No Time Please …I am very busy!

Lack of time is an excuse that many people who have plenty of time give; for not doing a job or not doing the mandatory exercises or even pursuing a hobby. It is just a mindset problem. I have found that the busiest people I know always find time to do what they want!

 

My friend Sam Balsara, the legendary adman, Chairman of the Madison Group, is one such person. Apart from his personal involvement in the thirty-odd companies he has a stake in; he is also very active in many industry bodies. His day starts at 9.00 am when he leaves for his office and ends only when he returns home after 10 or 11 pm invariably after attending some function or the other. Though an extremely busy man, he always finds time to do a great job of whatever responsibility he takes on. He is also very prompt in responding to any communication sent to him by anyone through email, SMS, or even a simple telephone call. It may be just a two-word ‘Yes Rajan’, ‘No Rajan’, or a line giving his response to a problem or a request posed to him. When a journalist once asked him “You are always so busy. How do you find time for everything? Don’t you ever relax?” He said, “Since I am thoroughly enjoying whatever I am doing, I relax on the job” He is really amazing!

 

At the height of my career, I was also involved with a few industry bodies and NGOs. If I had willingly committed to do a job, I would just do it, I would never say; “Sorry I did not have the time, so I could not do the job”.  Only acts of God and nature would prevent me from keeping up my promise.

 

After analyzing the success stories of many successful and accomplished people, I have concluded that the secret lies in ‘Time Management’ and prioritizing the jobs at hand. If you plan your activities for the day, for the week, or even for a month ahead, you can by and large achieve whatever you set out to do – barring when your routine is affected by totally unexpected events happening in the family or when your health is badly affected.

 

I am a great believer in preparing checklists for every activity I am involved in, so much so, in some circles, I am even known as ‘Checklist Rajan’. I have found from experience that when you list down everything in writing, instead of depending on your memory (which in any case is poor in my case)  and meticulously follow up on the list you can achieve a lot. You will never give a lack of time or poor memory as an excuse for not doing a job. It is another matter if you prepare the checklist but forget to review it regularly.

 

I remember, in the good old days my weekly job list covering various organizations I was involved with (including a section covering the jobs connected with my household ) used to run into several pages and the daily list used to be at least two pages. But these days, post-retirement my checklist of jobs to be done for a whole month can be fitted into a single page and the checklist of jobs for the day is only a couple of lines.

 

The sense of achievement you get when you are able to do a job well even when you have time constraints is something that you have to experience to realize it. “Great, I have done the job, what next?” should be the attitude in life. Never ever say “No time Yaar!” when you can actually find the time to do whatever you want to do, if you will it.

Dr. Rekha Shetty –a woman of substance

The year 2010. My wife Prabha`s first book `Kadambam`, a collection of her short stories in Tamil was being released at a function.  The Chief guest was Dr.Rekha Shetty. A person who could not read Tamil presiding over a launch of a book in Tamil. No issues. Rekha made her secretary read all the stories to her, made notes, and gave an inspiring speech. That was quintessential Rekha for you.  Whatever job was assigned to her she would execute it with full involvement and commitment.

I first met Rekha as the spouse of  Tabler Jai Shetty of Table 39, at the Round Table India  AGM in Chennai in 1977. She was at that point working with United India Insurance, making waves with a very creative advertising campaign that she had conceived for UI. (At United India, It`s always `U` before `I`). The incoming President Viji  Iyengar of Calcutta was taking over the mantle of Presidentship from my good friend and mentor in Round Table N. Krishnan. Viji wanted a News Bulletin to be brought out every morning for three days covering the previous day's proceedings. A tough job those days when there was no technology available and everything had to be done manually. A small committee was formed with  Rekha as the editor, another Tabler who was a printer, and me as the coordinator. Working with her, what impressed me most, apart from her beauty and charisma, was her enthusiasm. She was full of ideas. While she put together the issues  the printer worked the whole night to bring out the issues the next morning. There was all-around appreciation for the first such experiment at a Round Table India AGM.

A Ph.D. from Madras University, on the subject of innovation, Rekha Shetty began her life  with a brilliant academic record with two university ranks. Her thoughts come from a deep study of many disciplines: Management, Sociology, Psychology, Economics, History, and Spirituality.

Rekha went on to make waves with many innovative ideas as a professional. After her stint with UI, as Group Vice President of the Apollo Hospitals she pioneered the concept of hospital marketing and health insurance.

She was the founder and Managing Director of her company Farstar Distribution Network, a unique consultancy company devoted exclusively to innovation and creativity. Popularly known as the ‘Corporate Doctor’, Rekha Shetty had created a new tool for Indian Managers to develop a competitive edge: Innovation and Creativity through Minds power. Some of the region’s major corporates were her clients for whom she consulted on long-term Innovation Initiatives involving everyone from the doorman to the chairman.

Her contribution in the area of academics is also impressive. As a member of the Syndicate of  Anna University, she helped introduce a 40-week programme on innovation for budding engineers. She was on the board of studies of the Psychology Department at Madras University. She was a visiting faculty in many leading business schools across India and had conducted Minds Power programmes worldwide. She was invited by the U.S. State Department to be part of an expert team from 10 countries to study the problems and solutions to drug addiction.

