In January 2021 Ratan Tata, who had led the Tata group for many years, traveled from his home in Mumbai to Friends Society in Pune. He went to see a former employee who had been “suffering from ill-health over the past two years,” Business Today reported. The visit became known through a post on LinkedIn.
The Chamber Left Empty
On September 29, 2014, O. Panneerselvam was sworn in as chief minister of Tamil Nadu. Two days earlier, the leader of his party, J. Jayalalithaa, had been jailed. Panneerselvam “choked and looked crestfallen as he read the oath of office and secrecy,” IANS reported. “He wiped away his tears.” Some legislators broke down as well.
At the secretariat, “He did not assume office at the chamber allotted to the Chief Minister,” Deccan Chronicle reported.
The Coin on the Stumps
When Sachin Tendulkar was a boy, his coach Ramakant Achrekar ran a test at practice. “Achrekar would put a Re 1 coin on top of the stump,” the news agency PTI reported. If Sachin did not get out, the coin was his.
In November 2013, as Tendulkar retired, he spoke of what he valued most: “the coins that I have got from my coach Achrekar sir, those are the most important ones.”
In Front at the Press Conference
In 1979 the first flight of India’s satellite launch vehicle, SLV-3, failed. Satish Dhawan, chairman of ISRO, “took all the blame,” in Kalam’s words. The next year, SLV-3 succeeded. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the project director, later told students: “again there was a press conference and Prof. Dhawan put me in the front to share the success story with the press.”
The Nurturant Task Leader
In 1980 the Indian psychologist Jai B.P. Sinha described the nurturant task leader. In Sinha’s words, such a leader “cares for his subordinates, shows affection, takes personal interest in their well-being.” A 1990 summary of the model by the researcher Ansari adds that the leader makes this care “contingent on the subordinate’s task accomplishment.”
The model describes subordinates who “depend excessively on their superiors for directions, guidance, and support,” and who prefer a personal relationship with the leader to a contractual one.
Urged On by Jambavan
In the Kishkindha Kanda of the Valmiki Ramayana, the monkey army reaches the sea. Someone must leap across to Lanka. The old Jambavan turns to Hanuman, tells him of his birth and his strength, and says: Uttishtha harishardula, langhayasva maharnavam. Rise, tiger among monkeys, leap across the great ocean. He adds that the whole monkey army wishes to see his strength.
Only then does Hanuman enlarge his body. Valmiki describes him as jambavata prachoditah, urged on by Jambavan.
The Phone
During the Rio Olympics in August 2016, the badminton coach Pullela Gopichand spoke about his player P.V. Sindhu: “Sindhu did not have her phone during the last three months. The first thing is I would return her phone.” He added: “I also stopped her from eating ice-cream. Now she can eat whatever she wants.”
Like a Father
In February 2020 Ratan Tata spoke about J.R.D. Tata, who led the Tata group before him. He called JRD his greatest mentor. “He was like a father and a brother to me,” he said.
Mother and Father
Mai-baap: mother and father. The Rekhta dictionary gives its meanings: parents, master, lord, the one who brings someone up, ruler, guardian. The same word names the parent and the person in charge.
Others Will Clap
Sachin Tendulkar has told how, as a boy, he skipped his own match to watch and cheer the senior team. His coach was Ramakant Achrekar. “I got a tight slap on my face. The tiffin box in my hand flew and all its contents spread across,” Tendulkar said in 2018.
Achrekar’s words are reported in two versions. One is “You don’t need to clap for others. You focus on your cricket and do something so that others clap for you.” The other is “Play in such a way that others cheer you.” Tendulkar said: “That was the biggest lesson of my life. After that I never missed a match.”