Entries from September 2006 ↓

Looking back at my early working days, and my learnings in my Air India days, I cannot stop myself from thinking how lucky I have been. More than luck, I would like to suggest that luck strikes the one who converts any event into opportunities to grow by taking the maximum of benefit by using one’s brain power and one’s will to ever innovate for the better.

In 1968, an offer was made to a number of my colleagues to join in a challenging new position. All of them turned down the offer. Air India was then a new airline operating to Mauritius with low perspective of growth. It was really hard to get clients to travel to India and further more, most of my then colleagues thought that reporting to an Indian expatriate boss, with a mind and culture so different from our own, was an unnecessary hassle to bear. I took up the challenge with an understanding that I could re-integrate my rank and job at Rogers if I was not happy.

During my terms of duty at Air India, my experience was enhanced for having worked with three different Indian bosses with different styles, outlooks of life and work whilst all three had the same seed of inspiration to grow from. All of them had as hero the chairman of the company: J R D Tata. All of them had J R D Tata, their guru’s picture, hung in their office and always acted humanely in their dealings.

P.B. Dhar, the first Country manger of Air India, was Kashmir born, of military training background. The Dhar’s had always lived as ex patriates and were typical of army high ranked officers who are assigned postings all over the country. He practiced a top down management style and his words were orders not to be discussed. He was a fatherly figure commanding the enterprise, whilst he would transmit and execute orders received. JRD Tata was for him the second to the almighty.

Then came along: R.Misra. A young graduate selected by the Tata’s group as an upcoming business leader, R.Misra made his mark in Jamsedpur at Tata mills and was transferred to Air India. A true marketer he was. JRD Tata’s spirit of entrepreneurship, innovation and risk taking inspired him and gave him his drive.

Marajah Zutsi, the third boss I had, incorporated other aspects of JRD Tata, which were of thorough thinking, and completeness. He was a meticulous hard worker and ensured what he delivered was minutely thought of.

Working and adjusting my behavior to the various management styles could only hone my flexibility in action and understanding in people. I did not have the privilede to meet J R D Tata personally. People who met him described to me the aura he projected and favorable marks he imprinted on them. Amede Maingard, the founder and first chairman of Air Mauritius who had met him more than once was profoundly touched by JRD’s charisma. An inspiring leader, a motivator, the humane entrepreneur, JRD Tata has been, through his achievements. He is claimed to be one of the model of India entrepreneurship and a master of humane management.

I reproduce here the

5-guiding Principles of JRD:

1. Nothing worthwhile is ever achieved without deep thought and hard work;

2. One must think for oneself and never accept at their face value slogans and catch phrases to which, unfortunately, our people are too easily susceptible;

3. One must forever strive for excellence, or even perfection, in any task however small, and never be satisfied with the second best;

4. No success or achievement in material terms is worthwhile unless it serves the needs or interests of the country and its people and is achieved by fair and honest means;

5. Good human relations not only bring great personal rewards but also are essential to the success of any enterprise.

Some concluding remarks

Would it be fair to contribute his greatness and success to his life background? Have his varied youth experiences and multi faceted living, like to be born in France of a French mother, be of Zoroastrian culture and having been educated in a foreign country, the UK, moulded his life outlook?

We, Mauritians, could benefit of a similar situation, if only we would use these life experiences to build us up. We live in such a varied cultural atmosphere. Let us all value our differences.

Proud I am to be a Mauritian bashing in the “bouillon de cultures”. At an early start of my working career, I was blessed to have been able to visit India in the years of Mrs. Indira Gandhi Prime minister ship, the late 1960’s. The Air India B707 aircraft linked Bombay Santa Cruz airport to Plaisance in 1967 and there I was promoting travel from our Indian ocean islands, South Africa region to India. For years, I made a score of trips to India, accompanying travel writers and travel agents to show them the tourist, religious and cultural facets of this huge continent country. I would like to share with you today the life of a great Christian Sadhu.

One hundred and seventeen years ago on September 1889, Sundar Singh was born to Sher Singh of Rampur, Punjab in northern India. His mother, a deeply religious woman, nurtured him in the noble traditions of the Sikhs. Sundar often spoke of his mother with much love and respect because of the good foundation she laid for his life to come. Little did anyone know what God was about to do with this keenly intelligent and disciplined young man.

He was raised in the luxury of his family’s wealth. As a Sikh, Sundar was taught about Hinduism and came along with his parents to Hindu and Sikh temples. By the age of seven he had already memorized Bhagavadgita, the intricate Hindu dialogue containing spiritual life lessons. At sixteen, not only had he mastered the Vedas, the ancient sacred books of Hinduism, but he had also read Qur’an, the sacred book of Islam. He then got acquainted with some sadhus who taught him Yoga. A sadhu is a Hindu who devotes his entire life to his religion and forsakes all the worldly pleasures. Sundar remained single and jobless. He traveled all over India wearing a yellow robe without any food and without having any permanent residence. He lived only on the charity of others.

