Jiji Thomas - The Rock

One a while I write blog posts about my batch mates from Engineering College, under a series titled 'Tribute to my batch mates'. I try to chart their life over the last 30 years or so as a celebration of our friendship. So far I have written about Krishnamuoorthy Rao, Saji P George (Saiper), Saji Mathew Premnath and Hanumant.

One person that I always wanted to write about was Jiji

But I was unable to. I was stymied.

What was there to write about Jiji? I asked myself. He was not flamboyant, was not a poet like Premnath, not a cricketer like Kunjamoo, not a good orator like Tom Alex, not humorous like Rames, not a singer like Habeeb, not a nerd like many dudes in our batch, not reserved like (well you decide), not into technology like Ebby, did not use flowery malayalam like Appi Saji, did not frustrate us with his ever changing menu choices like Valiya Thomman (MRF), was not known for his innocence like George, did not give chala fish in the mess like Saiper, did not frequent Padukkadu like Saju Paul, did not climb the coconut tree in girl's hostel, did not try to steal 3D glasses after watching the film 'My Dear Kuttichathan'....

He did not do anything special and did not make any mark in the conventional engineering college terms, if you see what I mean. He did not do anything memorable.So what will I write about?

Have mercy on me. Give me some material to write about, people...

But here is the irony.

Ask anyone of our batch mates to name five persons from our batch that stood out for them or whom they looked up to during our college days, 90% of people will have Jiji Thomas in their list. Ask them to name five of their batch mates that they are still in touch with,  five people who are in their phone contact list, I bet that 90% will have Jiji on that list.

There was something about Jiji that I had to write about, but there was nothing to write about.

This dichotomy frustrated me. What do I write about Jiji?

How can one be so memorable as Jiji obviously is, but a narrator cannot find stuff to write about him?

I struggled with this for more than two years. Every time I talked to Jiji, I reminded myself that I have to write about him but a part of my mind will ask me the question, what will you write about?

Then three thoughts came in my mind the other day while I was having my morning walk in the nearby park.

I remembered my recent visit to Kottayam. There is a huge boulder in front of Thirunnakkara temple. It has been there for ever since I can remember. I doesn't do anything (obviously..), but you cannot imagine a Kottayam without that rock. Without it Kottayam will not be the same.

You could say the same thing about Round in Thrissur or Kovalam Beach in Trivandrum.

Then it stuck me. I realized that Jiji does for us what the rock does to Kottayam Town. He is a strong emotional part of our college life. He defines TEC for us.

I also remembered that some time ago, I had written an article in my blog about 'Bougainvillea Leadership'. Bougainvillea is a steady performer. It rises with the sun every day and does what it does best, makes the universe colourful. It has not airs of superiority. It is not temperamental like a rose, not fragrant like a 'Mullapoo' and is not mysterious like 'Neelakurunji'. Damsels do not wear it on their hair, bees do not line up to have its nectar, pundits do not use the flower to do puja, flower shops do not sell Bougainvillea garlands, Romeo do not use it to demonstrate their affection to Juliet.

But you can't imagine a morning walk without seeing these colourful flowers. These flowers are an inherent part of our daily life. They are steady performers. They colour the universe, with the least amount of fuzz, day in and day out. 

Jiji is steady as a Bougainvillea plant. In the four years that we spent in Engineering College, I don't remember him being emotional except for once. That was when Santhosh Mathew was beaten by SFI goons. I remember the frantic, desperate look on Jiji's eyes as we all scrambled around, seething with helpless rage.

Other than those regular 'beating' events, Jiji maintained his poise, equanimity, balance and objectivity (You don't need a Roget's thesaurus to say that these are Synonyms, hey, it is my blog, remember?)

Like Bougainvillea, Jiji was everywhere where he was needed. He is a natural leader and has the itch to solve problems and get things done. He has the rare ability to focus on the task at hand and not to be distracted by irrelevant stuff. You name any event or activity that happened during our four year stint in collage, you will see Jiji, directing, coordinating and rolling up his sleeves to do the heavy work. You take a sports event for example, and Jiji will be there as a referee, player or in the audience cheering his favorite team.

I remember an inter-batch (or inter-hostel?) badminton match that I played wihen we were in the third semester. I was playing Anand Singh of fifth semester. I lost the match from a position of strength. I remember Jiji cheering for me. I remember feeling guilty about letting him down.

"It was disappointing that you lost", he told me later, "don't worry Swamy, it is only a game. You will win next time"

With his oval shaped face and wave of thick black hair, Jiji used to look like young Shahrukh Khan. He used to part his hair in the middle and the flowing locks will move like a wave as he ran. I used to admire his hairstyle and for a couple of years when in college, used to comb my hair like Jiji.

Did not work really. With a face like mine....

Jiji has this rare ability to elevate you to a higher level every time he talks with you. He is non-judgemental and will debate with you fiercely and with respect. He believes that debating with a person on an issue is the best form of respect you can show that individual. You show that you listened to him, you understood and appreciated his point of you and presented another perspective that he may have overlooked. He will be the first person to agree if he is in error. Not only he will agree that he was wrong, but also take action by changing his behaviour.

Jiji is a serious, boring kind of guy. Not for him stupid jokes that I crack once in a while (well, most of the time, I am the 'Kathi' remember?). He remains objective, analytical and factual. He can do it for hours. I have never seen him raise his voice in anger or frustration.

But he is not a bore. He has diverse interests and can talk for hours. I regularly talk to him and every time I call him or vice versa, we tend to talk for at least an hour which increased to two hours or more a few months before 2019 elections.

What did you do after graduation, I ask him.

"After completing Engineering, I went to Ahmadabad where my dad was posted. I joined Batliboi as a maintenance engineer. I worked there for about two years and then joined GMMF (Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation, company that owns Amul brand) and worked under Dr.Varghese Kurian. I learned a lot during that time." he says.

The current religious polarization in the country is not new for Jiji. He told me about his boss in Batliboi, a person named Viren Shah.

"Viren Shah was my manager when I worked in Purchasing department in Batliboi. He had a policy of not purchasing anything from Muslims. He refused to register any Muslim vendor. He rejected them on one pretext or another", he says.

"Later Shah left the company and moved to Gulf. I am sure that he is not rejecting Muslim vendors now.", Jiji allows himself a chuckle.

My blood boils as I hear his talk about this bigotry. I tell him that I would have blasted Shah. Jiji is more sanguine about these things.

"You can't change people. Everyone has their life journey. You can only learn to accept", he tells me.

