I am writing these lines to express my debt of gratitude to Rajendra. [Rajendra Nargundkar, Clemson University, Ph.D., Management 1986 – 1989, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, Master of Business Administration (MBA), Marketing 1982 – 1984, Osmania University, B.E., Electrical engineering] I walked into a book-release of his. His book was quaintly named, My Experiments With Half-Truths. Thats what attracted me in. As he spoke about his book and the part where the mosquito at bed-time asks him, Does your religion organize pogroms to eliminate those who dont believe like you? (my construction from memory) I was weeping. After his speech, I asked him three questions and he took them to town. It has taken me more than a year to realize that in answering my questions, he did more for me than I did that day. Obviously! He is the professor! 1. Would you say Jyotiba Phule was more successful than Karl Marx? Is your humour cynical? 2. George Bernard Shaw (he nods his head) has said, All autobiographies are lies! Whats your take? 3. What happens when an author writes for himself? He took me for a tour of India right from the social reformers, Aamir Khans Satya Meva Jayate, and later Chetan Bhagats repetitious books!! Ive chewed on the cud since... I am writing this because I want you to know that Prof. Rajendra is an extremely socially conscious and sensitive guy. No, he said, his humour was not cynical. I am writing this because you may want to know what he can do for you! I have learned from his deep insights into the conditions of the milieu obtaining in India where we want to function in a way that is philosophically satisfying, ethically sound and spiritually nourishing. On hindsight, I would think his humour has a cutting edge into the questions of human well-being shorn of delusions. Ive introduced myself as his colleague in the inter-religious quest for secular human well-being. I personally find it very strange that the electrical engineer had to go into business and marketing with a doctorate in the connected philosophy of it all! Rajendra, see how deep thou has gotten into my system! Sir! What stunned me most about thy presentation that day was the way you introduced your wife into public discourse: as a bed-time mosquito! A century ago, I would have said it was BRILLIANT!
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 11:51:24 +0000
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