Over - Smart phones

                                 I have at last joined the legion of `smart` people. Yes I am now a ‘not so’ proud owner of a smart phone presented to me by my son. I am yet to get used to it’s `over smart - super fast` response to my hard touch, resulting in many frustrating moments that I face with the phone every day.

A major problem which I face is in keying the name to go with a new number or store a caller`s number. I keyed the name Ashok Dey and after carefully checking the spelling when I tried to store the name it became `A shot Dey`.  Similarly Madhu became ``Madhuri` and Nanayam Kumar became `Narayan Kumar`. Since I have not yet mastered the art of editing/correcting the matter, it is quite frustrating when I have to retrieve the number of a person. My son tells me it is because of the `auto correct` feature of the phone which decides what should be the spelling of whatever name I am typing, irrespective of what I have keyed in! I thought that is stretching the smartness of the phone too far.

Another problem has to do with WhatsApp. As the senior most `don` of the `Matunga Mafia` (as my family WhatsApp group is called) I have very frustrating moments. Since the keypad for typing WhatsApp messages is even smaller than the keypad for keying in caller`s  names, my problem is compounded. It takes a lot of time to compose even a simple message correctly. With the result I often do not respond.

What  `got my goat` recently was a message I saw flashing on my mobile which said that I had already used up  `XXX` MB space in my mobile and that the system was getting hot and slowing down the operation. I was aghast.  I had hardly used the phone  for 10 days and  had not even downloaded any programmes.  How could I have used up so much space?  Is somebody hacking my phone? I got worried. My son solved the problem by deleting a whole lot of Apps,  which I was not likely to use. 

Irritated by the frequent `beeps` I get,  informing me about some message or the other, I keep putting the instrument on silent mode.  Invariably I forget to return to the normal mode resulting in many near and dear ones complaining that I am not picking up the phone when it rings. Forgetting to end a call or inadvertently calling wrong numbers leading to people whom I have called cursing me has also become a regular feature.

With so much frustration piling on me am I planning to give up my smart phone? It looks unlikely.  But I do hope I don’t become a smart phone addict like the younger generation of today.

As a frustrated mother complained the other day` I can never get my daughter on the phone. But whatever message I send her on WhatsApp gets replied instantly`

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Funding the small transporter

Rivers themselves do not drink of the water they carry

Trees do not eat of the fruits they bear
Clouds do not partake of the rains they produce
For, the riches of the good are utilised for the welfare of others.

Sriram V, the author of the  book on Sundaram Finance Limited (SFL), brought out on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of the Company, quotes the above translation of a Sanskrit verse to describe the manner in which T.S. Santhanam led his life and steered Sundaram Finance Ltd. of the TVS Group.

The book is in many ways the history of growth and development of the road transport industry in India and the efforts of T.S. Santhanam and SFL to make affordable finance available to a vital but vulnerable section of a newly independent nation. It is also a story of entrepreneurship, innovation and pioneering spirit, says T.T. Srinivasaraghavan, the present MD of SFL in his Foreword.

The story begins with several businesses being carried forward in the name of T.V.Sundaram Iyengar, the founder of the Group. These were related to auto component manufacture and the retailing of automobiles and spares. Venturing into the area of automobile finance was left to his fourth son, T S Santhanam.

As early as 1948 Madras Motor Insurance Company (MMI) came into existence with Santhanam as its MD. The Company branched into other areas of general insurance, fire and marine in 1960, when it changed its name to Madras Motor and General Insurance Company (MMGI). While this business was doing well, Santhanam was already looking at growing his pet project, Sundaram Finance.

Thanks to his involvement with the Motor Vehicle & Allied Industries Association, he was aware of the non-availability of easy finance for operators and fleet owners. While banks dealt only with large commercial establishments, the small fleet owners were left high and dry. According to Santhanam, it was these transporters who persuaded him to get into the finance business. Till the end of his life he would always maintain that Sundaram Finance was established for the welfare of truck and bus operators.
Sundaram Finance came into existence on August 11, 1954 as a subsidiary of MMGI. Among the first loans from the company was one to a VIP customer, M. G. Ramachandran, who received a loan of Rs. 66,000 at 7.5 per cent interest for the purchase of a new Fiat car.

