Today morning, looking at the calendar my daughter asked me what’s this day Guru Purnima? Thinking what should I explain this 6 year old. So I spontaneously said guru is someone who teaches us. She was immediate to react oh its teacher’s day!!!. I was not in position to say clear Yes Or No. Somehow in the school time rush she forgot confirming but that kept playing in my mind.
While I was in that thinking mode I got a call from Ulhas Jogale. He wished me Happy Guru Purnima. It’s not the first time that he had called me. For last 12 years he calls me on this day without fail. I am really touched with his gesture. His tenacity to remember & call me every year even when my numbers were changed, struck me. I do have gurus but I was never so punctual in calling and thanking them. I just kept my feeling inside me about them. Ulhas’s call helped me find answer and made sure I don’t waste any opportunity now to thank my gurus.
Teachers do great job not questions about it. Teachers day is apt to say “Thank You” for their contribution.
So here is my realization, “Every teacher can’t be Guru but every Guru is definitely a teacher.” I am not claiming only I discovered this, I am just saying I realized it now in my life. I can’t explain this to my daughter at her age, hope she will discovers as she grows.
I did commerce graduation from Mumbai university. During 2001 to 2005 I worked for a company called Synergetics. My first job started here. I met some of the brilliant teachers (for me the best teachers) in Indian Software Industry. After a year of work as technical coordinator I was given more challenging responsibilities of managing IT system of the company. Of course for on the job learner it was definitely a lot of work. That’s when I got introduced to Ulhas Jogale. He used to work as office assistant for operations and finance teams. He didn’t have strong financial or educational background but he was very sincere with his work. In his spare time he used to stop by me for quick chats on latest news on politics, fun events & being Sachin Tendulkar fan we used to chat on cricket a lot. After sometime he started helping me in moving systems, providing helping hand in network setup etc. Sometime it was instructional from his managers and sometime he will voluntarily come forward. That’s when I realized he wants to learn about computers more. He knew basics or connecting, starting computer but not much beyond that. So while getting helping hand from him I started teaching him small things about operating computer and using MS Office applications. Later he started exploring on his own and used to get his understanding corrected from me. This went for months and he became more confident on basic operations. This had given him good name in the company as people started appreciating his work beyond his routine stuff. Then came a time he was getting work to burn the course content CDs for training programs. I am not very sure if he was getting paid for that extra work as well. More important for me was that his value to the company had increased and so does his confidence. Since then every Guru Purnima he started wishing me. I still don’t know what he exactly feels but hearing Thank You from him make me happy.
I realized why I can’t Thank my gurus who has changed my life over these years. Parents are first gurus, so how much ever I thank will be less.
For the others I immediately messaged Sanjay Vyas, Amol Vaidya & Anurag Dwivedi.
Why Sanjay Vyas – After my B.com graduation I was little frustrated as I was not getting a good job. I had done software diploma but still I was not lucky. I had decided to leave Mumbai if i don’t get job by December 31, 2000. Only my family knows about this. My father & elder brother convinced me not to. Somehow I agreed to try once more in next few months. Come January 2001 I saw ad in Times of India which I still have laminated with me as cherisable career moment. Synergetics have given job for me but Sanjay Sir was the one who really saw true potential me. My job was to process training feedback in excel files and prepare reports. Sanjay sir made me learn programming, computer hardware and so many new things about technology. In the initial year I would have hated him like anything but I never kept anger inside me. I kept doing what he wanted me to. His guidance and support on exploring technologies changed my way of thinking. It was those 4.5 years with him set me for big challenges and helped me work for the world’s best software company (Microsoft) in past few decades. On my resume 10 years at Microsoft is more visible but at my technical soul it’s those 4.5 years with Sanjay sir are more valuable as they give me confidence.
Why Amol Vaidya – Sanjay Sir taught me how to explore and learn new technologies. It was Amol who helped me keep that learning simple & meaningful. His guidance over the years has helped me untangle the confusions and make every learning effort meaningful. Without his guidance I would have never thought of delivering trainings.
Why Anurag Dwivedi – Back in 2007 when I was transitioning from phases in personal & professional life, he came into picture. After spending 2 years in Microsoft I was looking for next growth chapter. I knew I was not perfect in few areas. Two such was Reading Business and Leading People to grow. He became my manager and guided me like Guru . During 2008 to 2011 was by far the best time I had in Microsoft. I learnt many new things, contributed effectively to the business. I will always consider Anurag the guru who ignited my leadership skill and helped me understand management skills.
So you see none of them are my teachers but they turned out gurus who changed my professional life.
Someone may ask how can you have more than one gurus. I feel what if all them help me discover myself, my potentials and achieve positive things in life, the number doesn’t matter.
To close this post, I wish all my gurus Happy Guru Purnima & pray god to bless them with happiness & prosperity in their lives.
mukesh notes 