Padma Shri Dr. Pritam Singh: Big, Bold, Beautiful....hai ki nahi?

A great institution builder, a warm human being, a transformative thinker, a change maestro himself (he authored: In Search of Change maestros with Dr. Asha Bhanderker) is no more!

Or is it?

He can live on if we internalize some of his tools of thinking and his ways of looking at the world.

I was fortunate to have interacted with him through several projects. I first met him in a National HRD Network (NHRDN) platform. He touched and taught me, like he did to several others. He was a connector par excellence. He had the knack of putting two people who can produce greater good together with very few words but with a very clear vision.

There is something distinctive about him that I observed and learnt from. This was his knack of demolishing absurd arguments with a thought structure that went something like this: 'Tell me something, if such and such was indeed true (as is being claimed), then would we not have an abundance of such and such a result?' This was usually followed with his trademark 'hai ki nahi?'. (Don't you agree?). There will often be no answer and this heavy silence will seal the argument, elevate the discussion and provide new directions.

He was however, never negative or despondent. He knew how to use energies, even negative energies to fuel the march to the better and the good. In so many interactions, and several involved being full days with him, I have never seen him complain. He never talked about what someone else must have done but only about what he is going to do - the immediate do-able next step. And he will call people, leave a thought, take action and inspire action.

He led 2 decades of active transformational life after an age when most retire. There was no retirement for him, with so many exciting things to do. He had well-wishers, admirers, students everywhere. Very senior personnel fell at his feet in public. He would counsel them, that you are a senior government functionary now, and you can't be doing this in public! I saw a serving Chief Minister hear this and smile to himself.

His few words always had a game-changing quality about them which was hard to refute. Much to our shock, he once told a serving union minister, '.....ji, mantri toh sab ban jate hain, kuch kariye jisse aapko yaad karein' (...ji, anybody can become a minister, do something that will leave a positive legacy). He was trying to inspire an accomplished person. He was reminding him that it is not the position but the impact that measures true leadership. Credit to the Minister, he took it in the right spirit.

Dr. Singh had several constraints, and especially with advancing age. He was allergic to some staple foods. His projects and engagements took him everywhere and he had to eat out. He will be quick and careful about food. After that little attention to what is on his plate, he will be back in form with his big, bold, beautiful ideas. His was a full life lived with attention, engagement, projects and an enduring legacy.

The long list of directors in academia, senior civil servants, public sector and private sector leaders he has groomed is very impressive. This is singular proof that Padmashri Dr. Pritam Singh is indeed big, bold and beautiful. Hai ki nahi?