The life of Sadhu Sundar Singh was most remarkable in its Christ-likeness. Being born amidst the depths of Indian culture and religion, and into a Sikh family, during the early part of his life Sundar’s mother would take him week by week to sit at the feet of a sadhu, an ascetic holy man, who lived some distance away in the rainforest. It was his mother who first encouraged him to become a sadhu. She once told him, “Do not be selfish and materialistic like your brothers, but seek for your peace of mind and hold steadily onto your faith. Be a sadhu.” However, he never achieved peacefulness in his meditations. Owing to his mother’s connections with some women from a British mission in Rajpur, Sundar was able to enter the school run by the missionaries. It was there that Sundar was first exposed to the Bible. He wasn’t interested in the Bible at that time. Instead, he ardently buried himself in Hinduism and yogic practices.

Later on Sadhu Sundar Singh met with Christ and his teachings. His life mission changed.

Being unwilling to denounce his Master in the face of his family’s rejection, Sundar took the saffron robes of the sadhu and began a life of spreading the simple message of love and peace and rebirth through Jesus. He carried no money or other possessions, only a New Testament.

“I am not worthy to follow in the steps of my Lord,” he said, “but like Him, I want no home, no possessions. Like Him I will belong to the road, sharing the suffering of my people, eating with those who will give me shelter, and telling all people of the love of God.”

He traveled India and Tibet, as well as the rest of the world, with the message that the modern interpretation of Jesus was sadly watered down. Sundar visited Tibet every summer. In 1929, he visited that country again and was never seen since. Sundar manifested into his life the verse written in Mark 8:35 which says, “For whoever wants to save his own life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for Me and for the Gospel will save it.”

Ce dimanche matin a été pour moi d’un souffle de fraîcheur regénératrice. Pourquoi ? D’abord pour des besoins d’agencement domestique, nous avons avancé notre horaire de messe d une heure. Ceci afin de donner à ma chère épouse plus de temps pour préparer le déjeuner de ce dimanche où nous recevions des amis et des cousins qui nous arrivent de l’étranger.

Me voici, en route, plus frais pour assister à l’office de 8heures au lieu celui de 9.30 comme d’habitude. Messe animée par l’équipe de Christiane Valéry, elle est plus prenante en sonorité avec des chants et cantiques rythmés et des battements des mains. Un enthousiaste applaudissement ouvre et accueille un des célébrants, visiteur étranger à la paroisse, le Pere Philippe Mallet.

La fraîcheur et la nouveauté regénératrice de ce dimanche, sont ressenties dans la voix expressive, communicatrice et aimante du Père visiteur aussi bien que dans le contenu de son homélie. Merci, Seigneur.

Quelle Ouverture vers le Seigneur !

St Jacques dans son Epitre, nous parle en ces termes : « frères, ne mêlez pas des considérations de personnes avec la foi en Jésus Christ, notre Seigneur de gloire ».

« Écoutez donc, mes frères bien-aimés ! Dieu, lui, n’a-t-il pas choisi ceux qui sont pauvres aux yeux du monde ? Il les a faits riches de la foi, il les a faits héritiers du Royaume qu’il a promis à ceux qui l’auront aimé. »

Pauvres ou Riches nous sommes tous, en tant qu’héritier du Royaume, invités au miracle de l’ouverture des oreilles et de la bouche. Laissons nous être touchés par le Seigneur.

« Effata » qui signifie ‘Ouvre toi.’ L’Evangile de St Marc de ce jour nous livre la guérison du sourd muet.

J’ai pris conscience ce matin, du don que le Seigneur nous donne en nous demandant d’ouvrir nos oreilles pour une écoute plus attentive à notre prochain. Une écoute conciliante, qui libère, qui ouvre vers l’amour et qui guérit. Le miracle est d’être guéri de l’écoute qui juge et referme son prochain.

La guérison du muet est aussi le don d’utiliser notre bouche pour guérir par la parole salvatrice et génératrice de bonheur.

« Ouvres mes yeux Seigneur aux merveilles de ton amour » retenti encore en moi depuis ce matin.

Je suis refraichi et emerveillé. Alleluia !

I was surprised to read the Toiletgate story. It is this saga of a famous, now infamous Chinese telecaster, Meng Guang mei, who was sacked from her job as a result of blogs and pressure from the internet public.