Just before the recent elections, I used to vociferously argue against the 'Othering' of minorities in this country. "Why are minorities not protesting?", I used to ask him. "After all every tax paying citizen has equal rights in this country. By not protesting against this 'Othering', minorities are implicitly going on the defensive", I tell him.

Jiji tells me about people and their 'Life Journey'. Learning happens only when someone is ready, he tells me. When the time comes, you do not have to tell them anything. They will become aware of their mistakes. By telling them that they are wrong, you do not gain anything, he says.

Well, I am not a saint like him.

We agree to disagree.

Jiji married Anju in 1991. They have a son Neville. He is pursuing Post Graduation in Literature from a leading institution in Hyderabad. Being a liberal, Jiji has allowed his son to choose the path that excites him. He is there to support and guide his son.

After almost ten years in Ahmadabad, Jiji changed the course of his career by moving into the exciting area of Facilities Management. India was in the initial stages of a massive economic expansion and much like our friend Saji Mathew, he was in the right place in the right time.

In 1999, he joined a company called MacLellan Integrated Services, a US based facilities management company. He was initially posted in Chennai and I remember meeting him there when I had visited Chennai in 2002. He moved to Bangalore in 2004 and worked with MacLellan till 2006.

Jiji faced a major crisis in life in 2004. Two days after moving to Bangalore on February 9, 2004, his parents were involved in a major car accident on February 11. His father had his hands severed and had to do Plastic Surgery to get them fixed. His mother spend 50 days in ICU and Ventilator before she, with god's grace, recuperated.

"That incident shook me", says Jiji, "It all happened so fast, I did not even have any time to even unpack my stuff after I moved to Bangalore"

As usual, he handled the incident with grace and dignity.

In 2006 he moved to a Company called Ascendas which was maintaining a 300000 Sq.ft property of ITPL in Whitefield in Bangalore. With just three days into the new company, he faced a major crisis. How he handled the crises tells a lot about Jiji's positive attitude and problem-solving approach to everything.

"Barely three days into my stint in Ascendas, we got the news that a bomb was placed in ITPL. I was instructed to oversee and handle the emergency. I was new to the company and new to the property. To handle such crises, one must have an in-depth understanding of the property, which I did not have. I failed miserably in handling it. Fortunately it turned out to be a hoax call. There was no bomb", he tells me.

I remembered this incident. I was working in TCS at that time and we had offices at and near ITPL.

"Once the dust settled down, I sat down and prepared a detailed 'Emergency Response Manual' and step-by-step procedure to handle different types of crises. I send the same to Ascendas HQ in Singapore and that became the Global emergency response SOP for the company."

"Well, I guess something good came out of it after all", he says modestly.

"I believe every experience is a learning opportunity", he announces in a matter-of-fact tone.

I can't agree more.

He worked with Ascendas for two years before moving to RMZ in Bangalore in 2008. He worked there till 2012. He dabbled as a freelance consultant for about a year and worked on a project based out of Mumbai. I was also working in Mumbai at that time and we used to meet occasionally at Mumbai airport as be boarded our flights for weekend return to Bangalore.

In 2013, he joined workforce back with GSH group a US based Facilities Management Company. He worked there for four years, before returning to RMZ in 2017 to head their Facilities Management Division. Recently RMZ has spun off their Facilities Management division into a company named 'SMART Services', with Jiji as the CEO.

You heard it right. Jiji Thomas, the second CEO from our batch.

It is a huge fucking deal...

Anju, Jiji's better half (she is really better, I can tell you) worked the the field of ERP, same area that I, Mohanan M and Dabbar are working in. For about five years she and I were colleagues in Oracle. Just before I left Oracle in 2012, Anju left the company and joined Infosys. For the last two or three years, she is not working.

That doesn't mean she is idle. She has a wide variety of interests, one of them being investing in Stock Market. Since I am also interested in the market, I ask her about her portfolio. It reads like 'Who is Who' of Indian Corporates. Infosys, ITC, HUL, TCS... you name them and they are in her portfolio. She has purchased them a few years ago and does not want to sell them.

She has also purchased a part ownership in a farm. For an annual payment, they will give you land to cultivate your favorite vegetables. Jiji says that almost all the vegetables they use at home comes from the farm.

Jiji's eyes light up  when he talks about his dad. "He was very disciplined and was stubborn as a mule. At the age of 32, he was diagnosed with diabetes and was prescribed 30 minutes of daily walk and was proscribed sweets and sugar of any kind. He has not broken that habit voluntarily even for a single day till he passed away", he tells me. 

In 2014, Jiji lost his dad to Blood Cancer. "He did not suffer much", he tells me, "struggled for 6 months before he passed away"

God has given him many crises to test his resilience. So far he has proved his worth. He doesn't want to discuss them.

If Jiji has any quirks, it is his interest in cars. He is fascinated by them and buys and discards them at regular intervals. In the last thirty years, he has bought and sold 8 cars.

I ask him to tell something about his fixation for cars.

"I love long drives and cars are my weakness. I started off with Maruti 800 an moved through Hyundai Santro, Hyundai Accent, Honda City, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai i10, Skoda Laura and Ritz. Currently I own two cars, Skoda Rapid and a BMW that I purchased recently". He says.

I count 10 cars. Jiji is surprised.

At the beginning of this narrative, I spoke about three things I thought about while walking in Jayanagar Park that changed my perspective on writing about Jiji. One of them was the rock in front of Thirunnakkara Temple in Kottayam, another was about Bougainvillea.

The third thing I thought about was Dr.Manmohan Singh. In the last 25 years, Dr.MMS has been there whenever the country needed him. He was always self-evasive and let his colleagues take the credit. 'Maunmohan Singh', his political opponents called him. But if you look at any great achievement of the country in the last 25 years, be it Polio eradication, poverty reduction, Nuclear Deal, double digit GDP growth.. Dr.MMS is there at the background, guiding and directing.

Doctor saab is not known for his Oratory or Charisma or Flamboyance or Humour. But every time there was a crisis, India looked up to him.

That is what typifies Jiji Thomas. Handling crisis comes naturally to him. With his steady, structured and methodical approach, he quickly goes into the root cause and solves them. If you are in any kind of crisis, there is nobody in the world you would want to have nearby than Jiji. In his unobtrusive and understated way he will take charge and ensure that crisis is handled efficiently. 

One thing about Jiji always perplexed me. How can one be so balanced, objective and rational?

