To inspire Gurgaon, particularly the youth, towards positive action, Gurgaon First organised ‘Josh Gurgaon’, where prominent personalities from different fields spoke about their upbringing, experiences and challenges. The Event was conceived and conceptualised by Shubhra Puri (of Gurgaon First), who said that the goal is to inspire the youth, particularly students. The first to address the audience was Manoj Kohli, Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises Ltd., who outlined the importance of hard work, honesty and humility. Born in a lower middle class family, which had migrated from Pakistan, Kohli revealed that the family had seen quite tough days post partition in Delhi, and being a son there were great expectations from him.
"I started working at the age of nineteen, because my father said that it had become difficult to manage the affairs at home", said Kohli. However, while working, Kohli continued with his education, as he knew that it was important for success in professional life. During his work in various organisations, what pained him most was the absence of global Indian companies, and the inability of local managers to do things here on an international scale. A decade and half later, when Kohli met Sunil Bharti Mittal, owner of Bharti Airtel, the telecom industry was on the cusp of a revolution. The duo, both having a strong desire to create a world class corporation, joined hands to turn Airtel into a formidable force. "We initially thought 1 million customers were enough, then we thought 10 millions would be good…and now we have 300 million customers - and the target is now to have 500 million Airtel users," said Kohli. Airtel was able to scale up big because people in the organisation had the courage to think big. "I think courage is very important, as also common sense, to achieve goals in life as well as in the corporate world," Kohli asserted. He recalled that in 2002, Airtel was a loss making company, and it was limited to the Delhi circle, while other majors like Tata and Reliance were planning big forays. At that time the Company decided to make a strategic move, and it outsourced its networks to Ericcson and its call centres to other companies, and concentrated on the core business of selling and marketing the brand Airtel. “It was a difficult decision, but ultimately it proved to be a winner, and we were able to establish the brand strongly across the country, and now even internationally. "I think the youth should trust themselves and express their views. And in business, while execution is important, they should retain focus on detailed planning," added Kohli.
Vinita Singh is a Trustee of We the People, an NGO that is working in the social sector for the last twenty years, to help enhance the people's capacities to uphold their rights and duties. Vinita recalled that her journey in social reform began in Class 12, when she opposed the marriage of her teenaged friend as something that was illegal and regressive. Although she could not stop the marriage, it was a turning point in her life - as she made a steely resolve to fight social evils, and to fight anything unfair happening in society. "I decided to speak up, and have been doing so in one or the other way over the last two decades", she asserted. Another incident that shook her strongly was when she had to visit the home of an artisan in Dharavi, one of the largest slums in the world. "I had never seen life like that…so much poverty," said Vinita. When she asked the artist why he had migrated from his (original) village, where he had land, he said that in Mumbai was there was no discrimination against his family (on caste basis). His kids would be able to get education, and an opportunity to secure a job, which was impossible in his village. Vinita’s father motivated her
to get a professional degree before plunging into the ‘difficult’ social sector. In between she also took an internship with an NGO, which was doing a social survey, and this allowed her to visit a large number of villages across the country. "This trip opened new vistas for me. I was able to meet a number of social workers, and understand the problems and issues of people living in villages,” she said. “I also was able to make up my mind that the social sector was the domain in which I would work.” After completing her MBA, Singh joined an NGO and worked for a long time in this sector, before another incident changed her perspective. She had a serious look at the Constitution of India after a lawyer friend told her to go through it. A deeper study of the Constitution motivated Vinita to set up 'We The people', a Gurgaon-based NGO whose aim is to educate people on their Rights, as well as responsibilities, by involving themselves in civic and social endeavours for the betterment of society. “From our experience of working closely with citizens from various backgrounds, we understand that three factors come in the way of us taking ownership and responsibility – Information (what), Tools (How) and Beliefs (Why),” said Vinita. We the People works with citizens directly and helps build their capacity in these specific areas, through various programmes. Singh said that the journey is difficult but things can be achieved if efforts are in the right direction.
