A Tribute

Life is like a quagmire many a times. The challenges have to be met head on and with cool and calm mind. It is easy to say these words but difficult to practice. John McEnroe was a great tennis player and many of us would have witnessed his antics on the Wimbledon Courts. John had unseated Bjorn Borg, the coolest Swede ever to walk this planet with a Tennis Racquet. John would swear, cringe, throw his racket and express anger. He succeeded in dethroning Bjorn from the Wimbledon's Champion's pedestal when Bjorn was all set to defend his title for a record 6th Year.  However, the big story behind John was that though he was seen in all sorts of expressions and anger- his heart rate continued to be a cool 78 bpm all through his antics!! John could control his environment and that was his style.

The lesson of John formed an ever-lasting impression on my mindset. Though I did not copy his visible antics, but to a large extent I tried to copy his internal antics. In the Course of my Service life, I came across a senior Naval Officer Vice Admiral (Retd) NN Kumar/D/43. Then Captain NN Kumar was my Trg Captain (TC) at INS Valsura in 1995 and I was the Senior Under-Trainee Officer (SUTO) for the Officer's Batch. A common factor between us was Squash and soon enough we were playing together each day. TC was fit as a fiddle with a lean frame and would give me an equal fight each day. I picked up many threads of leadership values from the TC and he was always cool and calm in his various dealings with the bubbling UT Officers.  

I had to miss an exam due to an urgent leave to Manipur. When I returned after a week, I realized that along with me 02 of my venerable Coursemates (01 of my Batch Mate and 01 Junior from parallel Course) were also in the same boat. Well, soon enough the Trg Programme came out and the re-exam was fixed. I reached on the day of the exam and found that the two venerable coursemates (CM) were not present. Those were good old days when Mobiles had not disturbed our ecological system and land phones were far too few. We waited for some more time, before the Trg Coord came and cancelled the exam. On interrogation the next day, both promptly showed a medical Slip.

The exam was re-set for the next date with a verbal intimation by Trg Coord and both the CMs did not turn up again. The Trg Coord lost his mind and marched us up to the TC. Before the march up, the two CMs came to me and said that they had  a plan up their sleeve. Their plan was simple and workable they said. They wanted me to join them in saying that the Trg Coord had not given any verbal instruction to the three of us. Phew! was it workable- I said??

All the course-spirit dialogues and rhetoric were drilled into me by my mates. With sweaty palms and pounding hearts, we entered the TC's chamber. TC was sitting on a big brown chair and rocked back when he saw us. The Trg Coord gave the description of both the failed attempts at test and that I had reported on both the dates for the test. My Batch Mate started the defense of his act and said," Sir, we were not aware of the date of the exam and you may confirm the same from Arun too. He did not recollect the date properly and erroneously reached for the exam." My mind was racing and my heart beat was trying to cross the cool 78 bpm mark. On one side there was the course spirit and on the other side there was the towering TC and his teachings. I prayed hard in my mind and wished this moment passes away.

The TC said, I know you two very well. I am not disturbing my BP on this issue and you both are granted 15 days negative seniority for this offense. All pleas from the mates for hearing my version fell flat and we were marched out.

In the evening at the Squash Court, the TC told me that he has been keeping a close tab on the activities of all the 150 odd UT Officers and the visit at the play fields in the evening gave him a clear picture off all the UT Officers and their traits. He knew that I would be under pressure to defend my mates and he had analyzed their grit much earlier. He taught me an important HR trait- Know the people who are in your environment. Take care when required and tick them at the correct time. Do not favor the wrong and remember to choose the harder right always.

Vice Admiral NN Kumar hung his uniform on 31 Mar 2014 as the Chief of the Materiel of the Indian Navy. I have kept him a notch higher than John McEnroe. Have always seem him with a cool 78 bpm and also a cool external demeanor. The lessons of HR learnt under his tutelage would continue to be with many of us who trained under him and subsequently saw him in the Service.