In one of our recent discussions, Jiji told me about his family. "I have a sister and a younger brother. Throughout our childhood, me and my sister stayed with our grand parents in Kerala, while my brother stayed with our parents."

That could be from where he developed his defining traits. By staying with his grand parents.

I felt sad. Having to spend your childhood away from parents must have been tough on you, I venture my opinion.

"It was not tough. We used to go to Ahmadabad during out vacation. besides, I had an advantage that I could apply for higher studies either in Kerala or Gujarat", he makes light of my concern.

Always practical. Always Positive. That is Jiji Thomas for you.

'I don't like Diesel Cars'...

"I don't like diesel cars", he comments almost non-sequitur

I don't like absolute statements like this. I HAVE to get to the reason.

"Why don't you like diesel cars?" I ask

"Their vibration make me feel like vomiting", he announces

I have a diesel car. I don't feel the vibration in my car. I don't feel like vomiting when I am in it. I can't let this go without a fight.

I review the weapons in my armory. I could use technology, or I could use fuel economy. I chose technology.

"The new diesel engine technologies make the vibration in the car almost non-existent", I throw down the gauntlet. This is the brahmastra of arguments. A motherhood point that closes diesel / petrol debate in almost all cases.

Not this time. The discussion has just begun.

"Are you talking about CRDi technology?", he asks

I have no clue. I have just heard of CRDi. I don't have any idea about any of the diesel engine  technologies out there. I realize that I have entered into this battle without much preparation. I have underestimated the competition.

I am not about to give up.

"Maybe", I bravely reply. The trick to win a debate is to give your opponent the impression that you know much more than you are willing to divulge.

Fortunately, he doesn't ask me to expand CRDi. (Much later, Google tells me that it stands for 'Common Rail Direct Injection"). He assumes that I know.

"CRDi is not as great as it is made out to be. The difference between petrol engines and diesel engines is that in the former, there is a single source of ignition is created using a spark plug. This means that the flame moves in a uniform linear direction. This ensures smooth and complete combustion of the fuel. In diesel engines, on the other hand, the the ignition is caused due to high pressure. In this case, during the suction phase the diesel gets injected and remains as separate small goblets and the ignition causes multiple flame fronts inside the piston. This damages the surface of the piston and the inside of the cylinder. Also some fuel do not get ignited and this leads to waste of fuel", he says

He is throwing his Timoshenko, Rankine, Carnot and Khurmi at me. I  have no clue about what he is saying.

But, he is in his elements.

"What CRDi does is that it uses air compression to maintain a uniform air pressure inside the cylinder while injecting diesel into the piston. This high pressure breaks the diesel into very small goblets thereby ensuring homogeneity inside the piston and resolving the problem of multiple flame fronts from happening", he continues

I sense an opening.

"This means that CRDi is good technology. That is what I am saying.", I tell him jubilantly

He has not completed. "The problems is that over a period of time (30000 to 40000 Kilometers), the holes will tend to become bigger. Then what will happen?", he surprises me with a question from the left flank

I have no clue. I throw a dart. "The air pressure will reduce", I reply

Surprisingly, this one hits the bull eye.

"Correct", he gives me a quick appreciation and continues, "As the holes become bigger, the air pressure reduces, the goblets become bigger and hence less homogeneous and we are back to the problem of multiple flame fronts", he concludes

I have no way of arguing with him since I have no clue of what he is saying. Apparently at this point he seem to have won the debate.

But I have the weapon of 'Fuel Economy'. I have never seen it fail, though with the recent oil price hikes, the weapon has dulled a bit.

"What about fuel economy?", I play my last card, "Diesel vehicles give more milage per litre of fuel, don't they?"

It is almost like he is expecting this question. "Lets do a quick math, shall we?", he asks and continues without waiting for my answer. "Let us take this car for example. It is a Swift Petrol and I get about 16 Kilometers per litre of petrol. Diesel costs about 7 rupees lower per litre and gives me 4 Kilometers more per litre. So the cost per kilometer for petrol is Rs.4 and for diesel is Rs.3. So the cost benefit for diesel over petrol is approximately Rs.1 per kilometer. A diesel car costs about a lakh (100000) more than a petrol car of the same specifications. Which means that to offset the extra cost, a diesel car has to run about a lakh (100000) kilometers, just to breakeven. An average person runs his car for about 10000 kilometers in a year, which means that it will take 10 years to breakeven. Which business man will invest in such a business?", he completes innocently.

I sit there battered, my arguments ruthlessly demolished. I remember that I paid 1.5 lakhs more for my diesel car, purchased in 2010 and till now, I have driven only 30000 kilometers. As per the above calculation, I will need to drive 150000 kilometers just to breakeven and given my driving history, it will take......till eternity...

Friends, I give you Premnath, one of the few pure play, theoretical and conceptually strong mechanical engineers of Tec'86 batch.

After graduating in '86, Premnath worked for three years in Mumbai. In 1989 he wrote the GTRE (Gas Turbine Research Establishment, under DRDO) entrance examination. Those who came within the first 20 ranks were selected. Premnath scored 21st rank.

"That was a wakeup call for me", Premnath told me over dinner at his home in Palakkad, "I suddenly realized that I have lost the technical edge. Immediately I joined TKM College for MTech in Cryogenics"

Having completed his MTech in '91, in the same year he joined NSS College of Engineering, Palakkad as a lecturer in Mechanical Engineering. He has been in Palakkad ever since.

In the year 1992, Premnath married Usha, she being a BTech from REC Calicut and MTech from TKM College of Engineering. Usha, his always-smiling wife, works as an Executive Engineer in Kerala Water Authority in Palakkad. They have two children. Elder son Dr.Ramu Vinayak is a Dental Surgeon and the younger son Govind Vinayak is currently pursuing graduation in NSS College of Engineering. Unlike his father, who like badminton, Govind loves football and is also goes to gym regularly.

In 2012, Premnath got his PhD in 'Data Centre Cooling Optimization'. I asked him how he managed to do PhD at such a late stage in his career. While all of us aspire to do PhD there are only handful of them in our batch. So his feat, achieved at such an age, is very impressive.

"I, along with a friend of mine, used to do heat transfer audit for data centres ever since they became the norm. We used to travel all over India auditing data centres and documenting results, suggesting improvements and analysing patterns. Since I had the habit of making regular and detailed notes on all that I observed, over the years I piled up a lot of significantly useful data."

"Once I had all this data, the idea of writing a thesis germinated in my mind. I approached one of our seniors, who was a professor in Cochin University to be my guide and he immediately agreed.", Premnath told me.

