Unreal Patriotism

It was one of the best movies made in recent times. It was based on the love for one's country and how a few people with sincere and genuine love for the country could make a difference.

Mr. Singh was not someone who would visit a theatre often. But this was one movie he wanted to watch. The movie had a huge effect on the youth of the country. People were flocking to the theatres and there was not a seat left even after four weeks of its release.

The advertisements before the show had started when Veer came into the theatre. He was a young leader of a very reputed political party and had been doing good work. With some maturity, he would be an excellent leader; atleast that is the perception he had successfully created.

Just before the show, the national anthem was played and Veer and his gang stood up as did the audience. Veer came from a family of freedom fighters. His name meant great and his family expected him to achieve greatness through his efforts to contribute to a better India.

Veer sang the national anthem with great pride. He knew the meaning of each word and sang it aloud. As soon as the national anthem got over and people began to sit in their seats, Veer and his gang moved to the first row. The aisle ahead of the seats gave them enough space to assemble.

Mr. Singh hadn’t stood for the national anthem. In the eyes of Veer, this was disrespect for his motherland and he would not tolerate it at any cost.

He stood in front of Mr. Singh and shouted aloud,” The movie will not be screened unless this man apologized to the nation and all its countrymen present here.” Mr. Singh was unfazed. He did not even get up.

Till then a lot of people from the audience gathered around Mr. Singh. As most successful politicians do, Veer had managed to polarize the audience. Some were with him and some against him for delaying their entertainment over a petty issue.

The word spread like wildfire. The authorities of the theatre came in but Veer and his team were in no mood to relent. They wanted an apology. Mr. Singh however, did not move an inch. His face showed no expression of fear. The movie was being screened in one of the finest theatres in the city and many media houses had their offices in the vicinity. In no time, journalists had gathered and many  media vans were parked outside the theatre.

Seeing the commotion, a young man aged thirty got curious. He asked someone what was going on? The stranger told him,” Veer, the young leader, is in the theatre and a man who refused to stand for the national anthem is being taken to task.”

The young man’s calm face suddenly grew tense. He knew what was happening and started running into the theatre. Meanwhile, Veer was being cheered by some people to blacken Mr. Singh’s face and teach him a lesson in patriotism. Some people went to the extent of saying that he was a terrorist.

The media had gathered by this time and the drama had reached its crescendo. No one had left the theatre. Someone bought a bottle of ink and his face was just about to be blackened when a man came running and shouted, “PLEASE DON’T”.

“Please don’t do this”, he said. Veer said in his defense that the man had the audacity to not only sit through the national anthem but also not feel any sense of remorse about it.

The man in the thirties reacted,” Sir, he is Major Singh. He lost his legs ten years ago while safeguarding the nation from infiltrators. He is patriotic but it is his physical inability to get up that is causing the problem. I am his help. He asked me to wait outside the theatre with his wheelchair and come back when the movie is over. He said keeping the wheelchair in the aisle might cause inconvenience to fellow citizens and hence, he wanted me to wait with it outside.”

The action had turned on its head. Suddenly, the man who was the villain had become the hero. Veer realized his mistake but the media had gathered by then and so did the TV crew. The event was being captured live on TV. Some journalists got calls from the opposition to ensure that Veer’s image was maligned before the upcoming elections.

The media flocked around Major Singh and started asking him questions. One of the questions directed to him was, “Sir, what do you think of Veer’s action? Will you file a complaint against him for tarnishing your image.”?

Veer wanted to apologize but the media wouldn’t allow him. “Veer, please come here”, said Major Singh. Veer was surprised to hear Mr. Singh call him.

With Veer by his side, Mr. Singh answered the question. I will not file a complaint against Veer.

“Why Sir?” asked another journalist.

Major Singh replied in his commanding baritone, “Veer and I are the same. There is absolutely no difference.” For once, Veer thought he was hearing something wrong. But the crowd that had gathered around was as stunned as Veer himself. “He has shown his love for his country in his actions. And it is true love, it is not for publicity. I lost my legs because of this same love ten years ago. It is just that his ability to judge facts was also blinded by this love. The same inability lead me to lose my legs”. 

