"I had a happy childhood but as my brother and I got older, we faced ragging because of our parents' divorce which in those days wasn't as common. My grand mom brought us up.
Soon after, when my mother remarried, the boys at school started saying all kinds about us but our grandmother taught us to regain dignity at all costs, a value that's always stayed with me. It involved walking away from these situations instead of fighting back.
And if it weren't for grand mom, I wouldn't be half the person I am today.
"My father and I couldn't agree on the same thing - I wanted to go to a college in the US, he insisted, he insisted on UK. I wanted to be an architect, he insisted on me becoming an engineer. If it weren't for my grandmother, I wouldn't have ended up at the Cornell University in the US. It was because of her that even though I enrolled for mechanical engineering, I switched majors and graduated with a degree in architecture. My father was upset but I was finally my own, independent person in college and it was my grandmother who taught me that courage to speak up can also be soft.
After college, I landed a job at an architecture firm in LA, where I worked for 2 years. It was a great time - the weather was beautiful and I loved my job. It was in LA that I fell in love and almost got married. But at the same I'd made the decision to move back, at least temporarily, since grand mom wasn't keeping too well. So I came back to visit her and thought that the person I wanted to marry would come to India with me but because of the 1962 Sino-Indian conflict her parents weren't okay with her making the move anymore and the relationship fell apart.
After the move, I did spend some time with my grand mom. I'd run with my dog, catch up with her and we'd have long chats. I'm glad I got that time with her before she passed because right after I moved to Jamshedpur for an internship at what's known as Tata Motors now.
It was a waste of time - I was moved from one department to another and sine I was a family member, no one told me what to do - I spent 6 months trying to be 'useful'.
It was only after I moved to Tata Steel that I got specific work and my job got interesting. I started from the floor and understood the plight of those working there. So years later, when we downsized Tata Steel from 78,000 to 40,000, we ensured to pay them their present day wages until retirement - it's been in our DNA to serve those who serve us.
Then, in 1991, JRD stepped down as the Chairman of Tata Industries and then from Tata Sons, there was vicious criticism. There were other aspirants, who were vocal of him having made the wrong decision. I had been through this before, so I did what I knew best - maintained silence and focused on proving myself. The criticism was personal - JRD got clubbed with nepotism and I, as the wrong choice. I was under scrutiny but the time I spent on the floor served as a big plus - I hadn't gotten there from nowhere.
.......to be continued.
Tailpiece.
We kept up our conversation till a quarter past 1 and then hit the sack.
Got up at 6 and sent off the morning messages and turned off to catch up on some more sleep. Got up around a quarter to 8, the chores and cleaned up the Chevy.
Breakfast at 9, conversations galore and Ammu had helped me with pending work on the laptop.
We left Mini's by about a half past 2, dropped Padmakumar-Rema at Pidavoor and returned to Raj Nivas. Siesta.
The evening chores.
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