Mr. Manohar Devadoss the famous artist with eyesight related challenges was one of the people who inspired me as a child. During my school days I had severe gynecological issues; that used to be really painful, tiring and depressing. There was an article in the Tamil magazine 'Ananda Vikatan' about Mr. Manohar and Mrs. Mahima, how they are managing their life with positive attitude despite the physical challenges. That gave me a lot of courage and hope. I started fighting back the ailments with a smile; in fact I even forgot that I am fighting. I took it just as a constraint to be handled.
In my college days I met Mrs. Indira Bhavani - our Tamil lecturer. She did not have children and her husband was on a job that required extensive travel that they met only a few days a month. Amidst her all the other constraints she was doing her Ph.D as well. On a fateful morning, she was paralyzed and could not move her right arm and leg. Her speech was impaired - her most critical asset! Doctors did not have much hope for her to be normal again. She proved all of their predictions wrong and revived back with even better clarity of thinking. She used her sickness period to listen to audio books, learn a language and when she got back to normalcy, she continued her research & completed her Ph.D. She wrote short stories, published poetry, helped students in all aspects. She encouraged all the students to perform their best in fields of their choice. She gave different assignments to students that were unheard of in the past. Wow… that was inspiring… She could handle the high pressure times with such an ease, that made the problems appear much smaller than they actually were.
In work, I met Mrs. Sathya - a person who could smile at almost everything. Her husband passed away, leaving a teenage daughter and Sathya. Sathya's health was also posing a big risk for her; official life was not smooth either. Many of us were leaving the organization due to various reasons; as a result she had to handle operations with less no of people; customer-base was reacting differently; there were a lot of changes in the top management also around that time. She also had to manage serious betrayals from very close friends. Had it been any other person, he/she would have walked away from this situation. She had patience, she had the grace to forgive all those who were cruel to her. She even completed her Senior Management Program from IIM during this hardest part of her life… I did not realize all this when I was working closely with her. I was in middle of my own set of problems both at my personal & official life and I was blind to many good things around me - including her. I was misinterpreting almost everything because of many negativities I had in my mind. After I quit that job and moved to another, I was thinking about many incidents in a totally new light. Really I am inspired with the tremendous learning I got from her. How to keep your calm in the middle of such a storm, how to be graceful despite the bad attitude of others, how to be firm while being gentle. Such an inspiring person…
In a work related travel, I met Mr. Robin B - who is cheerful in spite of the challenges he had to handle; I should say, I met Mr. Robin B and Mrs. Vanessa B, the lovely couple who have a bright outlook towards life. The way they took care of me, as their personal guest was really impressive - I was actually not their personal guest, I was just a colleague of Robin who was visiting their city on official purpose for a week. To be precise, to Vanessa, I was a total stranger from a different country, culture, with a totally different looks. Their hospitality was not the only best part though they were one of the best hosts. The more inspiring aspect was their ability to smile at life's challenges and uncertainties… They have a little son, whose brain growth was impeded by excessive fluid collection around the brain. When you meet them, you wont even see any trace of difficulties on their faces. I spent a week with them. They did not complain - not even once - about the difficulties involved though I could see the difficulties myself. They were treating both kids equally; they were giving their best to the children while enjoying their lives as much as possible; They were trying to manage their schedules in such a way that each of them will get their exclusive personal time. Wow… that was inspiring…
I am sure I would continue to meet more inspiring people on my journey. However these five are special to me. They opened new doors in my thinking. I was not looking at life like that before I met them, though I too have bounced back from many setbacks in life. Will power, determination, kindness, joyfulness and respect for others are the great lessons I learnt from them.
Though I have never met Mr. Manohar in person, I feel that I have met him and know him closely! Though Mrs. Indira Bhavani is not with us anymore, she is with me always! Though I do not work with Mrs. Sathya, I think of her almost every week and take inspiration to carry on with my life! Though I do not get to see the Bebbingtons, I connect with them mentally daily, whenever I see kids running around! They are all truly inspirational...
In my college days I met Mrs. Indira Bhavani - our Tamil lecturer. She did not have children and her husband was on a job that required extensive travel that they met only a few days a month. Amidst her all the other constraints she was doing her Ph.D as well. On a fateful morning, she was paralyzed and could not move her right arm and leg. Her speech was impaired - her most critical asset! Doctors did not have much hope for her to be normal again. She proved all of their predictions wrong and revived back with even better clarity of thinking. She used her sickness period to listen to audio books, learn a language and when she got back to normalcy, she continued her research & completed her Ph.D. She wrote short stories, published poetry, helped students in all aspects. She encouraged all the students to perform their best in fields of their choice. She gave different assignments to students that were unheard of in the past. Wow… that was inspiring… She could handle the high pressure times with such an ease, that made the problems appear much smaller than they actually were.
In work, I met Mrs. Sathya - a person who could smile at almost everything. Her husband passed away, leaving a teenage daughter and Sathya. Sathya's health was also posing a big risk for her; official life was not smooth either. Many of us were leaving the organization due to various reasons; as a result she had to handle operations with less no of people; customer-base was reacting differently; there were a lot of changes in the top management also around that time. She also had to manage serious betrayals from very close friends. Had it been any other person, he/she would have walked away from this situation. She had patience, she had the grace to forgive all those who were cruel to her. She even completed her Senior Management Program from IIM during this hardest part of her life… I did not realize all this when I was working closely with her. I was in middle of my own set of problems both at my personal & official life and I was blind to many good things around me - including her. I was misinterpreting almost everything because of many negativities I had in my mind. After I quit that job and moved to another, I was thinking about many incidents in a totally new light. Really I am inspired with the tremendous learning I got from her. How to keep your calm in the middle of such a storm, how to be graceful despite the bad attitude of others, how to be firm while being gentle. Such an inspiring person…
In a work related travel, I met Mr. Robin B - who is cheerful in spite of the challenges he had to handle; I should say, I met Mr. Robin B and Mrs. Vanessa B, the lovely couple who have a bright outlook towards life. The way they took care of me, as their personal guest was really impressive - I was actually not their personal guest, I was just a colleague of Robin who was visiting their city on official purpose for a week. To be precise, to Vanessa, I was a total stranger from a different country, culture, with a totally different looks. Their hospitality was not the only best part though they were one of the best hosts. The more inspiring aspect was their ability to smile at life's challenges and uncertainties… They have a little son, whose brain growth was impeded by excessive fluid collection around the brain. When you meet them, you wont even see any trace of difficulties on their faces. I spent a week with them. They did not complain - not even once - about the difficulties involved though I could see the difficulties myself. They were treating both kids equally; they were giving their best to the children while enjoying their lives as much as possible; They were trying to manage their schedules in such a way that each of them will get their exclusive personal time. Wow… that was inspiring…
I am sure I would continue to meet more inspiring people on my journey. However these five are special to me. They opened new doors in my thinking. I was not looking at life like that before I met them, though I too have bounced back from many setbacks in life. Will power, determination, kindness, joyfulness and respect for others are the great lessons I learnt from them.
Though I have never met Mr. Manohar in person, I feel that I have met him and know him closely! Though Mrs. Indira Bhavani is not with us anymore, she is with me always! Though I do not work with Mrs. Sathya, I think of her almost every week and take inspiration to carry on with my life! Though I do not get to see the Bebbingtons, I connect with them mentally daily, whenever I see kids running around! They are all truly inspirational...
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