“In essence, Veer and I are the same. If his love for the country is backed with responsibility and ability to gauge situations, he would be one of the best leaders we have in India, definitely better than what we have today. I am sure, Veer’s love for the nation is clean and he will serve people sincerely. I can see that his action is not the result of a hidden agenda. He is the future of India. If I complain and defame him, I wouldn’t get my legs back but our country stands to lose a great leader. If what happened to me today is embarrassment and humiliation, I am willing to take it smilingly as it will help the country gets what it needs today – a great leader.”

He concluded his short and swift speech and there was thunderous applause. The theatre had screened many blockbusters but had never been witness to such a thunderous applause.

Major Singh’s wheelchair had arrived by then and he excused himself. Veer came to Major Singh with tears in his eyes and said,” Sir, I am extremely sorry. I did not…”.

Major Singh cut him halfway and advised, “Its fine son. If you wish to apologize to me, do the best you can for this country and make it the best in the world. I will be proud of you and I am sure you can do it”.

The Major received a salute from Veer and a promise that he will try his best. Major Singh passed away five years later and it has been fifteen years since he passed away.

Veer’s thoughts of Major Singh and the incident were suddenly interrupted when his name was called out. He was required to go on the dais and take the oath for his second term as Prime minister. India had unanimously voted for him as the five year term he had just completed was the best ever India had witnessed. He had kept his promise to Major Singh well but there was still a lot to do.

It takes only one Major Singh to channel unreal patriotism into great service for the nation. Even without legs, he had ensured that the country could be run better than most other so called patriots, read politicians, had ever imagined. 

Salesman of the Year!

Rocky had hit a rough patch. Not so long ago, he was the blue-eyed boy of the multinational soft drinks giant in India. This year was bad. Bad was probably an understatement. He was missing his target by miles.

Rocky (Rakesh Agarwal) was not used to failure. His two decade old career had seen only highs. The smart lad was known for his innovative ways in the retail and FMCG space in India. The genesis of various innovative campaigns is credited to his fertile imagination. He had come up with maverick ways of selling products and ensuring mass appeal.

With success, Rocky’s arrogance was also on the ascent. He had this all conquering air about him. He had no regard for colleagues and made very few friends. He never gave a second thought before firing a sub-ordinate. He worked like a man possessed to break his own records and create new benchmarks in the industry.

The industry bestowed him with various awards and the media made him a star like no other. And as with most stars, the fall from grace is very tough. The media, the industry and his very own colleagues took great pleasure in ripping him apart.

With only the last quarter to go for the year to end, he was sure that he would never be able to come anywhere close to his target. For the first time, he was not confident of being a topic of discussion at the business leader’s award. For the first time, he seemed to lose control of his destiny. For the first time, he could see his superiors not being positive about him. The edifice of his confidence and self-esteem were crumbling within him, but he would show none of it.

The day was 31^st January. With two months to go, he knew he had a very steep mountain to climb. He had to give a lot of explanations in the meeting that was scheduled for 9 a.m. The executive council and some of its members would be happy to bring him down.

He left home as usual at 7.30 a.m. He was about halfway through his commute having negotiated a better part of the traffic when his car came to an abrupt halt. He vented his frustration at his driver but to no avail.

The last thing he wanted was to be late for the meeting. For the first time in nearly a decade, he was left with no choice but to climb into an auto-rickshaw to reach office.

In his immaculate professional attire but out of the confines of his air-conditioned car, he was feeling very uneasy. It seemed the auto rickshaw was affected by every pothole on the road unlike his luxury car. “Can you drive a bit slowly, you sick man”? He told the auto driver and also belted out a string of expletives in English. In his eyes, all auto drivers were a bunch of illiterate thugs.

“Sir, I am sorry that the roads aren’t well maintained and your journey in my auto rickshaw is not very comfortable. I will try to make it as comfortable as I can for you.”

Rocky was surprised at the mature demeanor of the rickshaw driver. What was more surprising to him was that he could speak English as good as anyone he had known.

Rocky was intrigued. He wanted to know more about this man. The phone started ringing at precisely the same time and it was to check whether he will reach on time. Another round of expletives, this time not directed at the auto driver could be heard.

“Sir, why are you so frustrated today? Is there anything I can help you with?” Rocky never had any regard for even his sub-ordinates so how could he have it for a random auto rickshaw driver. He told him that he was a country head of Sales and Marketing for a leading multi-national giant and that he could come nowhere close to understanding the way he functions, forget helping him out.