Deep Kalra, CEO, MakeMyTrip shared his experiences, from being a startup company to becoming a leading travel portal that is listed on Nasdaq. After completing his MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, Kalra did what most do, and joined ABN AMRO Bank in the corporate banking division. "It was pretty straightforward work bound in rules, and there were not many interesting things happening in this sector," he said. After working for almost three years, he quit the bank and took a sabbatical for almost an year to figure out what to do next. This period also made him realise the importance of pursuing one’s passion, and hence he decided to follow his calling. However, when he got a very interesting offer to bring AMF Bowling Inc to India, he took that up. The task was difficult, being a new concept, and the cost of setting up a bowling alley was very high. “I spent almost four years in the company, and understood the nitty gritties of doing business and running a setup from scratch. I also realised the difficulty of setting up a business that was heavily dependent on realty costs,” said Kalra. After quitting AMF, Kalra still kept his passion on the slow burner, and joined GE Finance. Here he was exposed to top Indian entrepreneurs in the Internet/cyber space business, and was deeply influenced by the opportunities that it offered. "I decided to take the entrepreneurial plunge after one and half years, and set up MakeMyTrip, a portal offering online travel services. However, very soon everything started to go wrong with the Internet business, and people started to pull their money out. 9/11 and the Sars virus (in South East Asia) further hit the travel business very hard. "We were in a very precarious position, with little funds…but we refused to throw in the towel, and started to work on a day to day basis," said Kalra. He also ensured that everyone was involved in the decision to continue, and many who did not share the founder’s vision left for other companies. In Kalra’s opinion, the team was able to manage the tough times because everything was not controlled and centred around the founder. He also said that it is important to give value to those people in the organisation who raise tough issues and irritate the management – for they really care. It is also important to keep a singular focus on building the business and customers, instead of thinking on any exit strategy, averred Kalra.
Nisha Singh is a foreign educated professional who joined politics because she could not tolerate any wrong in society. She is a Councillor in Gurgaon. In her younger days Nisha Singh fought for herself, and now the fight is for the community, and society at large. Inspired by a 1980s Doordarshan character, Rajni, Singh said that it is time for people in the city to become the change that they want to see. She says that, as a politician, there is a lot of leverage to make big changes in the system and the scale of impact can be huge. "Today politics has become a spectator sport, as no one wants to engage this field. The lack of good people has left a vacuum, which is filled by selfish politicians and anti-social elements, who have their own agendas," asserted Nisha Singh. In her opinion, permanent change in the country will come only if we consider politics as a vehicle of change and become part of the political process. “The politicians must understand the real problems of people, and call for changing the system, and this is more likely to happen now because of the way the Internet and social media has empowered people in the country,” she signed off.
Baby Halder used to work as a maid in a Gurgaon house, but has now turned into an author. She has penned her experiences, and her works have been published in multiple languages. Halder has been writing books on her own, mentored by Prabodh Kumar, in whose house she has worked for several years. Halder said that she was married at a young age and had kids even before she realised the importance of this bond. Halder had lost her mother when she was very young, and her father was abusive, and so was her husband - which forced her to board a train from Durgapur (in West Bengal) for Delhi, where her brother lived. She landed up in Gurgaon and started to work for a family, which unfortunately mistreated her – but fortunately this led her to Kumar’s house.
Seeing her interest in Bangla books, Kumar one day gave her a pen and asked her to write the story of her life in Bengali. Miraculously, the words just flowed, and writing liberated her. When she wrote had depth, and her first book ‘Aalo Aandhari’ (Light and Darkness) was published in 2002, in Hindi. In 2006, it was published in English, titled ‘A Life Less Ordinary: A Memoir.’ In 2010 she published her second book ‘Eshast Rupantar’ - a sequel to her first book. She has rubbed shoulders with many top writers at seminars and festivals across the world. With the help of her earnings, Halder has managed to build a house in Kolkata, but continues to work as a maid. She eventually wants to move to Kolkata, as it is the best place to pursue Bengali literature.
Neeti Palta belongs to an emerging breed of stand-up comedians in the country who have Made humour their profession. Palta described herself as a ‘non-recovering thrill seeker’. She left a well-cushioned job of a Senior Art Director. Neeti had written for Gali Gali Sim Sim, and also wrote a script for a movie. However, comedy was her calling. Her family, despite being initially surprised by this decision, has supported her. She has fast learnt the ropes of this profession, which requires her to work in restaurants, pubs and hotels - where the audience can be often quite difficult to handle. Palta told the youngsters to believe in themselves and their abilities, as the time is opportune for looking at something new and interesting. "Please don’t believe in those who tell you something is impossible, because there would always be naysayers discouraging you. There will also be people who do not believe in your abilities, but this should not be a roadblock," asserted Palta. She also told the youth that, with common sense and hard work, one can outsmart any opposition and achieve victory.
Shubhra Puri of Gurgaon First, while thanking the participants, said that a ‘joshful’ sprit was needed to ensure that obstacles in life were overcome, and the motivating talks by these successful individuals would go a long way in inspiring all – especially the youth (who were present in good numbers).
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