 “Due to Sundaram Finance loaning money at reasonable rates, cleaners and drivers could realise their dreams of becoming vehicle owners. Single vehicle operators began to aim at maintaining a fleet. To every one of them, Santhanam became an icon to be looked up to. And as he studied the business with increased focus, he was to see that both the road transport industry and its financing were to go hand in hand,” says Sriram. He adds, “Santhanam envisaged SFL to be a bank in everything but name and that meant welcoming depositors. At SFL, depositors were handled with kid gloves. There were all kinds of things SFL did for its depositors, long before customer delight became a buzzword. As for the face of SFL, Santhanam was to be it. Cheques sometimes arrived simply addressed to ‘Santhanam Company’!”
The South India Hire Purchase Association (SIHPA) came into existence in 1967, with the Sundaram Finance office as its registered address. It was an organisation that was very close to Santhanam’s heart. In 1975, with the country having over a dozen regional hire purchase associations, there was born the Federation of Indian Hire Purchase Associations (FIHPA) with its headquarters in Delhi.
This was also the time when the TVS Group entered the manufacturing field, with SFL,  in particular, providing financial support during the setting up of the various companies.
In order to run the business on professional lines, right from the beginning Santhanam focussed on systems. To cut down on delays occurring from unnecessary paper work, SFL was computerised way back in 1968. According to an IIMB case study done at the time, the backbone of SFL was its personalised intelligence network.
It was in the 1980s that SFL began venturing north of the Vindhyas for the first time. As SFL spread its network in the North, its business methods were to give rise to slogans like Sundaram ka paisa Balaji ka paisa (meaning money loaned by SFL was God’s money). The other popular expression was Sundaram ka paisa phulta hai – borrowing money from SFL brought prosperity. By early 2000 SFL had spread across the length and breadth of the country. SFL, today, has over 500 branches and 2 lakh depositors and borrowers. Apart from vehicle finance, the Company now offers loans through its subsidiaries to finance homes, tractors, etc.
Quoting Srinivasaraghavan, who joined the company in 1983, Sriram says, “The reason for the success of SFL is that the organisation functioned as a kind of gurukulam – the traditional Indian way of learning, where the student is a disciple-in-residence with the Guru and imbibes what he has to teach through a kind of mental osmosis. The teacher in question was Santhanam. Others ensured that his philosophy and way of doing business were kept intact and continued forward. Not that Santhanam ever really took a back seat. Almost till the  very end, and he was to live well into his nineties, he was very much a presence at the office.”

While SFL has been known since its inception for the best practices it follows like knowing the customer, not compromising on principles, remaining close to core strength, another constant is one of support to organisations connected with art and culture, healthcare and heritage. Apart from major institutions, SFL encourages children’s participation in art and craft, music and personality development, through year-round programmes. Chief of these is the ‘Concert at the Park‘ series wherein young children who are proficient in Carnatic music are encouraged to perform at the Nageswara Rao Pantulu Park in Mylapore on Sunday mornings.
Perhaps a more visible sign of the Company’s involvement with culture and local traditions is the Sundaram Finance Mylapore Festival, started by the weekly tabloid, Mylapore Times. Celebrated every January, it is a people’s festival that is marked by the enthusiastic participation of the community.
SFL began its journey chiefly as Santhanam’s dream. The naysayers were plenty, but he alone saw what others did not – that there existed a space for a company that would handle vehicle finance on professional and ethical terms. He also envisioned it as a safe investment opportunity for countless people of India who brought all their little to him and his company. He considered himself answerable to each of them and it was this trust and goodwill that enabled the Company to grow. That the banks and financial institutions came forward to fund the growth of SFL is really an outcome of the way SFL stood by its depositors and customers. It was the value system of the Company that enabled its growth and which has remained constant over time. Today, Viji Santhanam, the youngest son of Santhanam, heads the Company.

From Madras Musings issue dt. 1-15th Sep.2015. based on the book `Sixty Years of Trust- The Sundaram Finance Story by V.Sriram

To Be Hospitable…

To be hospitable comes naturally to some people. It is a trait which my mother possessed in abundance. The love and affection with which she would welcome any friend/relative visiting our small home in Bombay, is still talked about in our family circles . Though our family was struggling to make both ends meet during my student days,  no guest ever left our home  without partaking a simple meal that she would specially cook and serve  with genuine affection.  Proving the old saying that your economic status has nothing to do with being hospitable.  It’s a matter of attitude which needs to be cultivated.

