More than ever, Indians represent the essence of living in a globalised, highly interconnected environment. Kalyan has used these candid vignettes of his experiences outside India to illustrate the many complexities, delights and lessons of being an internationally minded, insatiably curious and forward thinking global Indian.
Shanker Annaswamy, Regional GM, IBM India & South Asia
The natural matter-of-fact with which Mr. Kalyan has put forth his wide experiences and learnings across 15 countries in this book is really laudable. The cartoon representation and the simple anecdotic mode adopted to highlight the requirements for a successful life is endearing.
Dr. P. Mannar Jawahar, Vice Chancellor Anna University Chennai
I marvel at Kalyan’s ability to capture under seven heads, a bewildering range of human experiences and I might add a large span of geography. I consider it a deft use of the literary technique of ‘miniature personal essays’. These writings put him in the class of some of the best practitioners, such as Devendra Nath Sharma, of this not so common a literary form. The texts simultaneously entertain and educate.
Prof. Vinayshil Gautam IIT Delhi, Director – SpiceJet SAIL, GAIL
Kalyan has managed to weave pearls of wisdom emanating out of his cultural background, moral values and upbringing, professional experience and cross-cultural exposure through wide travel into an enjoyable reading experience.
Dr. B. Mahadevan, Dean-Admin, IIM-Bangalore
About the Author(s)
Pursuing his passion, Kalyan moved from his last Corporate role as a Regional Director with a Multi National Corporation to being an independent management consultant (valinnova.com). As part of his career, he has been with Wipro, TVS, General Electric (GE) and ICI families.
He is a gold medalist from College of Engineering Guindy, Chennai & has an MBA from Rutgers Business School, NJ. He teaches part-time at Nanyang Technological University.
Kalyan lives with his family in Singapore. He can be reached at kalyan.vaidya@gmail.com
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SET OUT TO EXPLORE
The Miracle Call
Humble Beginnings
Moments of Weakness
Misconceptions Down Under
On the Fast Lane
God’s Own Creation
Talents are Everywhere
Open Your Self
Ignorance Saved the Day
Making Cents of Arts
Corporate Moves
Who Deserves?
IMBIBE THE OUTLOOK
Not Just Cricket
Tribute to Passion
Uniquely Singapore
Chicken Manchurian
Hallmarks
Unspoken Truths
Idiot box Gets Smarter
CACHE THE FACTS
Drawing an Impression
Livewire Professions
Losing Lustre to Lust
Deciphering Designations
Customer Dissatisfaction
Outside Homeland
Domesticating Issues
ABCs of Schooling
Celebrity Talk
Watching Signs
Touch Therapy
Safety Begins at home
Socialising
Political Movements
Quote-Unquote
DON’T BE SURPRISED
Udder Shock!
Learnt the Hard Way
Fleeting Moments
of Unpleasantness
Quirky Facts
Curiosity Kills the Impression
Lunch and Learn
Life in a Metro
Just in Case!
‘Q’ustomer Delight
Lost is Forever
STEER CLEAR OF
Don’t Assume
Shameful Act
Analysis Paralysis
Opportunity Knockout
SEEK TO EMULATE
Be Encour‘age’d
Lost in time, Found in Japan
What an Idea, Sirjee!
Ideal Worshippers
Leaving No Stones Unturned
Pleasant Surprise
Forward Looking
Ikea for Ideas
Pro-activeness
Power Girls
Sons of the Soil
Just Do It
In Closing....
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Sample Chapters
(Following is an extract of the content from the book) | Hide  |
This was in 1996-97. A few senior IAS officers from New Delhi were on a visit to Thailand for sharing India’s potential in the international arena. I was part of the business congregation that discussed collaboration and investment opportunities between the two Nations. India was just beginning to get noticed then as an IT power. In terms of adopting new technologies, we were still catching up. Other delegates had sophisticated colourful PowerPoint presentations, while our officers were armed with only black and white lacklustre transparencies that were short of visual clarity and appeal. During a coffee break, I took this up and politely shared my opinion with some of our officers in attendance. To my surprise, one official who belonged to the industries sector in a Southern state of India, thanked me for my honest feedback. He said he was keen to get more suggestions from me on how to improve the same and impress the hosts from a localised perspective. I was stunned by the officer’s OPEN MINDEDNESS, despite being a very senior official in India. The next day, I wrote a long email to him talking about my business experiences in that land and also thoughts on how one could do some things differently in marketing our potential. The gentleman thanked me sincerely and updated that he has in fact incorporated my inputs in his forthcoming plans. The last I heard from him was when he had embarked on building a Trade/Expo centre in his state, similar to the one that existed in Bangkok. Ideas are everywhere. How one sources them out and remains open to people’s views from different walks of life – however small or big – enhances one’s calibre.
Ideal Worshippers
Thai people have a huge RESPECT FOR HINDUISM and Indians, by-and-large, unless somebody goes out of the way to spoil their own reputation. They appreciate the origin of Buddhism from India. The Thai language too, bears significant roots from Sanskrit. You will find dedicated Hindu temples in the city of Bangkok, which also house some of their Gods alongside. Lord ‘Brahma’ is the central god worshipped by the Thais. Idols of Lord Brahma are laid in prominent locations and inside residential compounds. Like Hindus, even the Thais make offerings to the deity, with garlands, fruits, incense sticks and donation. In line with these beliefs, Bangkok’s most recent structure – Swarnabhumi (land of gold in Sanskrit) international airport has earthed an installation of the Hindu mythological epic “churning the ocean”. The monument depicts a beautiful rendition of devas and asuras seeking nectar, an adaptation from the story of Lord Vishnu’s Dashavatar, where ‘koorma avatar’ is the second incarnation. Very recently, they have released postage stamps in the honour of several Hindu Gods too! Aspects like these must be appreciated as an effort from Thailand to expose Asian cultural nuances even as they bring international travellers and businessmen to that country. Visitors queue up to click photographs and videos, and take a piece of Hinduism along with them to their hometowns. Perhaps they may adorn a portrait of our deities on their walls and find happiness in remembering Thailand as the land of gold! Hinduism has travelled far and wide. Its conspicuous presence at Swarnabhumi airport and the absence of it at similar entry/exit points on the Indian soil for its travellers may well be a cue for some initiatives at this end too.
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