A simple question led to this collection of essays: How could those who began their working lives soon after independence share their thoughts on work with their grandchildren in the twenty-first century, in a way that would interest them?
To answer this question, Y.V. Reddy brings together eminent and successful individuals who also explore why we work; how we define success and failure; the values we bring to work, and the values we imbibe from workplaces.
The contributors, mainly from the fields of banking, public policy, journalism, the private sector, and academia, include eminent names like Arun Shourie, K. V. Kamath, P. Chidambaram, Narayana Murthy, K. Srinath Reddy, Latha Venkatesh, and Yashwant Sinha, among many others. Each author belonged to a unique time in history, and is well aware that their work was helping to shape a new nation.
Interestingly, they also explore the question of primarily having a workplace, since post-pandemic, people have been redefining workspaces. Work from home, work from office, and hybrid versions of the two are being discussed and yet, for the authors, work without an office was unimaginable!
Y. V. Reddy, economist, bureaucrat, central banker, and author, was Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 2003–2008 and chaired the Fourteenth Finance Commission of India. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2010.
Ravi Menon served as General Manager (Training) at the Union Bank of India. He has been a leadership training executive for various corporations and banks.
Shaji Vikraman is a journalist who worked with some of India’s leading media houses for over three decades. He was also the National Editor of The Economic Times and Resident Editor of The Indian Express, Mumbai.
Kavi Yaga is a writer. In previous avatars, she worked as a software engineer in Chicago and was a development economist in Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad.
Abbreviations Preface Acknowledgements Introduction
God Laughs and Other Reflections Y. V. Reddy and Kavi Yaga
PART I: PUBLIC LIFE
1. Never Give Up, Fight to the End: Lessons from Changing Professions, Losing Jobs, and the Ups and Downs of Life Arun Shourie
2. Three Workplaces and Lessons Learned Palaniappan Chidambaram
3. Teaching, Service, Politics, Governance: A Journey Yashwant Sinha
PART II: PRIVATE SECTOR
4. Product of Values Narayana Murthy
5. Continuing to Learn Kundapur Vaman Kamath
6. Village Teachers and Hallowed Institutions Gullapalli Nageswara Rao
7. The Joys of a Professional Career Yezdi Hirji Malegam
8. Human Connections, Human Learnings K. Srinath Reddy
9. Lessons for Life (And Work) Jamal Mecklai
10. To Thine Own Self Be True Joydeep Mukherji
PART III: PUBLIC POLICY
11. Work and Life Shankar Acharya
12. Reflections on a Career in the Civil Service: In a Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness Sheela Bhude
13. Unity and Diversity Nitin Desai
14. Abiding Friendship, Building Trust Nand Kishore Singh
15. People Matter K. Sujatha Rao
16. Fulfilment: Journey, Not Destination Venkatramanan Anantha Nageswaran
PART IV: BANKING
17. Forty Years at RBI: A Journey of Challenges and Joys Usha Thorat
18. An Unexpected Journey in Banking Shyamala Gopinath
19. Collaboration, Coexistence Vittaldas Leeladhar
20. Joys and Sorrows of a Working Life Kaushik Jayaram
21. From Soapstone to ChatGPT: A Journey B. Sambamurthy
22. Behind the Scenes of Pathbreaking Journeys Radha Binod Barman
PART V: MEDIA
23. Myriad Brilliant Minds Latha Venkatesh
24. An ‘Academic-Journalist’ C. Rammanohar Reddy
25. Past Pleasant, Present Imperfect Tamal Bandyopadhyay
26. Three Careers Niranjan Rajadhyaksha
27. A Journey Through a Changing India Shaji Vikraman
PART VI: ACADEMIA
28. Building People, Building Institutions Man Mohan Sharma
29. Defining Work with the Power of Quitting M. S. Sriram
Summing Up: Rear View Y. V. Reddy, Ravi Menon, and Shaji Vikraman
List of Contributors Index