The auto driver, Rashid, was used to such rants, abuses and verbal volleys being directed his way. He was a very bright student but had to drop out before he could graduate due to circumstances. He had to take care of a huge family and his father – the only earning member of his family - passed away. He managed two to three odd jobs to make ends meet. He drove auto rickshaw at night; worked for a courier company during the day and sometimes did both jobs simultaneously.

Rashid told Rocky that he may not understand but atleast he could tell him and feel relieved. His philosophy was that if Rocky could get the thought out of his system, it may relieve him of the tension.

It was an unusual day. Rocky would never have opened his mind to an auto driver but this day was different. With at least half an hour to go to reach office, he poured his heart out to Rashid. He told him about the problems and relayed his concern of being beaten by the rival company for the first time in his life.

Rocky however, was soon back to being his usual self. He told Rashid that it was beyond the intellectual capabilities of an auto rickshaw driver to even think of a strategy that could put things in order in the next two months.

Rashid was a master in creating win-win situations and working under pressure. He told Rocky that he had an idea. He said, “Sir, February and March are two of the hottest months of the year in Mumbai. It is a time when the demand for cold drinks will go up. All you need to do is be present near the consumer when he is fighting the scorching heat. He should be able to grab a cold drink during that moment. He should be able to get a small bottle for as low as five rupees. The most important criteria for ensuring that the consumer gets the drink when he wants is to have an innovative distribution network. What better than autos like the one I drive.”

Rashid added,” Sir, imagine every autowallah being a distributor of your cold drink. You may ensure that he gets a small commission proportional to his sales.”

Rocky was spellbound by this thought. His only problem was that the industry thought so fast that the competitors would replicate this gem of an idea in no time and nullify any advantage he had.

As if reading his thoughts, Rashid said, “Sir, you can get all autowallahs to sign up with you for at least three months and leave no one for the competition to tie up with. I don’t see how the competition can replicate this at least till March. By doing so, you also contribute to corporate social responsibility; job creation etc. and that can contribute well to your branding initiatives.”

They had reached Rocky’s office five minutes before the scheduled time of the meeting. Rocky got out of the auto rickshaw, gave him a hundred rupee note, and asked for his mobile number. He didn’t bother for the change and rushed to the lift. On his way up, he saved Rashid’s number on his phone.

Rocky was to present ideas on enhancing sales in the next two months. He barely slept the previous night and had thought of three campaigns. Each would cost the organization as they would have to pay the advertising agency, buy expensive television media and do many events across the country.

He decided that his presentation would remain in his laptop and he would present Rashid’s idea which was a clear winner. The meeting was postponed by half an hour as two of the executive council members hadn’t arrived. He quickly summoned his team to his office. For the first time, he smiled at them and wished them a good morning. He requested (much to the delight of his team) if they could somehow find the number of autos that would be there in Mumbai, how many of them traversed some key areas and the number of passengers that travelled on them each day.

Equipped with these stats in his arsenal, he made the presentation and showed graphs on how the sales would cross the target if all went as planned. The members attending the meeting were impressed and he was given the “go ahead” to implement his strategy. He swung to action quickly and with the help of Rashid and his own team in office implemented the strategy.

The business leader’s award saw a host of important names from the corporate world. The media covered the event extensively and one award after the other was given out. The next award to be given was the best marketing strategy award. Rocky’s name was announced and he went on stage. He received the award and walked to the dais for the customary speech.

“Rashid, please come up on stage”, called out Rocky. Everyone in the audience was stunned to see an auto driver dressed in the typical auto driver’s dress come up on stage. The stage, which had seen the best minds in the corporate world, was seeing an auto driver for the first time. As Rashid came on stage, Rocky narrated the story and handed over the award and the prize money of two lakh rupees to Rashid. Rocky completed his speech by thanking his superiors, his team (for the first time) and Rashid – whom he called the “Salesman of the Year”.

The experience made Rocky a better boss, a better leader and took him to dizzying heights in his professional life. Rocky is, today, the most sought after professional in this industry. However, he still discussed strategies with Rashid and they come up with innovations which are unheard of. Rashid is a senior manager in his team. For Rocky, however, Rashid is an experience which has broadened his horizons, added humility to his personality and taught him the virtue of listening and learning for sub-ordinates and the seemingly lesser brilliant minds.

The Corporate world today has many Rocky’s who need to listen to the Rashid’s in their teams and outside and learn from their experiences to become great visionaries and realize their true potential.