Unlock Series – Invaluable lessons starting from a non-descript small sleepy village (some 670 kms from Chennai)

As we begin this unlock series, I would like to get started with some fond childhood memories, and school/college experiences which molded me and helped me to a great extent in my corporate years. I picked up some interesting lessons and learning along the way that I would like to share. I am sure everyone has some vivid memories similar to mine. The idea is to look deep within us to learn and get inspired by our past experiences as we prepare for the future ahead

My early childhood memories and experience

I hail from a very small non-descript sleepy village called Karuvelankulam, which is located near to the Mundanthurai Tiger Forest reserve (https://kmtr.co.in/) in Kalakad. This village is about 670 km from Chennai and is one of the most scenic places I have ever lived in. I have grown up as a small-town boy throughout my childhood running around the paddy fields, banana plantations, climbing trees, playing countless games with friends, and enjoying everything the countryside can offer. My first big shock came when I moved to Kodaikanal to do my schooling and had to spend a few years in the hostel. These were the early stages of my learning leadership be it in sports or in the academic area. I did reasonably well in school and at one point in time; I was the captain of a bunch of school teams much to my surprise. 

Prime Minister of my school

Our school decided to teach us democracy in a very innovative way and they had introduced an election system where the students got to elect members to the school parliament including the prime minister. I got elected as the Prime Minister of the school with a sizeable majority and I had a council of ministers to work with. We had a proper cabinet meeting and various sessions of parliament including a zero hour and question hour. I remember during one of the sessions, someone asked during zero hour whether we can have a zoo constructed in the school. The question was directed to me as the PM, and I stood up and said “may the honorable member be willing to be the first member of the zoo” to the member. On one occasion, the school management decided that on teacher’s day, all the teachers will go on vacation and the school cabinet should run the school for the entire day. It was a memorable experience managing the school; we filled up fun-filled activities for everyone and I learned so much about organizing events at a very early age. 

Lessons from a humiliating defeat 

I moved to Ambasamudram which is situated in the foothills of the Western Ghats on the northern bank of Tamirabarani (Tamiram = copper, it contains traces of copper) river. Our school launched a new district-level cricket tournament with some attractive prize money. We from the 9th grade formed a team and entered the tournament. We were requested by the school authorities to go for regular practice, which we didn’t follow that rigorously. In the first match, we were all out for 36 runs and since it was a knockout tournament, we were kicked out of the tournament. Being the host school, it was such a humiliating defeat for us. Right on that day, we decided to put our best efforts and win this tournament, the next year. Our preparations for the next year’s tournament started very early and we as a team were totally committed to winning it as we toiled hard. We went into the tournament as the least favorites based on the previous year’s performance. We defeated every team in style and we avenged our defeat to the team we had lost. We ultimately became the winners of the tournament and it taught us valuable lessons of a team effort, hard work, and perspiration. 

Valuable lessons learned from college days

I enrolled for a mechanical engineering course at REC Calicut, now NITC(https://www.nitc.ac.in/). Attending this college was a life-changing experience, as it gave me a real glimpse of what I could possibly dream of in the future. I was fortunate to have been in the midst of such a culturally diverse background of people under one roof. It taught me so many lessons that were very valuable in the later stages of my career. I had the chance to represent my college in many sports and cultural activities and I was also part of the student council. In addition to the academics, there was so much fun and frolic that taught you some tough lessons in leadership. I did discover that leadership is a lonely affair and it pretty much gets lonely at the top. I guess these lessons were important to be learned the hard way and it started to shape the way I saw the world from a different perspective & how to overcome adverse moments in my life. 

I will be lying to you if you told you that I dreamt of making it big in corporate life and one day I will land where I am. I want to highlight the fact that if you are in college and stepping into corporate life, I would urge you strongly to believe in your abilities, trusting your gut feel & intuition, never regretting decisions you made, ready to face the world with fun, having the will to overcome adversaries, appreciating and being grateful for everything, having a curiosity filled mindset, developing a never say die attitude and have a big picture thinking. 

One key aspect I would like to highlight is the fact that nothing ever comes to you labeled as opportunities. Develop a knack to spot them, grab them at the earliest, gather as much knowledge as you can, make mistakes & make the most of it. 

The next part of the unlock series will give you some tips on how you can start visualizing the future & developing a 3-year practical plan for yourself personally.