The other day I was visiting the wedding reception of a friend`s son at a prestigious marriage hall.  It was a society wedding with the who`s who of Chennai in attendance. The reception table had a couple of ladies in uniform ( employed by the event management firm)  welcoming the guests with the mandatory  sprinkling of Rosewater and a ‘put on’ smile! There was no member of the family, who were teeming all over the place, to say a word of welcome to the invitees.

Even when I went on stage to wish the couple, my friend just shook my hands as a routine without any recognition and let me go. I felt miserable like an unwanted guest. I made a quick exit without having the dinner. Later I learnt a few other common friends also had similar experiences at the wedding. It was an excellent event, efficiently managed by the event managers without the personal touch of the hosts. The spirit of true hospitality was missing.

On the other hand, at another society wedding, there was a big reception committee consisting of friends and relatives standing at the entrance.  There was  someone or the other  standing at all vantage points welcoming the guests  with  a smile and guiding them  to a chair. On the stage, my friend - the father of the bride, was so happy to see me that he hugged me , introduced me to the newly weds and requested me to have  dinner without fail before leaving. Though I found that he was giving this treatment to every guest, I still felt like a VIP.  He made every one feel like a special guest. That was hospitality at its best.

We Indians are generally known all over the world for our hospitality.  But there are  always exceptions. You can feel it in the air when somebody is not being hospitable to you.  The plastic smile on their faces or their body language or the tone of their conversation  will clearly indicate  their unfriendliness. In many homes that I have visited, the husband may be very hospitable but the wife would be cold or vice versa. Even if one of them is inhospitable, you feel very uncomfortable staying in that house.

Hospitality  can be communicated  through  small  acts, gestures, and nice words. It reflects  genuine affection for others, a quality that a truly hospitable person displays, is worth emulating by all.

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Indian Standard Time

This happened a year ago. It was a function to felicitate a very senior Tamil writer, an octogenarian who had already received the Sahithya  Academy Award. The 85 year old writer, frail and weak arrived at the Hall 10 minutes before the scheduled start of the function at 10 am, accompanied by an attendant.

The function was delayed because the organizers were waiting for the hall to fill up. Besides two other dignitaries who were scheduled to speak had not arrived. Eventually the function started only at 11 am. The MC called the meeting to order and requested the dignitaries to occupy the stage. The writer climbed on to the stage with some difficulty assisted by his attendant. He looked very disturbed.

After all the formalities and felicitation speeches were over,  the writer was requested to give his acceptance speech. Since  he was very weak he chose to sit and speak.

While thanking the organizers for honouring him and other speakers for their felicitations , he was forthright  in pulling up the organizers for the inordinate delay in starting the function. He said “ I am an old man with all the health problems that old age brings . Since you asked me to be at the venue 15 minutes early  I  managed to reach here before time forgoing my morning meals. By delaying the function you have made me suffer the ordeal of sitting here and doing nothing. Besides the empty stomach is causing me tremendous discomfort. It is not your fault. I should not have accepted your invitation knowing full well my limitations. “

Needless to say that the organizers were squirming in their seats. What was supposed to be a felicitation meeting  turned out to be a punishment meeting for the writer.

I have seen this happening in many other local functions organised by   enthusiastic individuals who get together under some banner to conduct meetings at the drop of a hat. They don`t have a minute to minute programme and very often allow their  meetings to prolong indefinitely,  testing the patience of the audiences.

I remember attending a function at a district headquarters town in  Tamil Nadu got up to honour about 15 people from various fields connected with the town. The ` who’s who`  of the town were  present  in the audience. Not only did the function start late, the Chief organizer took almost one hour to give his welcome address ensuring that every dignitary in the audience was recognized and specially welcomed.  The audience was restless as the function was extending far beyond the two hours   indicated in the invitation.

As a person with some experience in organizing events and functions of all types, including an International Conference /Expo, I have an obsession for time management. Not only do I believe in meticulously planning an event but also ensure that every one participating in the event is made aware of the importance of time management. Except when acts of God and nature have let me down, I have been fairly successful in keeping to planned schedules, ably supported by an equally committed team.

Whether it is a small meeting or big meeting  if the organizers plan a time bound programme, and communicate the details in advance to the invitees, there is no reason why a meeting cannot start and end on time.

It is only because we Indians generally do not value other people`s time that we have earned the dubious distinction of following `Indian Standard Time`- which means that we are not serious about our time commitments!