"But you would have had to put in a lot of reading, a lot of research to prepare the material for your thesis?", I asked

"Nothing. I did not have to do anything special or read anything more to get this PhD. The field was new, I was probably the only person in the world to have done such assignments and the research. So what I write was the first material of its kind ever. Even my guide told me, "Premnath, I don't have a clue about this subject, I can't guide you. So you present any thesis and I will send it for evaluation". So I had it relatively easy", Premnath chuckled at the thought. 

"You are one lucky guy", I thought to myself. Talk about being at the right place at the right time...

We are sitting in the drawing room of his 3000 square feet home in the outskirts of Palakkad, away from all the noise. The entire house is lined with wood paneling. The doors and the pillars are made of teak wood, the ceiling is made of rose wood. The floors are made of exquisite tiles that he purchased all the way from Krishnagiri. 

"If I had purchased them here, the same tiles would have cost me 7 Lakhs. The total cost of these tiles, including transportation from Krishnagiri came to about 2.2 Lakhs", Premnath told me.

The analytical, engineering mind at work, ladies and gentlemen.

The house is situated in a land covering 20 Cents. When he purchased the land, the cost was about two lakhs per cent. Now it has become about 6 Lakhs.

"With the new railway overbridge coming up, the cost will escalate", he told me.

Being a practicing mechanical engineer, Premnath has designed the house with 'Thermal Design' concepts in mind. 

"The ceiling is 11 feet and above that there is a false ceiling of about 6 feet. The entire heat in all the rooms flow out through a duct in the middle of the house using convection currents. At any point, there will be a 13-14 degree difference between the temperatures outside and inside", he says.

I look at the ceiling fans.

"You are wondering as to why we have fans if the rooms are cool.", he says, . "The reason is that during summers the outside temperature can touch 46 degrees and even 33 degrees inside is hot"

Friends, most of us go all over the world in search of getting work, getting money and hoping of finally coming back and settling down in our home state. Then there are few lucky people like Premnath, who have managed to get a steady, well paying job in the home state, build two houses in a very peaceful area of the town, very near railway stations and his work place.

He and family regularly go to any of the many temples dotting nearby. They wake up to the mellifluous voice of Yesudas singing devotional songs, sit and listen to the chirping of the birds or wake up to the crowing of a distant cock...Premnath tends flowers in his garden, his son plucks coconuts from the coconut tree and his wife gets the chilly and Kariveppila from the kitchen garden and make chutney and serve it with hot home made Idli for breakfast....

There is not much of a work pressure for Premnath. He has classes of about 18 hours a week and a lab oversight of another 6 hours. He regularly plays badminton in the morning in the college indoor court and goes for a regular one hour evening walk at Kotta Maidanam in the middle of Palakkad Town.

Regular and relaxed life in the home state. Life that many of us dream about....

Over the years, he had met with a few tragedies in his life. He lost his father in '96 and his elder brother in an accident in 2003. He took care of his elder brother's children and got them educated. His nephew is currently working as Financial Advisor to crown prince of Abu Dhabi. Again in 2015, his sister became a widow and Premnath again stepped up and supported the education for his nephew. In addition to his family, Premnath continues to take care of his mother and sister as well.

In Hindu philosophy, being born in earth is the ultimate punishment. You face a lot of challenges and many tragedies. Many people get in to your train of life, share some time with you and leave you. There is something honorable  in being out there, facing the challenges head on, taking the tragedies and happiness in your stride, continue to do what you are supposed to do irrespective of whether you like it or not. 

Premnath has managed it exceptionally well. Great job, Premnath.

The Success Paradigms...

Friends, life is funny. 

In some cases, it continuously changes the environment and expect you to be nimble and flexible. It expect you to look out for the changes in environment, keep yourself updated to the needs of the changing environment and then take quick and sometimes tough decisions...

Life expects you to take action if you want to succeed.

In the other case, life takes action, as it were.

The environment changes itself to accommodate your experience and expertise. You continue doing what you do best and environment will keep changing so that your knowledge and expertise will have new avenues to explore and succeed.

Take the case of one of my friends Saji.

Saji, a.k.a Saji Mathew was my colleague in Engineering College. He graduated in Production Engineering.

In college days one rarely heard anything special about Saji. Nothing special. Just some of the goofy stuff that he did sometimes.

Normal Goofy Stuff, without doing which they don't give you an engineering degree. Nothing exceptional.

After our graduation, we went out into the wide world looking for jobs. Graduating in those were not like what it is today, where, while you are in your final semester you have an Infy offer in your left hand and a TCS offer in your right hand, with an HCL offer on its way to you. Those days jobs were scarce, economy was growing at Hindu rate of growth, no IT, no Private sector employer, especially, for those engineers who come out of engineering colleges in Kerala.

Saji got a job as an engineer with Alind, a Electrical Tower EPC company in Kerala, at a paltry sum of Rs.1200.00 (Approximately USD 25) per month. This company was into the business of erecting and commissioning Transmission towers for State Electricity Boards. Those days, the only new towers that got erected were in the Jungles of Bihar, Jharkhand (of course it was part of Bihar then), Chattisgarh, Andhra, MP and North East.

Saji's first project was to erect a tower in a god forsaken village in the Jungles of Bihar. The nearest civilization was about 60 Kilometers away.

"It was tough", Saji told me over a beer, "We, a group of 4 engineers, stayed in the town and every morning we will take this morning train to the work site which was about 60 odd Kilometers away. There is a small tea stall  in the railway station and we used to eat Puri and Rasagolla in the morning and used to pack it and eat the same thing for lunch. On our way back, we had our evening tea and snacks in the same railway station, and come home and prepare something and eat"

"It was tough", reiterated Saji thoughtfully.

"Didn't you have other opportunities?", after all some of our classmates had joined very reputed private sector companies by then. Didn't Saji try that?

That was a silly question. In those days of job scarcity, one tried everything. Only that one did not get everything.

Or anything for that matter.

"I had one or two offers for Marriage from Nurses in US and Gulf", Saji said

That is not exactly the kind of opportunities I was asking about, if you see what I mean. It was almost like I was asking him about 'Rain' and he was talking to me about 'Pain' ( Or Main. Or Gain. Or whatever. Not the point)

The point is this. If you are an engineer from Kerala, you will get many offers of marriage from the families of Girls who work as Nurses (that is one job that Kerala exports abundantly). They are looking for educated grooms from their own state. The offer is usually very attractive. You will get wife, and a Visa to go to the new country, which is usually US or Gulf. Once you are there, you can make it.

