I remember one thing very fondly. I was 10 years
old and I remember my dad pulling me towards
the sofa. My mother was next to him and he said,
see, we realize that you are naturally gifted
with music and we'd like to encourage you to
the extent that if you want to stop everything
else and get into music, we are willing to do
that. Coming from a middle -income family, we
weren't exactly super rich, but I mean, I'm just
saying I was the only child. for a long, long
time at the age of 10 that you can do whatever
you want. You want to get into something like
music. None of them. And they said, look, we
don't have any background music. So we really
don't know how to guide you. But we are willing
to do the research along with you. So if you
want, we can proceed right away and see. Welcome
to another session of My First Job. the podcast
we've navigated through 25 episodes each one
a different persona a different character a different
career and today is no different we have a wonderful
melodious person waiting in the wings surajit
guha who pursued a career in sales and training
and banking has for the last decade devoted himself
to professional singing. He regals audiences
across the globe on stage. That has become his
current career. But getting to that has been
a different set of circumstances altogether.
So let's bring Surajit on stage and talk to him
about how his career evolved. Hi Surajit, such
a pleasure to have you on the show. Atma namaste.
Howdy. Yeah, it's great to see you because I've
normally seen you on stage and clapped from the
audience while listening to one of those lovely
hymns, the numbers that you belted out with such
ease. Just tell me, is there routine that you
have before you come on stage? What is it that
you're doing just before you get there? Few moments
of madness, I would imagine. Always at those
anxious moments before you begin. Nothing to
do with stage fright. More to do with being prepared
for your sound checks and seeing that things
are put up and ensuring that only people who
I depend upon for helping me set up are around
and not people who will take my mind off what's
about to happen. Just as you mentioned that,
you know, it's the same thing is equally relevant
after the program gets over. It's usually quite
hellish because you have to, you know, pick up
the broken pieces. You've got to, you know, get
your gear together and you always don't have
your assistant around. So, you know, these are
the things. But it's always highly energizing
kind of atmosphere. You have an unusual bond
in Kolkata, but has lived in Chennai most of
your life. So how has it been with your native
place? I mean, a lot of us do have careers and
lives which are different. But in your case,
how has the transition been and have you always
maintained close connect with Kolkata? Yes, of
course. I mean, you see, the first six years
of my life, I was born in November 1963. In a
city which was very, very traditional and very
exciting, you know, I remember my childhood memories
are very, very vivid, unlike many. I remember
things as early as when I was about a couple
of years old or even earlier. Impressions, incidents.
So that's why I think even though I moved fairly
early in life from Kolkata because my father's,
you know, career took him outside. And Kolkata
was, you know, at that point of time, going through
some difficult times, you know, with the Nuts
Light movement and all that kind of thing. And
so we got out of Kolkata. And after a brief stint
my father had in Delhi to learn up his new job,
he proceeded to Chennai and erstwhile Madras.
I still consider myself to be from Madras rather
than from Chennai. I relate to Madras because
I came in at... At a time when Madras was very
quiet, very beautiful, and I found that people
were so helpful and nice. And even till today,
I think it's one of the most peaceful places
to live in, in this country. And although I love
Kolkata with all my heart and I look forward
to, you know, visits there because I am a collector
of music and I have been so from a very early
age. good food Bengali food still finds a really
large part in my heart but and nevertheless Chennai
or Madras is where I consider to be my home I
have a lot of love for Madras and I will not
have anybody say anything ill about Madras that's
true I mean Chennai is one place Madras is one
place that really grows on you it's not one of
those places that you know, instantly seems to,
because of the climate, it's not one of those
places that instantly seems to find favor, unlike
a Bangalore or some of the other places in India.
But, so what were the things that, you know,
sort of defined you early on? You went to school,
singing was always a part of it. How did it recede?
What were the things that happened? I started
singing at the age of two and a half. Okay. And
even when I was two and a half, they tried to
take me to music school and they rejected me
saying that, you know, you don't get to sing
before the age of, if you don't get your voice
before the age of five. And I was very disappointed.
So when I was leading the premises, the headmistress
of that rather reputed school in Kolkata at that
point of time, it was called Shurotit. She called
me back and said, Why don't you sing a song for
me, little one? And I sang a cover version of
Rabindra Sangeet's singer. And she was so impressed
that she took me in to the school immediately.
And the only thing is, I found it very boring
to sit with our five -year -olds because I felt
that they were very kiddish songs. I would run
away, you know, run off to... The higher classes,
you know, classes where teenagers were, and I
would sit listening to their classical music,
and I had to be dragged back and said, this is
an audio class. So anyway, that was a little
part of Kolkata, where I got my grooming into
music. And of course, my parents could sing,
my grandmothers could sing very well. None of
them are professional, but they were very encouraging.