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Home Schooling

I was intrigued by a recent news item about an Indian American child prodigy, only 11 years old, getting three college degrees in Maths, Science and Foreign language studies from a college in USA. Intrigued by the fact that the boy never went to a school or college but was home schooled by his parents.

That set me thinking about home schooling, an idea which some parents adopt as an alternate education system for their children. Especially when their children are exceptionally talented and are not able to adjust to regular school life or the parents are not happy with the current education system. I understand that across the country there are thousands of kids who undergo homeschooling.

Closer home, a friend`s daughter decided on  home schooling her only child, a son who is a bright kid with a fantastic IQ. She took the decision after her experience of providing a formal schooling experience for her son failed. A series of incidents in the school concerning her son made her realize that modern day education system does not provide the warmth, care and the personal touch & love of a teacher to children, especially children with special talents or needs. Taking ownership and responsibility for the quality of education that she chose to give her son; she quit a mainstream education job to embark on a journey in home schooling. She says, “As parents we cannot let fear or the `herd mentality` rule over  us. We should allow the children to blossom naturally without the external pressures which a normal education system imposes on them “.

When I asked her about the curriculum that she follows for her son, the answer she gave me floored me . “I don`t teach him anything. He learns whatever he wants to learn, on his own. I only facilitate his learning process. He has a Tablet on which he accesses any information he is seeking on any topic through the `Net. I am available to him to answer any questions he has. I am his best friend.”

It was a tough, life changing decision for her and her husband but she is persisting with the idea for the last five years. As of now the family seems to be happy with the arrangement. And the boy seems to be enjoying the freedom to pursue what he wants.

The one question that people generally ask is whether  such  homeschooled children  will grow up to fit into a world which is intensely competitive and in which there are all kinds of people and all kinds of situations to deal with. In answer my friend`s daughter told me that a fixed time is devoted every day for her son to mix and play with boys & girls of his age group either in the building complex where they live or other friend`s places where children get-together. I also understand that parents of home schooling use technology to form groups to help with socialization. A website devoted to homeschooling (www.homeschooling.in) not only gives very useful tips to parents of Home schooling but also helps them connect with other parents across the world so that they can share their experiences.

Let us not forget that homeschooling as a concept is not new in our country. In the olden days, in the absence of schools nearer home, many children, especially of well to do parents, were given homeschooling by experienced teachers visiting the homes of children to teach. Even today, children of celebrities, due to security reasons, are given home schooling.  Our former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her children and grand children were home schooled up to a point.

For home schooling to be successful one of the parents has to sacrifice his/ her other ambitions to devote full time to the child.  In today`s context where it has become common for both parents to work, how many will have the time and patience required for taking the huge responsibility of home schooling a child? Is there proof that such home schooled children do well in life?  Will the child be able to integrate into a regular school later, if he or she wants to? There are more questions than answers to the concept. However, in my opinion I feel Home schooling is definitely an excellent alternative to educate children with special needs. It is one sure way of making such children grow into confident and responsible individuals who can stand on their own feet in life.

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Ralph Nader of TN - R.Desikan

If I have to name a person as an unforgettable character in my life it would be R Desikan, the consumer activist who died on the night of June 27. Considered the Ralph Nader of South India, he was a remarkable personality whose fighting spirit made him take on establishments – both government and private -- regardless of the threats involved.

Interestingly he was self-taught and did not hold a graduate degree. Born into a large family on June 7, 1932, he grew up in a village in Tirunelveli district. As his father died when he was in the first year of college he had to drop out, but he made up for the lack of formal education by reading for hours at the Connemara Library, in Madras.

Though activism was his passion, his first love was the publication business. He started as a representative for Imprint magazine for five years and then moved to Reader’s Digest. While working there, he pioneered the concept of ‘Advertiser’s Supplement’, a first of its kind in the country. In 1973, he moved to Chennai and soon started full-fledged publishing. He launched the magazine ‘Indian Needlewoman’ under the banner of Speciality Publications with his wife Nirmala as editor. Nirmala, proved to be the greatest asset in Desikan’s life. While he was the ideas man, she was the executor and together they started a series of magazines, including the first ever women-centric Tamil magazine Mangayar Malar.

It was in 1977 that Desikan decided to rustle up the scene by bringing out a weekly community paper called South Madras News, distributed free. The magazine allowed residents of South Madras to voice their issues. A natural corollary was the establishment of an NGO in1987, SMN consumer protection council. This was followed close on the heels of the much debated Indian Consumer Protection Act 986 being passed by the Parliament.

