Can’t axe those roots

We may be Muslims, saab, but we cannot cut this peepal tree. His name is Rahim and his band of workers sound Muslim too. The carpenter --- Maulana saab. The painters --- Abdul and Ismail. The plumber --- Yaqub. I didn’t hire him because of who he was (or who he thinks he is) but because he’s a competent contractor. And among the many other jobs that a house needs, cutting the peepal tree on the terrace of our landlord’s apartment was one. The tree, like thousands on Delhi buildings and millions across north India, was a hazard to the building. My generally invisible neighbours brought it to my notice. The tree had to go. Period.

Opinion in The Indian Express, March 17, 2008

Oye boss!

How do you deal with a bad boss? That’s a question a 25-year-old asked me last week. The worst thing anyone — individuals, organisations, countries — can tolerate today is a bad boss. It impacts teams, creates bad blood, generates disharmony and tilts the balance against work in a work-life balance where life drives work and work influences life. It seriously impacts the organisation, though most leaders, in an either-or, tend to favour the bad boss on the cold assumption of premium replacement value, not realising that it is generals in corner cabins that have to be retired, not soldiers on streets getting business.

Opinion in The Indian Express, March 9, 2008

Meet India's 53 Forbes billionaires: 19 newcomers, 28 'self-made'

Meet Sameer Gehlaut, 34. Engineer from IIT-Delhi. Self-made entrepreneur who launched online brokerage Indiabulls in 2000, diversified into real estate, picked up high-end land in high-end auctions in Delhi and Mumbai. And, almost as a by-product, is India’s youngest billionaire, according to Forbes which released its list of 1,125 wealthiest people today.

Story in The Indian Express, March 07, 2008