught them. In a WhatsApp message about her “Baap”, as his students fondly called their beloved Pillai Sir, Snigdha says, “He was hugely inspirational to many of us to lead a principled, meaningful and disciplined life. Pillai Sir believed in each one of his students, no matter their background, experience, calibre or grades and said that with hard work and sheer grit and rigour, even the roughest of diamonds can be polished into glittering diamonds. I wish he could have touched many more lives, Sir, our legend you will live on in our hearts forever.”

We need the presence of leaders like Professor Pillai to soothe the hurt that is caused by random words and negative actions

What is it that enables ordinary men and women to rise to such visionary leadership levels and inspire thousands to choose the right path? In my own interactions with Professor Pillai, what always struck me was his extreme simplicity and humility and yet a commitment to his beliefs that could not be shaken by stray comments or any form of criticism. When my colleague and co-author, Manjiri Gokhale and I were touring the country for our book “Inspired” meeting leaders across the entire spectrum of political, social, academic and corporate leadership, these aspects of self-belief and commitment to a cause while retaining humility emerged as common threads that could weave a rich tapestry of inspirational leadership. True CEOs don’t hide behind the trappings of their title or position rather they walk the talk and espouse the CEO qualities of Clairvoyance, Evangelism and Oratory to inspire their teams to stretch to the limits of human capability and excel in every activity that profitable or social organizations choose to undertake.

In the troubled times we live in with the imperative for social equity being frequently disrupted by divisive electoral and political battles that play out a hate narrative with alarming regularity, we need the soothing presence of leaders like Professor Pillai to soothe the hurt that is caused by random words and negative actions. Will the real Pillais in our societies stand up and be counted. That would be the true homage to the man and his work on this earth!