And unlike many other kids who had to be cajoled,
to bring out their talent, showcase their talents
in front of friends and family. I had to be asked
to stop because I was so much into music. I love
music so much that I didn't require any great
encouragement to start off. I had a great set
of parents who encouraged me right through to
follow my heart, whatever be my interest. That
is actually one of the most important things
that you find, that parents who are willing to
let their children experiment and not put constraints
on them or burden them with a certain set of
expectations. The children invariably seem to
do a lot better when they are allowed to bloom
and take risks. Yeah, experiment. I mean, whether
they find worldly success or not, that's a different
story. But I think they're happier. I mean, exactly.
Because my parents were so, you know, I'm not
saying that they were lenient or that I was spoiled.
Not at all. They never spoiled me. But, you know,
they were very broad -minded. Their value systems
were very much in place. And I felt that I could
approach them for just about anything. I never
had the need to hide anything from them. And
because they were so open and... And accepting,
if I thought differently, that it encouraged
me a lot. And I'm blessed that I've had that
kind of a family. Not just my parents, even my
grandparents from both sides were extremely,
you know, open -minded and fostered, you know,
whatever interests you had in mind, encouraged.
So that went a long way, I think, giving me kind
of solace where the rest of society was probably...
far more exacting about what you should become.
I mean, they would ask me, so do you want to
become an engineer like your father or get into
railways like both your grandparents? And I would
say as early as the age of four, are you kidding
me? I want to become a pilot. I want to sing.
I mean, those two things were very much in my
mind from a very early age. And I didn't care
what other people, my relatives thought, what
my parents, family, friends thought of my career.
It never mattered to me because I knew that my
parents were there to back me up. I had a mind
of my own. So the singing continued right through
school and college? You were part of every single...
Absolutely. Not only were there opportunities
given to me by the school and college, but also...
Very early, when I came to Chennai, I discovered
route to sing publicly quite often. And that
was in All India Radio Madras. Okay. Yeah. So
again, through school. School was which introduced
me to radio station in Madras. And I found that
the children's hour was a place I could walk
in every Saturday. So almost virtually every
month I would walk in with my guitar. I learned
the guitar a little bit and I can't wait to save
my life. Now I think it must have been horrendous,
but that was my go -to place. I would walk into
all of the radio and I would sing a few songs
and come out. Up with singing began as early
as the age of eight. And then television at,
you know, Doodh Darshan Kendra, Mod Mod World
was my first break in television. Did it at some
point, did you make a rational choice and then
say, I need to do something? Singing always,
breaking into the profession is always a difficult
task. No, you're right. Was that? I remember
one thing very fondly. I was 10 years old and
I remember my dad pulling me towards the sofa,
living room, and my mother was next to him. And
he said, see, we realize that you are naturally
gifted with music and we'd like to encourage
you. To the extent that if you want to stop everything
else and get into music, we are willing to do
that. Coming from a middle -income family, we
weren't exactly super rich. But I mean, I'm just
saying I was the only child for a long, long
time, their only child at the age of 10 that
you can do whatever you want. You want to get
into something like music. None of them. And
they said, look, we don't have any background
music. So we really don't know how to guide you.
But we are willing to do the research along with
you. So if you want, we can proceed right away
and see. So what touched me? See, I was touched.
At the same time, I was very foolish because
at that part of time, I was, what can I say?
I was immature. I didn't realize what a huge
honor and gift had been bestowed upon me by my
parents. Not entirely my fault also because at
that point of time, there was no... Yeah, of
course. There were no platforms. I mean, you
had a Kishore Kumar who had probably left home.
Hemant Kumar. I mean, they were legends. And
these guys, you know, hats off to them. And I'm
thinking that I'm talking about it not knowing
what to do. Just imagine 25, 30 years before
that, what guts it would have had to take to
get out and break out of this, possibly against,
you know, parental wishes. And here was a set
of parents who were saying, do what you want
and we'll help you. So I did try, we did try
to go and get some guidance from an aunt of mine
in Calcutta, who was the station director of
All India Radio Calcutta. So I wanted to become
an opera singer. But she told me that perhaps
there is not so much good training out here in
India at the moment. She herself was an opera
singer. But she said that... I would rather you
take up something like Hindustani Classical as
a grounding. I did try that. But, you know, I
was perhaps not so disciplined. And I wasn't
able to pick up the interest for classical music
as a grounding at that part of time. So what
happened was, although I realized that music
was always going to be a very big part of my
life, I started thinking whether I should take
up music as a serious hobby. And look at a career
option later if it came along. Because I really
didn't know how to proceed or whom to ask, how
to groom myself further. And sitting in Madras,
music training, I wasn't particularly interested
in classical training. Carnatic classical, okay.
Even less so. So I was not able to gel with that.
And I had a, you know, a sort of... I was into
only Western music at that point of time. Okay.
My enthusiasm got a little bit dampened when
I found that I couldn't get into opera singing.
