Month: December 2021

Authors, Book Reviews

“Navratri” ed. by Bibek Debroy and Anuradha Goyal

Growing up in the South of India, I knew about the practice of Kolu or Golu during the Navratri festival. In many houses in the locality where we lived, dolls were unpacked with care, arranged tastefully and exhibited for all to view and admire. This was called Bommai Kolu in Tamilnadu and Gombe Habba in Karnataka. The lady of the house often stood there proudly looking on with approval at the elaborate display. Later it became common to have some kind of theme built into the display of dolls.

When I visited Gujarat many years later, I saw an entirely different way of celebrating Navratri. This was through the Garba and “Dandiya Ras” with the ladies swaying to the beat in colorful costumes. I had never seen anything so vibrant and colorful in my life! Later, In West Bengal, I experienced the grandeur of the Durga Puja pandals and all the associated celebrations. Years have passed by, but the beat of the drums while the ladies performed the “Dhunuchi Naach” stays fresh in my mind.

These and more memories flooded my mind when I read the recently published book, ” Navaratri” edited by Bibek Debroy and Anuradha Goyal, published by Rupa Publications. “When Devi Comes Home” is the appropriate byline as we Hindus believe that it is during these nine days/nights that Devi visits us here on earth. The editors have assembled a collection of 16 articles which depict how Navaratri, one of the most important of festivals in Hinduism is celebrated in different parts of India. The descriptions cover not just the background of the festival in each region but the rituals most commonly practiced, along with the other associated elements including food, customs, and cultural events.

Amrita Chakravorty’s book cover design is captivating. It attracts you to read the contents. The book itself is written in fairly simple language and makes one marvel at the rich cultural heritage of our country. From Kashmir in the north to Kerala in the extreme south, from Gujarat in the west to West Bengal in the East, we are exposed to how the Navaratri festival is celebrated in each of the regions. Needless to say, though the festival of Navaratri has some common elements , it is interesting to note both the similarities and differences, explained in the articles. This diversity adds considerably to the charm of our customs.

As the editors explain, ” The common thread among all the Navaratri celebrations is the devotion to Devi, who is also the Prakriti or Nature manifested all around us, of which we are a small part.” The editors have arranged the book in 16 chapters which pretty much cover the entire country. I was happy to see that celebrations in places like Konkan and Assam -which tend to get ignored as compared to the bigger and more famous celebrations elsewhere- were also covered. There is a chapter too on Nepal, the only Hindu country in the old today.

In the nine days of Navaratri, Devi is worshipped in Her different forms. This book makes you feel as if you are physically there- in the midst of the frenzy that typifies community worship. So well are the rituals and cultural events described! You can sense the smells and sounds of the celebrations as if you are there in person to join the thousands of worshippers.

Congratulations to the editors for bringing this book to us. It is extremely informative about the origins of the Navaratri festival and explains why and how Devi came to be worshipped in a particular manner in one or the other region.

Authors, Book Reviews

“Business as ‘Yajna'” : B Anantha Bhat & Team

Many of you will be familiar with quotations from the Bhagavad Gita, the timeless wisdom given by Lord Krishna to Arjuna on the battle field of Kurukshetra. These have taught millions of Indians- and increasingly people of other countries all over the world- a set of principles to lead their lives. A kind of moral compass, if you will.

One of the most quoted is, “Do everything you have to do, but not with ego, not with lust, not with envy but with love, compassion, humility and devotion.” Judging by both his actions and words, I can think of few people who have followed this advice as effectively and successfully as Mr Yajna Narayana Kammaje, the Chairman and Managing Director of the privately-held Sona Group of Companies, headquartered in Bengaluru.

The book I review today – “Business As ‘Yajna'”– is about this gentleman. It tells us how he succeeded as a first generation entrepreneur. Apart from this, he positively impacted the lives of thousands of people, many of them from rural areas and from the economically lower strata of our society.

The title itself is quite intriguing. It combines two elements, Yajna Kammaje’s approach and thoughts about doing business and “Yajna” as a person- with a clever play of words. The book was recently released in Bengaluru and described as “Life Lessons from Industrialist: Yagna Narayana Kammaje.” The lead author is Mr B Anantha Bhat, who has worked in the VLSI/Semiconductor technology field for over 30 years in India and abroad. He is an entrepreneur himself. The key drivers of this initiative are some dedicated folks from the National Institute of Technology-Karnataka ( NIT-K)Alumni Association.

Yajna has close ties with this venerable institution which started as the Karnataka Regional Engineering College (KREC) at Surathkal, near Mangaluru in 1960. He did his B.Tech in Electrical Engineering in 1971 and M. Tech in Industrial Electronics in 1973 from this institution.

He was the President of the Alumni Association for many years. In this field too, he excelled. He did more than anybody else in recent times to build and nurture this body. It is now a vibrant alumni association with active members from all over the world.

The lessons from this book are really directed towards entrepreneurs and would be entrepreneurs. In the India of 2021, it is quite common- and indeed somewhat fashionable in some circles- to talk of entrepreneurs, start ups, venture funds and angel investing.

