Shobha Ramswamy

When Satish Pradhan needs solace and wisdom, he turns to friends with wings. It helps him fly high, professionally and personally, with feet rooted firmly in reality

It’s an early summer morning, the air is pleasantly crisp and the poolside at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai makes for an idyllic setting. The place is practically empty, save for a lone swimmer splashing about in the blue water. But, up above, a world that doesn’t have to worry about earth-bound constraints is alive on wings of flight. It’s bird time.

It is a scene that thrills the heart of Satish Pradhan, executive vice president (human resources) of the Tata Group. Settling down comfortably into an easy chair, Pradhan soaks up the atmosphere and his senses tune into the surroundings. He listens eagerly to his favourite sound: the chirping of parakeets, kites, sparrows and crows, calling out to whoever cares to listen.

Mr Pradhan is a birder, a breed that studies and delights in watching birds in their element. His fascination with winged creatures started when he was young. "I was 11 when we moved to Jaipur," he recalls. "The place was arid and hardly a bird-watcher’s paradise. But the starkness of it all made the sighting of birds, mostly doves and partridges, fairly easy. Gradually, I started becoming aware of the environment. My friends and I would cycle down to the fields to look at birds. Moreover, our school conducted various ecology programmes."

As time passed by, curiosity grew into serious interest. Mr Pradhan’s first exposure to the world of nature and birding came during an overnight class picnic to the Bharatpur Sanctuary, among the most inviting destinations in the world for bird lovers, ornithologists and amateurs alike. It was here that his teachers encouraged his growing fascination for birds. That picnic left an indelible impression, and it captured Mr Pradhan’s imagination.

He returned to the sanctuary during his college days and it made for another unforgettable experience. "I must have sighted, identified and studied over 400 species of birds. We saw 27 Siberian cranes, more than 50 rosy pelicans and a pair of European white-tailed sea eagles. The beauty of the place was matchless." It wasn’t to last, though. "Today such numbers are impossible to sight," says Mr Pradhan.

What draws him to bird watching? "It is strange to think cerebrally about something which is so close to me. But the two broad aspects that excite and attract me to bird watching are discovering patterns in nature, and the sheer joy of seeing something so beautiful. Also, nature never ceases to surprise you; it makes you willing to be surprised in life."

Mr Pradhan believes there is much to be learned from birds. In the words of Nobel laureate Konrad Lorenz, whose book, On Aggression, has influenced him, much behaviour in animals and birds can be described simply as patterns of instinctual actions, unguided by insight or conscious reflection.

But there’s more to it than birds; all of nature is a field of study for Mr Pradhan. Nature has taught him to understand people and to refrain from judging their behaviour. Instead, he seeks to grasp the patterns behind that behaviour. Observing and studying nature has equipped Pradhan with the ability to recognise the early signs of imbalance in any natural order — and set it right.

It has also provided him a more meaningful way to understand human reality, its organisation and behaviour, and perhaps a more effective way of making them a part of his personal and professional life. These are lessons that have helped him develop a system and culture that provides employees challenging jobs, rewards performance, offers competitive remuneration and delivers continuous opportunities.

Mr Pradhan believes deeply in the philosophy of Gung Ho, as articulated by Ken Blanchard. The book tells the story of a manager who is given a difficult assignment. She is moved from the head office to a regional factory that has a record of dismal performance. Here she befriends a Native American man who introduces her to three principles that are modelled on his observations of nature. The implementation of these principles leads her to success.

The first of these principles has as its theme the ‘spirit of the squirrel’. The squirrel is always busy storing food for winter. This spirit can be instilled in people by focusing on how their job fits into the big picture, and how it adds value to their lives. The realisation that their work is worthwhile gives employees self-esteem, one of the most powerful human emotions.

The second principle is based on the ‘way of the beaver’. This animal builds dams by using the concept of teamwork. This is applied to people by giving them control over how to achieve goals. The role of the leader is limited to establishing the framework for this objective, by setting goals and values.

The third principle concerns the ‘gift of the goose’. Geese constantly cheer each other. This principle is conveyed to people by complimenting and celebrating big and small wins. Cheering one another brings enthusiasm to the work process. "It is so practical and simple to follow and implement," says Mr Pradhan about the wisdom he has absorbed from his animal and bird friends.

Of late Mr Pradhan has found it difficult to indulge in his favourite activity. Blame that on his professional commitments. As the head of the core team that is involved in defining and implementing human resource strategies, his work schedule makes it difficult for him to indulge in bird watching.

But the memories of bird-watching outings, packed to the mind’s brim, come in handy. "During my college days in Delhi I would go bird watching fairly regularly on the banks of the Yamuna. Sometimes my friends and I would go to Bharatpur, Corbett National Park, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve and Lakhanapur. It was great fun."

Recently Mr Pradhan was able to relive some of those moments, when he visited the Tata Chemicals plant in Mithapur. He and some colleagues had gone boating when they saw something grey in the water. It looked like a dorsal fin. They requested the boatman to take the boat closer to where they had seen the fin. The boatman slowed down and manoeuvred the boat closer. That's when they saw six or seven dolphins jumping around playfully in the water. Mr Pradhan captured it all on his camera. "It was beautiful, just like a symphony. I have named that film the Dance of the Dolphins."

Mr Pradhan hopes to take off sometime in the future and reacquaint himself as intimately as ever with his winged buddies. Meanwhile, he continues to be the closest thing to an ornithologist that Bombay House has. There are an unusually large number of birds — parakeets, coppersmiths, barbettes and golden orioles among them — that swing around the Tata headquarters. Maybe they come to say hello to an old friend.

Uploaded on June 18, 2003