Wife and Visa. What more can you ask for?

This is an easy option for many boys and many take it.

Unless someone is bullheaded.

Like Saji

"Why you did not take up the offer?" I asked him. I already knew the answer. Because he was bullheaded.

"I was bullheaded" said Saji, as if on cue, "I had this romantic notion that if I go anywhere or do something, it will be on my own efforts and not by coat tailing on my wife. So I rejected the offers"

"And continued to struggle", I murmured inaudibly.

"And continued to struggle", continued Saji reading my mind, "Once I finished Bihar, I was assigned to Madhya Pradesh and then to AP. "

"I kept moving on from one Jungle to another, erecting and commissioning HT towers."

"I did this for nine years", said Saji thoughtfully

"Life of an engineer erecting a HT tower for a State Electricity Board is very tough. You have to travel in Sultry weather, in the hot sun, in rainy days, in the bus, in the rikshaws, in the sleeper class and general class in trains, get bitten by mosquitoes..."

"Life was tough" said Saji.

But he soldiered on.

"But I soldiered on for about 9 years like this."

"Then in 1996, I was offered a job with Motorola." informed Saji.

"How did you land a job with the hottest MNC around?, that too while working in the Jungles" I was curious

"Motorola was big way into its project called Irridium, where they had this idea of connecting the whole world with Satellite Phones. They had their own satellites in the GSO, and they erected these tall towers to transmit signals to the satellite and also to receive signals from Satellite. They had big plans in India and they wanted to erect many towers and they were looking for Tower professionals. Fortunately I saw the ad and applied for the job and got it."

See, I told you. The environment was slowly changing to accommodate Saji's expertise.

"I was posted in Kolkata and my brief was to erect towers in the east and the northeast", reminisced Saji

"Life in Motorola was the exact opposite of what I had experienced in Alind. I had high expense budgets. I used to fly to various states, stay in five star accommodation, take taxis for local travel, had good bata (Daily allowance). While in Motorola,  I spent some years in Kolkata and some years in Bangalore."

"Didn't the Irridium project of Motorola fail?" I asked, showing off my General Awareness.

"Yes, it did", replied Saji, "but by that time, the telecom revolution in India had begun and MNC telecom companies started setting shop in India and they needed Telecom Towers. So there was a lot of demand for Engineers with expertise in erection of Telecom Towers. And I was one of the few with that expertise"

I told you. Environment is working overtime to accommodate Saji's expertise. First it was Motarola, now it was Telecom revolution. Everyone needed Towers to be erected and Saji was there erecting 'em.

It was not as if Saji was not taking tough calls. While in Bangalore, he got an offer from Ericcson for their offices in Chandigarh. Saji relocated to Chandigarh.

He spent about two years in Chandigarh. Then he again moved, this time to Mumbai as some top honcho with Tata Teleservices Limited, in their Tower division.

The rest is an ongoing story as I write. Saji is still with TTSL. He is still in Mumbai. He has purchased an awesome 19th floor apartment overlooking Vashi Creek. (I went there once. The view is amazing and the beauty is that in front of his house is a Mangrove forest [Protected] and beyond that is the water. Nothing is going to come between his house and the creek.) "Purchased at 95 Lakhs", Saji told me, "now it should be about 3.5 Crores".

He has grown through the ranks and is currently working as Vice President at TTSL.

All the while the environment is continuing to change. 2G is gone and now 3G is coming and then 4G. Big companies like Reliance are majorly entering into Telecom. So many things are happening in the Telecom Industry.

In tune with that, the Tower Industry is changing and consolidating. New players are entering the fray. They will continue to grow and will continue to demand top talent.

All this while, while the industry is changing, the environment is in chaos, Saji will continue to erect towers. And the environment will continue to adjust and accommodate to his expertise.

I anticipate that Saji will be the second CEO of our batch. I look forward to his speech at Kerala Engineers Association Meeting in Bangalore some time.

Your Father is a hero...

Our batch in Engineering, batch of TEC 86, was the best batch of our times. Our batch excelled in Curricular, Extra Curricular, Co-curricular and sports activities with the same flair, elan and panache...

Each of us, in our small capacity made some differences, some contributions and efforts to make our batch what it was,the winners in any 'Inter Year Competitions'. Some of our batchmates  like Jiji,Tom Alex, Gopi, Santosh Mathew, Eipe, Habeeb, Ambika and many others made more contributions than others, but that do not lower the contributions of all of us. We created the 'eco system' of the batch around which all of us could grow and thrive.

To my mind, one person who excelled at what he did and equally helped in building a strong eco-system was Hanumant.

During our college days, Hanumant was the fulcrum around which most of us in the batch navigated. He was good at sports. He was a very talented badminton player, he was a member of the college Cricket team, and a member of the college table tennis team. In addition, he was a member of various arts initiatives and he was friendly with most of us in the batch. He was respected by the seniors, the batch mates and the juniors alike. 

This was not easy. 

During those days, our college was rife with political brinkmanship and skulduggery of huge proportions. One could not look at another college mate without labelling them as belonging to one party or another. Hanumant effortlessly navigated these rough and cloudy political seas with the ease of a trapeze artist. 

(Note to myself: this is a stupid, cliched sentence. Trapeze artists do not navigate the rough seas, a sailor does. I  should change the sentence)

Hanumant effortlessly navigated these rough and cloudy political seas with the ease of an expert sailor.

He was the Captain of the college badminton team, which also had the reigning mens national Champion George Thomas in its ranks. If my memory serves me right, under his captaincy, our college won the university title. 

He had his feet on different boats and he balanced the situation with felicity which was the envy of a lot of us.

Why am I saying all this?

I remembered this when I met Hanumant at Mysore this weekend. 

We had met over dinner, my family and his - wife Vaishali, daughter Manasa and son Krishna, during our quick, whirlwind visit to Mysore. We were talking about the new multiplex which Vaishali owns in Mysore.

"I never knew if Hanumant had cleared his Engineering", Vaishali was narrating about the problems faced while constructing the Multiplex. "of all the problems that I faced, installation of Electrical equipment was the most difficult. Hanumant helped me extensively during the installation that I realized how good his knowledge of electrical engineering was."

I looked quizzically at Hanumbant. Why did not his family know if he had cleared the engineering?

Immediately after the final exam, Hanumant joined his father in his textile business. Since he was clear that his career was in business, he never bothered to collect his degree certificate from the college. 