Things were vastly different in the 1970’s and the decades that followed. For most people a secure job was probably the most important thing in their lives. In such a milieu, Yajna, then a rising star of the famous HMT, who had rapidly grown to the position of Dy General Manager in the Watch Division and clearly ear marked for higher responsibilities chose to give it up and strike out on his own! Considerations that most people would have worried about like having a wife and two children and other family to support, did not come in the way of his dream to start and grow a business. Not just to make money for himself – though of course this was an important parameter – but to give back in good measure to society at large and the less affluent in particular. The second would have been the farthest in the thoughts of most people in such circumstances.

In this venture, immense credit is due to his wife Smt. Vasanthi Kammaje who stood by him like a rock through thick and thin. She has made very significant contributions towards his success as an entrepreneur and a philanthropist, since they began their entrepreneurial journey in 1987.

As a student of human behavior, I have seen that often when someone is in need, those with “less” are the first to give while those with “more” are the most reluctant. Likewise, as a proportion of what they have, those with less tend to be far more generous than those with more. Yajna, in my view, is an exception to this general rule. He gave in plenty when he didn’t have much and he continues to give in plenty as he became more wealthy. Charitable causes, religious causes, people in need, employees, vendors, budding entrepreneurs and many others have benefited from his generosity. Often they return with more than what they hoped for, if he thinks theirs is a right cause to support or their need for help is genuine.

What has shaped him to be what he is today? Clearly his disadvantaged start in life has. He came from humble economic origins and knows, more than most, what is means to tb economically disadvantaged. As a consequence, all his life he has worked hard, and worked smart. He has demonstrated his risk taking ability on many occasions- the true differentiator between a real entrepreneur and others who go by that name.

The book is made up of contributed articles by people who have known him and his work. They are too many to list here but they have impeccable reputations and records of distinction in their professional lives. It is written by his professional colleagues, friends and admirers and many who have benefitted from their association with him.

On a personal note, I am proud to know Yajna for a decade or more as we live in the same apartment complex in Bengaluru. Besides, he is from Siddakatte a small village in the Bantwal Taluk of the Dakshina Kannada District of Karnataka. And, I happen to belong to Bantwal! Shobana, and I were honoured to receive a copy of the book from Yajna recently.

“Business As ‘Yajna'” is printed and published by Tik-Talker & TradePost and can be ordered through Amazon. I would urge not just those who wish to become entrepreneurs but indeed any one in business to read this book. It is replete with lessons on how to conduct oneself with humility and consideration for others while being successful in business.

Authors, Book Reviews

“Dark Horse” by Gen Larry O Spencer, USAF Retd

Some books are truly inspirational. That’s because the characters in them touch your heart and move you to action. I would rate “Dark Horse” by General Larry O. Spencer, USAF (Retd), as one such book. He came from fairly humble circumstances, being born in 1954 to a African-American family in a tough inner-city area called The Horseshoe in Washington DC. He enlisted in the United States Air Force at the lowest level as an airman. After 44 years of distinguished service he retired as a four-star General and the Vice Chief of the United States Air Force. He was only the ninth African-American to get four -star rank. His is an extraordinary story of grit, commitment to his profession and an ability to aim high and achieve his goals. He became and remained a top achiever despite many challenges that came his way.

General Spencer’s story is all the more remarkable because as a student he was considered a failure. The circumstances in which they lived didn’t help. His father was a US Army veteran who had an arm amputated following war wounds in the Korean War. He had to wear a prosthetic arm and was derisively called Captain Hook by the kids in the neighborhood. His mother wasn’t well-educated either having studied till the 10th grade. Theirs was a family with 6 growing children. His parents naturally faced a lot of hardship in making both ends meet, with his father working at two jobs to bring home enough to feed his family.

Larry Spencer, like most African-Americans of his background, thought the way to break away from poverty was to succeed in professional sport. He wanted to become a star football player. In 1971, he enlisted as an airman in the US Air Force as there was no assurance that he would succeed with a career in football. In the Air Force there was an opportunity for him to study and better his life. He served a stint in Taiwan and after his first spell in the USAF, he decided to re-enlist so that he could work towards becoming a graduate.

An encouraging supervisor suggested he try for Officer Training School after his graduation. He was selected and became the first person in his extended family to become a commissioned officer in 1980. Many of his family and friends were in the US Military but none of them were officers. He had broken a huge barrier.

Over the years, Spencer felt the hardships that commonly came the way of African-Americans in the 1970s and 1980s, even when he wore the uniform of the United States Air Force.

He was a committed professional, held himself and others to very high standards and worked with great passion for his profession. Perhaps because he was not a trained pilot but served in the financial management area of the USAF, his rise to higher positions saw him break more barriers.

General Spencer writes with a lot of candor on how he coped with difficult and challenging situations in his career. Needless to say, many of them were because he was an African-American.

More than the high command positions he held or his professional achievements, laudable as they may be, the book’s value lies in our understanding of General Spencer as a person. We see how he succeeded against the odds. We marvel at the way he emerged to be the dark horse in horse racing parlance. And, last but not the least, General Spencer leaves us with a crisp summary of his life lessons, which are invaluable.

Overall, an inspirational book about an officer and a gentleman.