Q1. Can you share with us a bit about your family background and how it has influenced your journey and career choices?
I was born & brought up in a very strict & disciplined, middle class Christian Protestant, regular Church going family. Just on the basis of a verbal commitment given by the Principal, Mrs. Ivy Heart, to appoint him as a Teacher if he completed his Training. My father, resigned from his government job, underwent Bachelors’ Teachers Training to become a Teacher in a Christion School, as he wanted his children to be educated in English. My mother was a Certified Teacher too! But my father didn’t let her work!
It’s because of his vision along with discipline & values imbibed in me by both my parents, that I am what I am today, living a respectable & decent life earning my bread & butter today, through empowering people!
My father’s decision, taking a huge risk , quitting his comfortable government job for a new private job, just because he saw a bright future for his children with English education, impacted my life & taught me to take calculated risks!
Secondly, even though my mother was qualified, my father’s male ego did not permit him to allow her to work as he saw it as humiliating to take money from a woman! I learnt to treat women equally!
Third, Mrs. Ivy Heart, the Principal’s assurance & keeping her verbal commitment really impacted by life, I try to honor my commitments!
He loved his students & had a very cordial, homely relationship with the students, taught his heart out & strived for their betterment ,which taught me to serve ,encourage ,motivate & inspire my Trainees & Colleagues!
Overthinking caused a massive stroke after which my father remained sick, hence I live day by & avoid overthinking!
I started taking responsibility from an early age! As per his wish I may not have become a Doctor but guide people by grooming & training them to qualify & excel in their careers & a Grooming Trainer !
Q2. Your career seems to have taken diverse paths. Could you walk us through your educational background and how it has played a role in shaping your professional journey?
My father wanted to make me a Doctor but I was too poor in Biology! I wanted to invade the corporate world with my English education, extrovert, flamboyant nature and studied Bachelor’s Commerce, after which I was sponsored by the Church of North India for the Master in Social Work, with assured placement! Though I got placed after successful completion, I really never enjoyed the work nor the work culture in the development sector, and the minimal salary!
The challenging, glamorous & lucrative Sales & Marketing profession beckoned seductively & I never looked back ! Clearing Interviews was a cake walk for me! Being a top performer companies would often make me join their team1 it was fun being in demand! Occasionally, switching to the development segment for a break from the pressures of the Sales & Marketing profession. I thoroughly enjoyed my journey & think that my diverse experience is an asset for any company!
I had to make choices, where I could care for my widowed mother & three sisters ,as my father passed away suddenly one fine morning in January, 1985! My youngest sister was in class 8, the second doing graduation, while the one nxt to me was just married!
I always wanted to a Consultant & Trainer, helping companies to grow, by motivating , guiding them and In 1998 started my own Consultancy & Training , on request of some family friends, to help their children become employable by improving their English communication, which I had already noticed during my stints with various companies at different locations. 99% of candidates from Odisha had excellent academic records but when it came to English communication they were just horrible!
If people look at my career , they find diverse experience , which should augur well for any organization.
Q3. Your sports career seems to be an interesting aspect of your life. How did your experience in sports contribute to your skills and abilities as a professional?
To be very frank, me & my school mates went to school for the sporting activities & games. My sports career started from school where we were encouraged to indulge in outdoor games & athletics.
My sports career really helped a lot in my professional career and was huge plus point in all my interviews!
Sports taught me the importance of discipline, punctuality, practice, patience, respect for opponents, fighting spirit & never to give up till the final point! It made me fiercely competitive & helped develop group Dynamics! Sports helped me to believe that every individual can be a Winner with the right motivation & self belief!
Q4. You’ve mentioned mentoring “SURGIPLUS” and transforming it into a successful company. Can you share some of the challenges you faced during this process and how you overcame them?
The first Challenge was the changing traditional mindset of the Promoters, as they were traditional traders. Constantly , explaining the advantages! Like the difference between travelling by Air & train!
Second , was building the Pan India Sales Team. After spending a huge amount in print media (there was no digital media then), for ads, conducting personal interviews, finalizing candidates , giving offer letters & induction programs, some candidates would become Mr. India!
Overcame by building a buffer of second choice candidates.
Third was Duplicate goods. Lodging a police complaint, ensuring prompt police action of sealing Duplicate goods godowns, educating Dealers & hospitals about the same & how they can identify the original product !
Fourth, Different Customs Duty interpretations by different Port Commissions
across India! We had to accept whatever the Commissioner demanded.