"So you always had doubts if he was an electrical engineer?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes", she replied half in jest. Vaishali has a cute way of smiling. 

"During the construction of our multiplex, I was flooded with opinions, views and advises on how to handle the electrical installation. This is the most challenging part of the construction of a public building since we need multiple clearances from various departments. All of them needed a lot of technical clarifications. I was becoming desperate. That is when Hanumant took charge. He negotiated with the vendors, went into details of each and every procurement and job, interfaced with the government authorities to get the clearances..." Vaishali was looking at Hanumant with that shy affection that most Indian woman display when talking about their husbands. 

"So it took the construction of this multiplex for you to understand the true potential and capability of Hanumant?" I was dumbstruck at the magnitude of the question.

"Yes, without it I would never have known how good an engineer he is", answered Vaishali thoughtfully.

"Let me get this clear. If it were not for this multiplex, you would not have known one of the most significant aspects of your husband, that is, his capability. Forget his knowledge of Engineering, but what he demonstrated in this multiplex episode is his flexibility in wading in to uncharted territory and successfully completing the tasks. In that episode he demonstrated a significant personal strength, and you are telling me that this was hidden to you all these 20 odd years that you have been together", as mentioned before,  I was amazed.

"Did you know that your father is a very good badminton player?", I turned to Krishna.

"I know that he plays badminton. I don't know how good he is", the child responded.

"During our college days, he was the captain of the college team. The team also included George Thomas, who was the all India Champion. While your father was very good, in one game, George gave your father 14 point handicap and beat him 16-14. Under your father, we won the university title" I told Krishna. 

The kid looked at his father with a new pride.

Friends, this is the question that I am asking you.

All of us were heroes, one way or other, during our growing years. While some like Hanumant excelled in different sports, most of us has demonstrated heroism during our child-adulthood. Even, small acts like throwing stone the farthest, climbing the tallest trees (and peeing from great heights on unsuspecting people walking below), or throwing stone, bringing down the mango, wiping it with green 'Communist Pacha' leaves, sitting under the tree and eating them...

All these are acts of heroism that our kids will be proud to know. 

The question is how many children know the capabilities of their fathers? (I am writing this from the father perspective, but this applies equally to mothers). How many family myths of our heroism we share with our children, our family? In traditional households, these tasks are done by the grandmothers, but in the modern nuclear family, the children are missing that important link that teach the children about their parents. 

In the absence of these family myths, the kids judge us by the 'standards of heroism' as it exists today. My father do not even have an email address, I heard one child say, how ancient is that? you know, my dad still use Windows XP, I try telling him to switch to Windows 7, but he doesn't listen to reason, says another kid.  Even now, my father do not know how to transfer files from one pc to another using bluetooth, says another boy. The other day, my father accidentally deleted a very important file and he was going crazy. I pointed out to him that the deleted files are in the 'recycle bin', what kind of ignorant person are you if you do not know about the 'Recycle Bin'?..

The fathers of today struggle to meet the new standards of todays kids and all of us fail, some miserably. 

How do we resolve this? Does it take a crisis (as in case of Vaishali and multiplex) for our family to know our potential?

I remembered the book 'To kill a Mockingbird' that I read some time back. The leading character is Jem, the daughter of Atticus Finch, who is a widower. Every time Jem goes to school, her friends talks about the heroic acts of their parents. Jem grows up believing that her father is an incompetent lawyer. One day, the village was attacked by a rabid dog. While everyone was sitting inside, it was Atticus Finch, who bravely ventured out, took his gun and shot down the dog. That was when Jem knew that in his young adulthood days, her father was the best shot in all of the state. 

Do we need our own 'rabid dog to kill' for our kids to know that we are all heroes in our own way?

Do the children need to know? Is it relevant for them to know what we did in childhood or adulthood? 

Just think about it. In case you think it is relevant, do not wait for your own 'Rabid Dog' moment to demonstrate your heroism. 

10 things to do in Delhi....

My friend Habeeb wrote to us that he is planning to go to Delhi for a training.
I wrote him a list of 10 things that you can do in Delhi. This list is based on 'Top 10 List' of David Letterman..
Here are the top 10 things that you could do in Delhi. This post was written at a time where there were a lot of protests going on in Delhi against Corruption.

Those of my readers in US and Alaska won't find this any funny. Suggest they skip this post.

10. Stand on top of Redfort and do a 'Republic day' speech in 'Chentamil (Pure Tamil)' [Normally this speech is given in Hindi, our national language]
9. Meet Manmohan Singh and convey your disappointment at his performance. Do not forget to get his autograph.
8. Meet a few left MPs before they become extinct
7. Walk on Connaught Place with a placard that reads 'We are from Kerala, our weather is pleasent'
6. Do an item number in Rajghat.
5. Go to Ramlila grounds and flick a few stuff lying around there that belonged to Baba Ramdev Devotees.
4. Do actual 'Yoga' in Ramlila grounds rather than the 'Nautanki' that was on TV.
3. Go against the crowd. Chant 'Corruption Zindabad' in front of Anna Hazare
2. Meet Raja and Kanimozhi at Tihar Jail and give them a complaint about your Aircell connection.
1. Be a member of Lokpal committee. I hear anyone can join.

Krishnamurti Rao, the first CEO from Class of '86...

People, let me tell you something....

Life is like a balloon filled with air and released. You don't know what trajectory it will take. You don't know what path it will take. 

You can only fill the air, release the balloon and hope that you land up in Las Vegas and not in Sub Saharan Africa.

Krishnamurti Rao didn't know it then. The moment he said 'Good Morning Ramaswamy, How are you?', his goose was well and truly cooked.

"I am good Rao, How are you? where are you now?" I responded with a flurry of queries. 

"I am also good Ramaswamy" Rao responded in that affable voice of his, "I am in Mumbai now."

"In Mumbai? Where are you working now?" I queried

"I work for Future Generali General Insurance" he replied patiently

I moved on to talk to others. He moved on to talk to others.

I met him again during the program. 

"Rao, I wanted to tell you one thing. Years have added more glow to your face. You have that 'Tejas' on your face. While many others seem to have aged differently, you seem to have done a good job of moving to middle age" 

 

man, wasn't I intrusive?

Rao said something like 'Thanks'. How can you respond to such comments, except wishing you were elsewhere? 

We moved on to talk to others.

If he thought that I was done with him, he was mistaken. I buttonholed him again at lunch.

"So Rao, you are with Future Generali now?" I started.