Apart from all her other achievements she is best known as a trailblazer in the world of Rotary International, a bastion of men for several decades which opened the membership to women only in 1989.  Persuaded by her father Rtn. Bhoja Shetty, a popular  Past District Governor of RI Dist. 323, she became one of the first lady members and Charter President of the Rotary Club of Madras Temple City, in 1989.It was  a club with an equal number of women and men. It is not surprising that, within ten years, with her enthusiasm and energy she rose to become the first lady  Rotary District Governor of RI District 3230  in the year 1999-2000. Probably the only father and daughter duo to become District Governors of the same District in Rotary International.  Rekha was also one of Asia’s first women District Governors in  Rotary International and a much sought-after Rotary leader in India and abroad. She was well known for her  work done through Rotary Leadership Institute program. One of  the challenging assignments, among many others she got from RI was to be the Chairperson of the Rotary Action Group For Population and Development (RFPD), the largest action group in Rotary (2012-2015). She was the Chairperson of the Child Development Committee for Rotary India Literacy Mission (RILM). Also on the Board of WASRAG, a water and Sanitation initiative of Rotary International.

Among the many recognitions she got in life, she received the  Rotary’s highest,  `Service above Self Award`, in 2004-05 from Rotary District 3230. Getting this award within five years of her becoming a District Governor was a remarkable achievement!

She was the author of several books on personality development, self-confidence, health, and wellness. So far she has published 11 books. When I met her at a  get-together of 41 club no 7 (consisting of ex-Round Tablers) just four days before she passed away, she was talking enthusiastically about four more books she was planning to bring out including a novel.

 It is destiny that the author of the book titled “The Zero Heart Attack Path” which she wrote while working with Apollo Hospitals,  died of a massive cardiac arrest at a private hospital where she had gone for a check-up when she felt uneasy on the morning of 28th March 2023.

Married to Rtn. PP. Jai Shetty, she was a part of the Rotary family for over 50 years as Rotaractor, Annette, Anne, and Rotarian. Her two sons Adhil and Arjun are  entrepreneurs and founders of Bank Bazaar.com. Rekha and Jai were excellent hosts. I fondly remember the many get-togethers that I have attended at their spacious house in Anna Nagar.

A gracious and vibrant person with a smile whose presence in any meeting would light up the room. A favourite daughter, a  brilliant student, a caring wife, a loving mother  and a fond  grandmother, a successful author/orator, and a great friend-  she performed with perfection every role that she was called upon to play in life. She touched the lives of everyone she met and left an indelible impression with her positivity and never say die attitude. She was indeed a role model not only for the new generation of women but also men.

( An edited  version of this article has appeared in  the Madras Musings issue dated April16-30)

S.Muthiah- the man who discovered the writer in me

I can never forget Mr. S. Muthiah for the role he played in my becoming a writer/author, post my retirement. I retired as the CMD of my company, Anugrah Madison, in 2007, at the age of 65, and had already started penning my memoirs— in fulfillment of a lifelong dream of wanting to write my autobiography. I had completed a couple of chapters when I happened to attend a meeting of the ‘Madras Book Club’ where Mr. Muthiah was speaking on the topic—‘Biography as History’. He was appealing to the audience, consisting of many retired bureaucrats, businessmen, and professionals, to write their memoirs—‘not to become famous authors but to leave behind for posterity: a social history, and to provide insights into the life, happenings, values, and mores of a city, or a community, or a profession, at a certain point of time.’ He said that history is not just about kings and kingdoms but about people. His talk gave my book a focus.

 My autobiography titled—‘Courage My Companion’ was released at a well-attended meeting of the Rural Marketing Association of India held in November 2009. I was delighted to have Mr. Muthiah receive the first copy from N. Murali of ‘The Hindu’, who was the chief guest of the event. With the excellent response I got for the book, and my style of writing, and encouraged by Mr. Muthiah, I started writing essays on a variety of topics.

My first article titled—‘The Ubiquitous Velaikari’ appeared in the ‘Eve’s Touch’ monthly, of which Mr. Muthiah was the consultant editor. I sent an article to ‘Madras Musings’ which was also published by Mr. Muthiah. Not only did he publish my articles, but he would also urge me to go through the corrections he had made while editing them. He hated the use of too many adjectives by writers. In the last 12 years, hundreds of my articles on a variety of topics have appeared in several local dailies and magazines. I have also published 11 books covering six genres of writing, during the same period. I owe a deep debt of gratitude to Mr. Muthiah for my evolution as a writer/author. Apart from being my mentor, Mr. Muthiah had been a genuine well-wisher. Though a very friendly person, he could be brutally frank when he talked to people. He was known for his rigid stand on issues. While he was fond of sports, he did not care much for music or dance. In spite of his lack of interest in Carnatic music, on my special request, he attended the first Carnatic music performance of my 11-year-old granddaughter, Uthara, at TAG Centre in December 2013. He wrote encouraging words about her performance in his column in ‘The Hindu’. His blessings meant a lot to my family.

 He visited my home with his wife, Valli, to offer condolences when I lost my wife to cancer in January 2013. I did not realize at the time that Mr. Muthiah himself will become a widower, when he lost Valli, his wife of over 40 years, a few months later—an irreparable loss in his life.

 I got closer to Mr. Muthiah in the last few years of his life. What impressed me most was his never-say-die spirit. In spite of his ill health, he continued to work hard.  He would drag himself to his desk and continue to work on some assignment or the other. He would work for half an hour and rest for one hour. An incredible man!

 Whenever some negative thoughts enter my mind because of health issues, I think of Mr. Muthiah and his positivity and get recharged. He was one of the role models in my life. Like the legion of all his friends and students, I  miss him a lot. Wherever he is, I am sure he will continue to guide me—to think and act positively in my life.