The incident that has happened this past week in China, demonstrates the power of the blogs. Mind you, the blog readership of Sina in China counts in Millions. Thus the pressure exerted is extremely strong and concern the elite of the societe. You will realize that only the elite would be able to afford access to the internet.

As suggested by Joel de Rosnay in his recent book, which by the way is free and available on his web, blogging has the potential to rival mass media we know today. For sure mass media & mass communication are being transformed at a very fast speed by the technology and the widespread of the internet.

As a simple illustration, before you had a wait for a specific hour to have News on either your TV station or radio. With the proliferation of radio stations & TV stations, News is available more often with specific news casting stations. Today with my BlogBridge and the RSS feed, I am now able to be fed non stop with news on the specific topics selected and chosen.

The Advertising & Publicity industry is on the front line of the assault of the blog revolution. Billons of dollars are being diverted from the traditional mass media vehicles, such as Press, TV, billboards to more incisive forms to reach the targeted customer on a one to one which would be more effective. Marketers have to review and adjust their strategies fast.

I am looking forward to this exciting time where innovation, technology and perspirations will again take the trophy of success.

Nous est proposée ce matin la lecture de St.Paul aux Corinthiens à la messe.

Citation

1 Co 3,18-23.

Que personne ne s’y trompe : si quelqu’un parmi vous pense être un sage à la manière d’ici-bas, qu’il devienne fou pour devenir sage.

Car la sagesse de ce monde est folie devant Dieu. L’Écriture le dit : C’est lui qui prend les sages au piège de leur propre habileté.

Elle dit encore : Le Seigneur connaît les raisonnements des sages : ce n’est que du vent !

Ainsi, il ne faut pas mettre son orgueil en des hommes dont on se réclame. Car tout vous appartient,

Paul et Apollos et Pierre, le monde et la vie et la mort, le présent et l’avenir : tout est à vous,

mais vous, vous êtes au Christ, et le Christ est à Dieu.

Fin de citation.

Et nous qui sommes en quête de sagesse sur terre, recherchons plutôt l’essence de vie. Pour moi chrétien, je suis au Christ.

Voila que mon cher ami Cyril, qui m’envoie ce jour par email, une histoire qui se résume ainsi : un homme demande à son Seigneur, en cadeau une fleur et un papillon. Triste il était, en recevant du Seigneur des épines et un ver rampant. Sagement, il accueille le cadeau en se disant qu’IL avait d’autre voie pour lui. Peu de temps après, l’amas d’épines, un cactus, donnait une fleur d’une beauté extraordinaire et le ver se transformait en un papillon.

Oui, La sagesse de ce monde est folie devant Dieu….

Mind mapping

Work smarter not harder? How can one be more creative? How can one have a focus vision whilst keeping track of the overall view?

I have been mind mapping for donkey years. Some time ago, whilst chatting to an old friend, Andre, he told me since he was a school kid; he always had some sort of drawings to map out his thoughts. That would suggest that mind mapping is natural form of thinking process. Indeed, a recent study on the working of the human brain confirms that human thoughts could well take the forms of mind maps. The brain links different “objects” to make up a thoughtful idea.

Tony Buzan has spent years teaching the world to use mind maps. I have gained a lot using his techniques. Today, there is a number of Mind mapping soft wares available. I currently have been using Mind Jet since version 1 some 8 or 9 years now.

I have taught a number of persons to use the techniques and they have found great productivity gain. Recently I brought in my friend, Victor to give a series of lectures on the subject to some CEO’s in Mauritius. They were thrilled.

I would have wished that all the students Mauritius be taught the use of mindmaps.

What about you, the entrepreneurs? Do you want to become more effective and creative?

I had a wonderful morning today. My cousins came to visit me. Nothing extraordinary you may think to have your relatives to visit you? Not so true, because first of all, of the cousins two of them came from far distant Canada and I have not met them for a while to talk about our common interests.

Serge Trudeau, married to my cousin, is unique, as most of us are any way, had prepared this morning’s visit by sending me an advance email to list out the subjects of common interests he would like us to talk about. We talk about NLP, a subject which has been common to us for a number of years. I recalled that in the frequent travels when I went for training in the US, I used to stop over in Montreal and to share with Serge my interests and learning thereon. Serge later, modeling me, followed me in attending an NLP training. Since, we had not met.

I enjoyed exchanging with Serge. In spite of his present eyes health conditions, he carries on studying, reading in Braille and reflecting on topics, we commonly share and which are viewed from a different perspective because of our different life experiences. These meetings expand our vision of the world. Is not it so wonderful? My present health condition also directs me to study, read and reflect. So you must imagine the excitement of this morning tea gathering!

