Related earlier posts:
Dr Pachauri used to repeat in professional and other meetings that
the door of his office was open always and any colleague could just knock and
enter any time to discuss anything with him, including grievances. And these
were not just hollow promises made for the sake of making those. He used to
keep his word, too. Any time you could knock and enter his room. But, yes, this
was during the initial days of TERI when the institute was small and when Dr
Pachauri was not as occupied as now. These days if one wants an appointment
with him one might have to wait for up to several weeks sometimes. It is not
because he has gone far away from his colleagues or his promises, but because
he has become so much busier. He has now become a global personality.
It was Dr Pachauri’s unfailing habit to take a round of the
Institute and greet and shake hands with every employee at his/her seat on the
morning of the first working day of January every year. ‘Every employee’ means
right from distinguished fellows to sweepers and gardeners. And he is sure to
address everybody by his or her name, for which he doesn’t need to look in the
records. Once or twice he could not make it to the library block which is
located in another part in the India Habitat Centre complex, where TERI is
located, on the New Year eve. I remember in one of the professional meetings
arranged a few days later, he apologized for this. We actually used to look
forward to this day when we could shake hands with him.
Dr Pachauri attends a number of conferences, workshops, seminars
and other meetings every year, mostly abroad. In fact I feel Dr Pachauri
receives more respect and recognition abroad than in this country. And several
of the organisers used to give him honoraria apart from meeting his travel and
accommodation expenses. He, without fail, donates all such money to TERI. This
is one quality which I have not seen in many professionals. I have seen several
professionals who have no hesitation in using every facility in the office to
promote his/her position, and pocket any compensation received on that count
without contributing even a small portion to the office. Without doubt Dr
Pachauri’s is an example which could and should be emulated.
There were two distinct occasions (of which I am aware) when TERI
colleagues surprised him. One was on his sixtieth birthday. We all got internal
e-mail messages that we should assemble at a particular time at a particular
location in the office. When the mails were received, there was only five
minutes left for the designated time. And we all rushed thinking there was
something unusual happening there. Only when we reached did we know that it was
to celebrate Dr Pachauri’s birthday. And the organisers made sure that Dr
Pachauri himself did not get even a signal.
At the fixed time he was requested to come out of his office and
was pleasantly surprised to find that starting from the door of his office to
the place of assembly, colleagues lined up with rose flowers to wish him ‘happy
birthday’. According to the custom in Tamil Nadu state of India, the birthday
‘boy’ and his wife get married over again on this particular day. The
organisers also mixed it with another custom where the bride and groom are
separated by a curtain between them till the actual time of marriage. Somebody
was brought into the place of assembly with a curtain covering her completely.
It was amusing to see Dr Pachauri’s ‘eagerness’ to see who his ‘bride’ was! The
anticlimax was revealed when the curtain was removed and it was found that the
‘bride’ was none other than his wife Ms Saroj Pachauri!
Another occasion was on his return after being elected Chairman,
IPCC, for the first time. It was past midnight when he came out of the airport
and a large number of TERI colleagues had assembled there to receive him with
garlands, bouquets, roses, and huge banners welcoming him! This was totally
unexpected and was a big surprise for him. It was like a real home coming for
him.
When he is out of the office, which used to be several days a
month, colleagues don’t even miss him, simply because that is the culture of
TERI. The culture here is to carry on with one’s duties, whether or not the
boss is around. You look for the boss only if you want to meet him or otherwise
contact him. Another important quality I have seen in Dr Pachauri is that he
keeps abreast of every important happening in TERI even when he is abroad.
Messages used to be sent to him very frequently, almost daily, and he used to
give directions either through mail or phone. So TERI doesn’t miss him, and he
doesn’t miss TERI.
I have no hesitation in telling that Dr Pachauri is energy
personified. Where can you find a 70+ aged fast bowler? His overflowing energy
finds an outlet on the cricket ground. He has taken more than 550 wickets in
corporate cricket matches in 26 years since TERI played its first match in
1986. The Institute has constructed two cricket grounds at its Gual Pahari
campus, where several Ranji Trophy and other matches have been played. TERI
organizes several cricket matches between corporate groups every year as
tributes to not-to-be-forgotten heroes in the cricketing world. Dr Pachauri’s
friends include several stalwarts from the cricketing field, too.
It may be true that Dr Pachauri promotes cricket so much because it
is something he is very much interested in. But it does not mean that other
sports or games are not encouraged. I remember we had started playing foot ball
for some time, but due to lack of participation it didn’t last long. Table
Tennis was another game in which several colleagues were interested. This game
used to be encouraged for several years, maybe even now. We also used to
conduct Table Tennis matches. In Gual Pahari TERI also has an excellent golf
course where corporates as well as ordinary members come and play.
Dr Pachauri is never tired, or his enthusiasm never diminishes,
even after several years. TERI is as dear to him today as it was 30 years ago. He
makes several foreign trips every month. The flights usually land during
midnights or early mornings. On his way home, he comes to office and picks up
all the mail piled up on his table. And as usual he reaches office at 7 or 7.30
(which is at least two hours before the normal office time) next morning by
which time he would have already gone through the mails. Doesn’t he need to
sleep?
TERI once used to be located in 90 Jor Bagh. Dr Pachauri used to
have duplicate keys to the building as well as to his office. Mr Laxman Singh,
TERI’s guard, used to have his quarters at the rear side of the building. As
per his usual practice, one day Dr Pachauri returned from a foreign trip and
wanted to collect his mail. He rang the bell several times but Laxman Singh
didn’t wake up. After some time Dr Pachauri decided that enough was enough. He
jumped over the gate, collected the mails, and jumped out and went home. The
next day he sent a note to Mr Srikant Mishra, Accountant, who also used to look
after housekeeping matters during those days, saying that since TERI’s Director
(he became Director-General a few years later) was a good sportsman, he could
jump over the gate and collect his mail the previous night. The same day he got
a duplicate key to the gate also.
[To be concluded]
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