Archive for 2007
Both sides now
30 Nov, 2007, 0510 hrs IST,Devdutt Pattanaik, TNN (Corporate Dossier) When he wants to know the profits of the organisation, the CEO turns to his Chief Finance Officer (CFO). But when it comes to understanding opportunities in the market, the leader turns to the Head of Marketing and Sales (HMS). The CFO knows where investments have [...]
Lifetime experience
In the great epics of India, Ramayan and Mahabharata, war ends not with celebration of victory but with transmission of knowledge.
The mythic in the festival of lights
November 9, Indian Express (Editorial page) Diwali is without doubt India’s answer to America’s Christmas, where the religious aspect takes a backseat and secular shopping comes to the fore. It all began as a post-monsoon harvest festival. But what distinguishes it from other harvest festivals like Pongal (Tamil Nadu) or Bihu (Assam) is that it [...]
Invoking the goddess
2 Nov, 2007, 0501 hrs IST,Devdutt Pattanaik, TNN According to the Puranas, when Brahma creates the world, the Goddess appears as Saraswati, embodiment of knowledge, serene and aloof, dressed in white, holding a lute and a book, riding a heron. When Vishnu sustains the world, the Goddess appears as Lakshmi, stunning and alluring, dressed in [...]
Marketing Maya
26 Oct, 2007, 0530 hrs IST, Devdutt Pattanaik, TNN One day, Drona summoned two of his students, Yudhishtira and Duryodhana. “Spend a day in Hastinapur and find me a really bad man,” he told the always-nice Yudhishtira. Then turning to the ever-angry Duryodhan, he said, “Spend a day in Hastinapur and find me a really [...]
Land of Yama
First City, New Delhi, Novemeber 2003 Yama, is the Hindu god of the dead. The story goes that he was the first man on earth. His twin sister Yami was the first woman. According to the Rig Veda, she approached him to make a child. He refused this incestuous union on moral grounds. So he [...]
Law of Fishes
Corporate Dossier, Economic Times, 12 Oct 2007 Vishnu Purana begins with the story of Matsya avatar, the fish incarnation of Vishnu. A tiny fish approaches Manu, the first leader of mankind, on the riverbank and begs him to save him from the big fish. Manu, in his compassion, scoops the tiny fish out of the [...]
Doorkeepers of Vaikuntha
5 Oct, 2007, 1206 hrs IST,Devdutt Pattanaik, TNN If vishnu is the CEO, then his office is Vaikuntha, the ultimate paradise, a place where his every word is law and every wish a command. What cannot be resolved elsewhere can only be resolved in Vaikuntha. Naturally everybody wants to go to Vaikuntha. Outsiders, from vendors [...]
Kurukshetra Counsel
28 Sep, 2007, 0510 hrs IST,Devdutt Pattanaik, TNN Of the 18 days of the Kurukshetra battle described in the Mahabharta, nine days were indecisive. The Kauravas , with 11 armies, outnumbered the seven armies of the Pandavas. For the Pandavas, it was critical that Bhisma, the old but very able commander of the Kaurava forces, [...]
Deeds for leaders
21 Sep, 2007, 0525 hrs IST,Devdutt Pattanaik, TNN So it's your first day of work as the new leader of the team. Is it your appointment letter that makes you a leader? Or do actions make you a leader? What actions must you take to establish your leadership? Is there any step-by-step approach by which a [...]
Truth behind the power of myths
16 Sep 2007, 0104 hrs IST,Atul Sethi,TNN (written in response to the Ram-Sethu or Adam's bridge controversy) Myths, they say, never die. They only sleep. American poet Stanley Kunitz put it aptly, when he said, "Myths lie sleeping, at the bottom of our mind, waiting for our call. We have a need for them, since [...]
Playing with Fate and Free Will
First published in First City, New Delhi, July 2007 Typically, Indians are considered a fatalistic people. We believe in karma, that life is pre-determined. And yet, we find the following story in the vana parva of the Mahabharata, narrated by the sage Markandeya to the Pandavas. Once upon a time, there was a princess called [...]
Metaphysics of Mathematics
First Published in First City, New Delhi, August 2007 The number 18 keeps recurring in the Mahabharata. The epic has 18 sections and deals with a battle that is fought over 18 days and involves 18 armies. Krishna’s city, Mathura, is destroyed by Jarasandh after 18 attacks. Yudhishtir gambled away all his wealth in 18 [...]
Churning out Lakshmi
Published in Corporate Dossier, Economic Times, 14 Sept, 2007 The ultimate goal is profit. Call it anything you want: bottomline, topline, market share, capitalization, equity, dividends, incentive, growth. It is what ultimately counts. It is why leaders are sought by organizations. Leaders are the ones who are able to mobilize the organizational resources to generate [...]