If Rao was fed up with me, he did not show it.

"Yes", he replied, cordial to the core.

"But you were with VSSC? " I was as persistent as a bulldog.

"Yes" he responded, resigned to Ramaswamy

"So what are you doing in Future Generali?" I inquired.

"I work for them" Rao replied.

"Yes I know you work for them. But what do YOU DO?" I was sticky as Fevicol.

People, please understand my drift. Here is a guy, having graduated in Production Engineering, who had worked for VSSC, which was considered THE JOB for engineering graduates in 1986, is now coolly telling me that he works for a General Insurance company in Mumbai. You tell me, doesn't it call for a bit more prompting? What is an engineer doing in an insurance company? What the....? 

Dafaq?

I was expecting some answer like 'I work in the risk management, analysing the technical risk of the companies that want to insure themselves with us'. That is what Engineers should be doing in an insurance company.

"So, Rao...." I was not going to go away without an answer.

"I am the CEO", he responded

I shot my bolt. What can you say after that?

In the evening, Rao joined us over a beer.

(Here you can see a US Visa photo of Krishnamoorthy Rao)

"Guys, did you know that Rao is the CEO of Future Generali?"  I initiated the opening gambit.

There were 'wows' and 'congrats' going all around for Rao. 

Ebby said that on the way to the hotel someone told that he resembled Tom Cruise. 

Different aspirations....

I continued from where I left off in the morning. I could see that two hours of rest had 'De Ramaswamy'fied Rao. It was time for fresh assault.

"So Rao, how did you end up in Insurance Industry? After graduation, you had joined VSSC, hadn't you?" 

This was a kind of starter question. In the morning Rao had already mentioned that point.

"Yes, that is correct" replied Rao.

"Then what happened?" I pressed

"I did not like Trivandrum. So when GIC (General Insurance Corporation, a government owned Indian Insurance Giant) came up with entrance exam for trainees, I opted for it. GIC had openings in Ernakulam and I wanted to move there."

"Then what happened?"

"I cleared the exam and they posted me in Mumbai."

"So your original plan of working in Ernakulam did not work out." I pointed out.

"No, it didn't. In retrospect, It was a blessing in disguise" Said Rao

Rao moved to Mumbai in 1989 or thereabouts, I think. That was around the time MM Singh (Manmohan Singh, the then Finance Minister and the current Prime Minister of India) introduced the path-breaking reforms that catapulted Indian Economy on an enviable growth path. Rao stuck on to GIC for about 6 years and then when the insurance industry opened up, he joined the multinational insurance industry (Some of these dates may be off by a bit. I am recalling from memory). In Future Generali, he rose to become the Country Risk Manager, before becoming the CEO of the organization.

Just take a pause and answer these questions...

Did Rao want to go to Mumbai? No

Did Rao want to be in insurance industry? My answer is again 'No'. If he did not expect a posting in Ernakulam, he would not have taken the entrance exam. Taking this exam was Rao's 'Air filled balloon release moment'. 

Did he plan to reach this level? Again answer would be no.

In 1989, did he know that economy is about to turn around in another 3 years? No again.

If all the answers above are no, then what did Rao do right?

What Rao did right, in my opinion, is to accept the challenges, show stick-to-it-iveness, and by being there when organization needed. Simple straightforward commitment....

Ladies and gentlemen, let me reiterate...

Life is like a balloon filled with air and released. You don't know what trajectory it will take. You don't know what path it will take. 

 

You can only fill the air, release the balloon and hope that you land up in Mumbai and not in Thumba (Place where VSSC is located). 

A tribute to Saji P George...

Nuclear Fusion is the process of releasing huge amounts of energy by combining two atoms. Energy released by fusion is considered to be much more than that released by the other process, Fission. Fusion releases huge amount of energy in the Sun's core. 

I remembered Nuclear Fusion when I was talking to Saji P George, 'SAIPER', during my recent visit to US.

It was not easy to get to Saiper. No one seemed to have his mobile number. I had to sent a mail to Saji's city council ID. He immediately sent me his phone number. When I called he was out of office. After some time he called back. Since I had saved his number, I responded with an excited 'Saji'. He asked who is this? I replied that this was Ramaswamy (in Malayalam). We spoke for about 5 minutes, me talking relentlessly in Malayalam and Saji responding (equally relentlessly) in English. He was on his way to Dentist, he told me (in English), can he call back after two hours? 

When he called back after two hours, Saji had found his 'Pacha Malayalam' (Raw Malayalam). 

I always considered Saiper as the person most similar to me while in College. We were the number one and two (Positions interchanging) 'Kathis' (Kathi: A person who has opinions on anything and is not afraid to share the same) of our batch. We had opinions on everything and sometimes even on nothing. Both of us wanted everything to be picture perfect, we wanted everyone to be happy, we both wanted a super engineering college where each of us can help the other grow and both of us wished to return to the halcyon (there is a tough word, take out your Websters...) days when seniors were seniors and locals dreaded the 'Tough Kids' of the engineering college.

And both of us loved to talk. Loved the sound of our voices as it were...

So when I was talking to Saiper, ideas and opinions were getting released dime a dozen and enough verbal energy was getting generated to power an entire village...

I had always been fascinated by Saiper. Like I mentioned before, here was a guy who was very similar to me in Engineering college (I could see Saiper cringe....) and over the years our paths had taken different directions. Saiper had joined ISRO after the Engineering, and then moved to US the hard way, by writing GRE and getting admission in Texas Institute of Technology (What is its Acronym?). He went on to graduate in Aeronautics ('Rocket Science') and had landed a good and steady job in the US. Last heard, in addition to holding a middle management position in the company,  he was also a council member in the City Council of Sunnyvale in Texas.

How 'bout me? I had joined SAIL, went to work in Durgapur Steel Plant in West Bengal, worked there for about 10 Years, then taught in a Management Institute for two years before finally ending up as an ERP Consultant having switched multiple companies. 

How is it that despite being very similar personalities, our paths diverged so significantly? Was it luck? Was it fate? Or was it a clear, goal directed approach by Saji (I knew it was not me, I was more of a flotsam, going with the flow). Were there significant circumstances, significant individuals, who helped the career directions that each of us (especially Saiper) and influenced the career decisions that he took to reach US.

By any measure, Saji was a success. He had a Degree from a leading Institute in US, works in a senior role in a leading manufacturing company in the US, attends church regularly  (as per his website), is a city council member, has two smart children, a very pretty wife, looks after his 84 year old father....