Last is Corruption! Still trying !
Q5. As the Guest Faculty at Ravenshaw University, what subjects did you teach, and how has your association with academia influenced your approach to business and mentoring?
I was absolutely delighted to be invited by the then Vice Chancellor, Dr. Devdas Chottaray, IAS, in 2006 to formulate & launch a Communicative English Course for the whole University, as he had heard about my English Communication Skills from reliable sources.
My association helped develop my formal Communication skills, gave me huge scope to mentor diverse personalities & characters, both faculty & students, which helped in my professional career while interacting with diverse academic, intellectuals & wave lengths, gave me a lot of confidence to handle all types of individuals!
I also was asked to teach Managerial Economics to PG students.
It helped tremendously to take my mentoring skills to the next level.
Q6. Being associated with Acid Attack Survivors through the CHANNV FOUNDATION is commendable. Can you tell us more about your work with them and how it has impacted your perspective on life and business?
It was during the complete lockdown & shutdown period that I contacted Channv Foundation offering FREE ENGLISH COMMUNICATION Classes for the survivors, to enable them to help get gainful employment. It was decided that the girls will attend 2 hours of online class daily!
The girls were located at Lucknow, Agra. Aligarh, Delhi & Jagatsighpur, Odisha!
It was a wonderful learning experience for me as well as the girls! It was not only English but a lot of motivational sessions ,with video clips too!
It was a painful period of my life to see these unfortunate girls suffer for no fault of theirs!
It dawned on me that my grief and pain was nothing compared to the pain & suffering of these girls! My endeavour was to bring smiles & happiness on their faces & believe that the worst is past & they can look forward to a better life now!
This experience taught me that however tough or painful life may be , still we can smile & and motivate others to lead a good life!
They are fighters .-THE SHEROES!This was the most satisfying period of my life !
Q7.You have successfully managed international and domestic correspondence for various companies. How do you handle communication effectively in such diverse settings?
Well, with my humble English Medium Education, I could impress one & all! The International Companies were delighted to meet someone who could easily communicate! International correspondence requires immense politeness & decorum.
While the domestic crowd was actually in awe of my writing skills & I still receive requests & assignments to write messages, articles for very senior dignitaries!
Q8. Establishing “VEECURE” as a brand from scratch in the surgical division of FAIRDEAL TRADING is impressive. What strategies did you employ to achieve this success?
First convinced the Promoters with a meticulous PPT, about the huge market of surgical disposables & My experience in developing companies. Training the Promoters & worked on their traditional mindset to become more professional.
Prepared complete Blueprint of the total Business Strategy like Products, Procurement, Pricing, Designing of Package, Manufactures across India, Negotiations, appointing Sales Team, Induction cum Training of the Sales Team, Marketing Policies, Dealer Development, Visting & appointing Dealers Pan India, Office Admn systems, so on & so forth.
Q9. SMART-EDGE ENGLISH, PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT & ABACUS ACADEMY, founded by you, seems to focus on communication and grooming. How important do you think these skills are for professionals, and how do they contribute to career growth?
They are very important and a must for any decent career & future promotions. Communication is the key to success, as Millard Bennet has said, “the ability to communicate effectively with others is one of the best talents in life”.
Today communication & grooming is not only required for professionals but businessmen, housewives & retired people too !
Many Doctors have got US/UK visas after failing in the 1st attempt & then trained by us! Most of our Trainees land jobs during the duration of the course.
We keep getting calls & feedback & Thank you messages, from our Trainees , scaling greater heights not only in India but abroad too!
Q10. As a founder, mentor, and trainer, what legacy do you hope to leave behind, and what impact do you wish to have on the people you interact with?
The mindset should be of “giving not taking “We should give back to society what we have got from it. Believe & Try to build more & more positive happy people for a better world.
I want each one to believe that nothing is impossible, remove the word from their vocabulary & always “Think Big, Think Positive”! Never stop trying !
11. The “CSR Food for Survival” program you initiated during the COVID-19 lockdown received significant attention. Can you tell us about the program’s objectives and how it made a difference during those challenging times?
The objective of the CSR Program was to help the people living on the streets, like beggars, mentally unsound, people stranded at the railway station to at least some food to survive as food was beyond their with shops locked! We managed to help at least 200 people , including a large number of children, many pregnant women to survive & had a wonderful experience !It gave us immense satisfaction & joy to know that we could be of some help to some people!