During this time his publishing project took a hit, he decided to close the unit and took on the avatar of the consumer activist. With Concert (Centre for Education, Research Testing and Training), he took awareness on consumer rights to a national level. Concert was the first ever fuel testing laboratory run by an NGO in Chennai.

Along with some stalwarts he started an NGO, The Catalyst Trust, now active in championing electoral reforms. The flagship organization of the group, Consumers Association of India (CAI), has come to be recognized as one of the two top consumer organizations in the country. Established in 2001 it has helped consumers get redressal from governments or erring corporates.

Though I had known Desikan for over 45 years, I witnessed his crusading spirit when he invited me to join the Consumer Association of India as a trustee. He was singularly responsible for opening up a whole new world to me, introducing me to the Round Table India – a youth organization devoted to fellowship and service.

I met him in the hospital ten days before his demise. While the doctors were

debating whether he should be put under the scalpel, he was talking with great enthusiasm about new projects on the anvil at CAI.

An ad-man, journalist, printer, publisher, a pioneer of ideas, an inveterate optimist, a visionary with tremendous energy and enthusiasm - more than all these descriptions of Desikan, what people will always remember him  for is his role as a crusader for consumer rights.

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Retired but untired

                      

 “Now that you have completely retired, how do you kill your time?”  is a question I face from some friends when I meet them at social gatherings!  I tell them that I don’t have any time to kill because I have all the time in the world to spend on my favourite hobbies like reading, writing, cooking, socializing etc.

My day starts at 4.00 am.  After a quick cup of coffee or tea, I am at my work desk - first going through my emails and  then I start writing.  Either writing on new topics  or revising drafts of at least four articles which are stored in my desktop. At 6.30 am, I go for a walk.

I return home by 7.30 am and straight away get into the kitchen. . Preparing my own breakfast, cooking one or two items for my lunch - an  activity I share with my daughter-in-law who operates a separate kitchen on the first floor of the  house.  I wanted both my son and  I to have our respective spaces .

Once I get into the kitchen it  becomes hectic. I spend a lot of  time  cleaning up used utensils which keep popping up,  keeping  things in the right places, wiping the granite top of the cooking area clean – all of which takes  more time than the actual time taken for cooking. It takes less than 45 minutes to cook a decent South Indian meal -excluding the vegetable cutting time!  While at it, I also find time to pluck the flowers from the potted plants around our home, which my late wife had so lovingly tended .Then I have a quick bath, perform puja etc.  By the time I finish all these chores it is 11.00 am.  I am physically tired.  I have been on my feet for nearly five hours. It is time to take a break. I relax on my Lazy Boy chair,  a simple but functional duplicate of the unwieldy and big Lazy Boy Sofas you find in all NRI homes in USA. I use this time in the morning to read the daily newspapers and catch up on  books.

Lunch time is 1pm. after which I go back to my computer  and browse through Facebook, Twitter  and so on  in order to avoid going to sleep immediately after lunch.  Then 2.30pm to 3.30 pm  is time to rest

By 3.30 pm my part time driver, who works for me between 3.30 pm and 8.30 pm arrives. Driving has become difficult for me due to poor reflexes. Night driving particularly has become a nightmare to be avoided at any cost! So, I plan all my outings - shopping, visiting friends / relatives, attending meetings of voluntary bodies , social clubs and so on  after 4pm. This is also the time when I consciously try to make some one happy through words, gestures, or little acts. Making other people happy makes me happy!

I have my snack dinner ( tiffin) at home by 7.30 pm  when my son & daughter in law also join me so that we can have a chat around the dining table. Post dinner I try watching  TV for an hour -mostly the news channels which at that point of time have the silly debates on irrelevant topics conducted by loud, overbearing  and obnoxious TV anchors. I don`t know why I watch them, but I do.

If the TV programmes  are impossible to watch  I go back to reading the book I was reading in the afternoon. In keeping with my life long habit of `Early to bed , early to rise` I hit the sleep button latest by 10pm. Before I realize it, it is morning again and I wake up with a spring on my feet ready to face another day.

So where is the time to kill?  The secret of a happy life for  senior citizens who have retired from active working life is to re- tool themselves to an active retired life as I have done and I am sure many  others are doing.