“De fil en auguille”, Serge, Quebecois pur sang, shared with me a website of telequebec TV giving the interviews of great achievers and their deeds. Jacques Attali was one of them. I am so fond of him and enjoy seeing him on TV shows and rank him second to Michel Serres as a thinker, and parts of the great minds of today. I had not met Jacques Attali but I had conversed at length with his twin brother some years back at Chateau Bel ombre. On the other hand, I spent a weekend at Anse la Raie with Michel Serres, a couple of years ago, listening to his vision of the world.

Biting through life with eagerness could bring to you the juice of a new life of bliss and joy.Merci cousin Serge.

Do you know Etienne Chomé?

Shortly before he left Mauritius in 2005 Etienne who has spent a number of years in Mauritius left a legacy. His 5 year’s stay in our island culminated in the publishing of his book “Apprendre a mieux gerer nos conflits” and the training of a team of volunteers to carry on his very laudable mission: teaching How to improve communications and conflict resolution skills.

Throughout his sojourn with us, Etienne conducted a large number of seminars and conferences on Conflict resolutions and communication skills. He had time to put to test his knowledge of the subject and perfected the delivery of the material to suit the local public. I attended some years ago, the lectures he gave and experienced his effective & artful skills in presenting, teaching and delivering complex intellectual materials simply. He was a knowledgeable, intelligent, generous and humble person. He could after the first session remember by first name each one of the 80 participants from memory.

Etienne’s works is largely inspired from world renown authors namely: Marshal ROSENBERG, Jacques SALOME, Thomas GORDON, Roger FISHER & William URY.

Etienne will be back in Mauritius for a short visit next week and will be taking stock of the impact of his deeds.

I would recommend that you enroll to one of the lectures given by Etienne’s team or purchase a copy of his book which has been printed & published in Mauritius.

He has very recently started a new website: www.commincaactions.org

Hier soir à notre télévision nationale, était annoncé la sortie prochaine d’un rapport sur la Pisciculture. Rapport commandité par la Societé Idée sur le potentiel et développement des produits de la mer.

Et voila que ce matin, apres les informations, sur la chaine MBC 1, je savourais avec grand plaisir une émission de « Savoir plus Sciences » de FR 2 du mois de Mai2006, qui traite du même sujet.

Question posée et répondue :

Surpêche : pourrons-nous continuer à manger du poisson ?
Techniques de pêches de plus en plus sophistiquées, forte demande des consommateurs, les stocks de poissons de mer semblent aujourd’hui diminuer de plus en plus. Les scientifiques multiplient les campagnes pour évaluer l’état des réserves, et dans les ports, les pêcheurs tentent de développer des pratiques pour limiter les prises. Malgré cela, certaines espèces sont en danger. Pourrons-nous continuer à manger du poisson et lesquels ?

Pisciculture : le poisson d’élevage pourra-t-il remplacer les poissons sauvages ? Pour pallier le manque de poissons sauvages, on se tourne aujourd’hui de plus en plus vers la pisciculture. Mais, ces poissons d’élevage ont-ils les mêmes qualités que les poissons de mer ? Peut-on élever toutes les espèces de poissons ? Vincent Chastelain est allé enquêter du côté des bassins du Sud de la France.

La Réponse : En Europe le poisson d’élevage représente aujourd’hui 25% du marché grande surface et passera en peu de temps à 50%. La CEE diminuerait le quota de la pêche au fur et à mesure que la pisciculture arrivera à fournir la demande.

Maurice est déjà bien positionnée avec La Ferme Marine de Mahébourg et autres initiatives de pisciculture en marche. Préservons notre avance en produisant de la qualité. Faisons de notre zone océanographique un havre de développement durable, écologique, modèle du monde.

China Today

By my origin, as you may know, coming from a Chinese origin family, of parents born in Maurituis, I have the privilege of being a Mauritius citizen born in China.CBC (China born Chinese) as opposed to my MBC parents! A proud Mauritian, I am. To live on our Island and be exposed to the diversity of cultures at close range, I bet, is not usual. Then to be conscious of it and to take benefit of the unique situation would be wise and clever. This presents an advantage over most men of the world. We, Mauritian should be more aware of our unique heritage laid down for us and be avid to reap the fruit of these assets.I trust you enjoyed my recent blog taking you to India and the Elephanta caves for the feast of Lord Ganesh.

I have a foible for China. The obvious case may be because of my family back ground but the stronger case element is “what China presents in population size and what China will command in the future as an Economic power house”. To that matter, every single soul in the world has a stake to watch out China.

I read through a paper presented by Prof. LI Hongtu at a ENS conference in Lyons in 2004 which is still relevant & pertinent.

Reading similar documents nurtures my quest for understanding, learning and expanding my perspectives. I pray that they do the same to you. Bonne Lecture.( our frenchie touch yet another gift bestowed upon us) Enjoy…