Son, Father, manager, member of the local community and husband, Saji has been playing all these roles with flair, elan and flamboyance over the last 20 years.

Of course, if you had closely observed Saji in College, you could have seen some of these traits. I am talking about roles other than Father and husband, of course. He took up the role of 'Mess Secretary' on more than one occasion, demonstrating his instincts for community service (It is a moot point if community was happy with his service, for his period is well known for the 'Chala' fish that he regularly served in the hostel). He used to attend church regularly, mostly to see to all the pretty Christian girls from our college and Vimala College who used to come there (Once back from Church, he used to mention Mercy, Lily, Viji....every names except ' Mary' (Our holy mother) seeing whom was the whole purpose of going to church...). And I had observed him studying hard on the eve of the exams..

As I mentioned before, I was curious to know the catalysts that propelled Saiper to the US from a cushy job at ISRO. How did a 'Thiruvalla Boy' became a 'Texas Man'. How did the evolution happen?

If you want to know about Saiper, who is better equipped to tell you that the man himself? 

I asked Saji to tell me his story. 

"It was sometime in '89 (Saji told me), I was working in ISRO. I had always wanted to go to US, but was not confident that I could do it. I had a friend named Venkatraman, who always used to motivate me to take up GRE and do higher studies in the US. But I kept putting it off."

"I also had a boss, named Sivaramakrishnan Nair, who was one of the most brilliant scientists that I have ever worked with. He had degrees from US, but did not (could not) work there. He motivated me to take up higher studies in the US. He used to tell me, 'Saji, you have potential, so don't waste it'. It was his continuous support that made me take up GRE'. Said Saji

"He was a good Christian", Saji told me using the well known Texan phrase used to describe a helpful person, "eventhough he was a Hindu. If it were not for him, I would still be in ISRO"  Saji told me thoughtfully.

"Those days, you could not take up TOEFL and GRE from Kerala. So I went to Chennai and based on my GRE Scores, I was able to get in to Texas Institute with Scholarship", Saji continued, "Those were the days of tight Forex control. You could only carry a maximum of 20 dollars when travelling abroad. So I landed in US with just 20 Dollars in my pocket" Said Saji grandly.

Of course, he had heard of all those millionaires who had come to US with just 20 Dollars in their pocket and made it big in US due to the dint of their hard work. That was different from a person who lands in US because, his country rules prevented him from carrying more cash. 

"But your sister was here in US, she could help you if you were in need", I pointed out. I had to prick a hole in the balloon of gravitas that Saji was building up.

"Of course, that it true, but you have to remember that both my sister and her husband were trying to establish themselves in US and they also had a very small kid by the time I was here. I was not very comfortable asking my sister from money" Saiper replied.

"By the time I graduated from the Institute, the economy had got into a recession. I couldn't get a job. So I worked as a mechanic for about an year. I cleaned engines, fitted cars, literally dirtied my hands with Grease Paint. I had taken a flat here in Texas, and found that many Indians who came to US in search for jobs landed at my apartment. At one point, there were 6 people staying in my apartment and I was the only earning member. All of them are doing well now." Saji told me.

"That was a very kind gesture on your part" I was appreciative.

"That is what we are in this planet for, isn't it Rama?" Saji was philosophical, "As individuals, we have to help others where possible"

The guy's heart was in the right place...

"My work as a mechanic also helped me in another way. I learned to understand the problems of lil' guys", Saji mentioned.

"Lil' guys?" I asked

"Yes, lil' guys, the guys who work under you in the plant you know, the mechanics, the fitters, the painters. Who keep the wheels of the Factory operations running", Saji explained patiently.

'Lil' guys........'

"When did your father come to live with you?" I asked.

"He came in '90 after my mother died. Since then he has been here in US with me. He is enjoying a lot. He goes for regular walks, has many friends. Sometimes he pines for 'Nattinpuram' you know. You know Rama (Saji the philosopher piped up) all thru our childhood our parents supported us. So it is our responsibility to look after them when they are older. That is only natural" Saji responded

I was touched by the downright earthiness and simplicity of Saji's logic and response. Hat's off to you man. 

It is easy for us in India to get our parents to come and stay with us. But to get a grieving parent to a different country, especially when you yourself are struggling to establish yourself, and ensuring that the parent is happy and to finally ensure that he gets a citizenship...That is exemplary demonstration of a son's commitment to his father. 

Saji was walking the talk. 

"To continue the story of my career, since the early days of my trouble, I have managed to get job (s) in US and am currently settled here in US. I have a good job, has a wonderful wife and great kids, have my 84 year old father staying with me. What more can one ask from life?" Saji was again into his philosophical, 'Kathi' self.

"You know, you are a classic example of Maslov's hierarchy of needs. Initially person is motivated by his physiological needs like food. Once these are sated, he then moves on to security needs like house, enough money in the bank etc. Once these are satisfied, you get into the third level of needs, which is the 'Social Needs', you want to be a part of a group. Most of us, including you, achieved this by getting into a good job with some good colleagues. Fourth need is the 'self - esteem' needs where one is motivated to be recognized for his contribution. You fulfilled this need by doing community service, tell me about it?" I couldn't help show off my knowledge of motivational literature. Once you know stuff you got to show off somewhere....

Saji was more than happy to talk about it. "The culture of community service is very strong in the US. From early on, I and my family were enthusiastic participants in church activities. From then on, moving to becoming a member of City Council was a natural progression. I am enjoying my work here, even though it is sinecure (Saji didn't say this word, Saji said the work at council is voluntary and do not pay anything, you do the math)" Saji concluded.

We spoke some more. 

I was fascinated by my discussion with Saiper. From growing up in the early eighties in Kerala, confused and not knowing his full potential like most of us, Saji has come a long way towards fulfilling his potential. While he has some way to go to reach the 'Self actualization needs', the fifth level in Maslov's hierarchy, Saji has his basics right. He seem to be having clear vision, follows simple steps to meet his vision,  has played his various roles with panache and has built up significant level of experience and expertise. It is only a matter of time Saji fulfills his full potential. 

Hats off to you Saji. It was wonderful and elevating talking to you. I enjoyed every bit of our discussion. 

I have become your fan....

Finally, why Fusion? Because the discussion between me and Saji is like the fusion to two 'Kathis'. Enormous amount of verbal energy is released when we talk. 

Note: Some of the facts mentioned in this mail may be wrong. After all this is written from the memory of a call that I had with Saiper about 20 days ago. But the spirit of this mail is very accurate.