Shining in reflected glory

Today my friend Meenakshi, has been appointed as the Minister for External Affairs! Joy, pride and elation are my feelings at her success. She is also married to my classmate and friend Aman. She has helped a couple of my friends from work in legal matters and because they went with my reference she would not take her fee. Well deserved, Meenakshi! And here I am shining in reflected glory!

Thinking back, life has given me a lot of instances to shine in reflected glory. Starting with my school, St, Thomas’, there was Mrs. Joy Michael, our Principal, a theatre personality, a leading academician. She instilled in us pride about being a girl, an urge to excel in what we love to do and the school sent forth many students into fame and glory. Reach, reach, reach for the stars, said our school song and when you reach there, reach for the next star it said. I reached for the stars closer to me, excelled in studies, learnt and performed bharatanatyam, specially abhinaya, exceedingly well. The whole of standard XI, batch of 1983 participated in the RepubLic Day Parade and marched from Rashtrapati Bhawan to India gate and the National Stadium. I was the head girl in school Std. XII and my sister, though 10 years younger than me followed me to the same school and she, for all her years in school shone in reflected glory as “Preeti’s sister”, never mind that she started school a decade later.

I feel that ever since that I shone in reflected glory. Not that I did not do well, I did. Passed with honours a bachelors in Botany from Miranda House and with fairly good marks in LL.B from the Campus Law Center, Delhi University, I always saw my classmates as better than me, my friends with awe and my professors with great admiration. There was a lot of love and respect when I shone in their reflected glory……she is a student of Miranda House, she waaaasssuuupppp taught by Dr Meenakshi Sethi, her professor in the law faculty was Prof. Upendra Baxi.

I worked in some of the best companies during the days, starting my career with Eicher Goodearth. I worked hard and smart and soon was learning and growing confident in the mentorship of the then General Manager HR Mr. B P Singh. To date I have a hand written note he gave me when I had to let go of an employee and it said “when you are letting go of some one, do it with respect, understanding and deep deep love”. I have never forgotten his advice that whatever I do I should be able to sleep fitfully at night. At Eli Lilly I excelled under my manager Mr. Sandeep Dayal who let Eli lilly from its start up days in Delhi, its successful launch as one of the first few multinationals in India in the early 1990s. Traveling 20 days a month and to remote places to support the Territory and Area managers of the company, I learnt more than any business school would have done. Later at American Express, building gender diversity and world class teams and HR practices, I was awarded the “Chaiman’s Award for Quality”, that was signed by the then leaders of Am Ex, Mr. Ken Chenault and Mr. Harvey Golub.Then came a ATS Services, GE/Genpact, Essential Energy, every where I have wonderful friends, colleagues and I am a part of all the alumni forums. Still, when i say, I worked with BP, Sandeep or American Express or Genpact, Essential Energy, I shine in reflected glory.

Why school and college and work, in my own family I shine in reflected glory. Starting with immediate family, my father who fought the emergency as an activist, who tried to save people during the 84 riots….I shine in his reflected glory. My mother, her fierce need to make me and my sister financially independent …… i shine in her glory as a matron of the family, a staunch feminist. The sister who shone in my reflected glory as a child, is now a Director HR at Gartner and manages a global role with 7 year old twins and a 4 year old boy in tow…..how can I not shine in her reflected glory. My little girl, Veda, who has taught me the meaning of unconditional love, being nonjudgemental and energetic ….I shine in her reflected glory. My grand aunts, Mrinalini Sarabhai, Captain Lakshmi and my family of Annakkara Vaddakkath with my cousins Subhashini Ali, Geeta Menon (who I admired from my Delhi days and who was the Dean at NYU, Stern School of Business)…..I shine in their reflected glory of their leadership. How can I forget Nandana Reddy or my dear Nandanachechi, who started an NGO “The Concerned for Working Children” and was nominated for the Nobel Prize twice in 2012 and 2013. It is my honour to know her and also for having been associated with the CWC for 10 years.

And why not, as i age like wine in an old Paris bar, I feel my shining diamond is somewhere inside me telling me to work hard, play hard and live life kingsize. I shine because I overcame difficult personal situations, because I love my family to a fault, because I accepted my mental health condition. I shine because I take treatment for my disorder and still manage to do a brilliant job at home and at work. I shine because my husband shines in my reflected glory!!! Need I say more….. So heres to all of us who “shine in reflected glory” and love those who shine and give us their lamp and light to carry.