But nevertheless, I continued performing in school
and college functions. And even when college
got over, that was the transition time because
you didn't know what to do. Right. On the music
front. Because, I mean, you no longer had competitions.
You didn't have platforms like Sadegama at that
point of time. And so what did you do? You had...
Then a couple of people, friends of my mother,
they made this little music group and they started
promoting music on a professional basis. While
that was happening, obviously, it was not a career
option then. It was still a hobby. So I really
didn't know how far I could go with music as
a career. So I had to look at other options.
So I fell back on another passion of mine from
childhood, which was flying. I wanted to become
a pilot. I was passionate about it. It was not
just a fantasy. I used to study and I was too,
you know, I liked commercial aircrafts and I
didn't want to get into the armed forces. Had
I gone the NCC route, I'm sure I would have perhaps
been a pilot by now. But I wanted the commercial
kind of route of flying. And things were very
difficult those days in India. Commercial pilots,
there was only one airline, Indian Airlines.
After some time, this Vayudh came into being.
You know, there was an overdose of pilots and
very few jobs. There were pilots waiting in the
wings for years. Nevertheless, I put my head
together a couple of times. friends from school
and college. You know, during the final years
of college, we decided, let's go and get a scholarship.
And I, in fact, dropped the scholarship in terms
of the interview. And I got into Madras Flying
Club. And then I recall little Riley, that a
friend of mine, said, Surajit, flying is strictly
for the birds. A school friend of mine used to
accuse me. And then I realized that, yes, in
India, when flying clubs really didn't have much
money. and you were a scholarship student, you
didn't have too many options. So a friend of
mine whose father was a pilot, a very dear friend
of mine, Fazal Amir Shah, his father, Captain
K. Shah, and my father were great friends, and
they said, you know, you should go to Texas,
you should do your flying and all that. So we
did a little bit of research on that, and then
finally I had to take a rain check because I
didn't have the means of pursuing such a... an
expensive profession, which had very little guarantees
if you came back to India. So real dread. And
see, now my college was over. I was one year
into flying and I just decided that it's not
working out. The scholarship is also not leading
me anywhere. I'm not getting my flying hours
here. I don't have the means to fly overseas.
But you learned to fly for a year. For one year,
you went with it. Okay. I'll just, just a couple
of comments which have come up because I think
during the, you can see it. I think it's more
of a comment rather than the thing. And Morley
also says that, which I think has definitely
touched people, amazing parents, because I think
just saying that would have ensured that you
were far more practical about it. Rather than
telling you, you couldn't have it, you shouldn't
be doing it. which would have brought out the
rebel in you. In most cases, that's the reason
why. My parents were genuinely interested in
seeing that I pursue my career either in flying
or in music or in both because they were not
opposed to either. It's just that they realized
that there were stumbling blocks. They were observing
things and they were supportive. I mean, so it's
not as if... They said, you say, hey, we knew
all along and we didn't want to tell you. No,
not at all. I think they were as hopeful and
as anticipating and as positive as I was. And
it's just that naturally things came to a sort
of standstill. So which led me to the next level
as to what do I do? See, ultimately, you finish
college. And you're heading for almost a year
when you're through with college and you are
now answerable to yourself with nobody else.
What do you do? Right. So I was very sure about
one thing. See, right through school, to give
you another background, I was never into mathematics
or sciences. I was always an art student. I know.
But during school, there were very few options.
You had to take... mathematics or sciences, and
at the high school level, at least commerce.
I thoroughly detested all of them, and I still
do. With an A plus B, the whole squared joke
is very relevant. What on earth have I learned?
I mean, which is relevant. I mean, I'm sure in
some weird and wonderful laboratory, all this
may come into some news, but I... See the relevance?
In some way, I was also logical in my thinking.
I said, what am I doing learning algebra? What
am I doing learning how to dissect frogs? I mean,
this is not me, but I didn't have a chance. So
they said, oh, you've joined the wrong stream.
I said, then pray tell me which stream I should
join. You should have joined golf. I hate that.
I hate accountancy. I don't understand it. Till
I finished high school, I honorably failed many
times in mathematics and got a big zero. And
nobody in my family chided me for it or made
me feel small. And for that, I'm concerned. That's
wonderful. That's actually one of the things
that I think is really wrong to do. I feel depressed
because I would really try. It was not that I
would be apathetical towards things. I was serious.
I was a serious -minded guy. And it was frustrating
for me because I was really trying to do something.
Everybody else was getting in and I wasn't. It's
not as if I was not intelligent, but it was just
that. That was not my subject. That is not what
you were interested in. And then after school,
and during school, I realized I was pathetic
in sports. I was into music. People used to say,
oh, he sings. In college, it was, oh, wow, he
sings. The college that means that, which I say,
thank God, I never wanted to become an English
teacher. No way. I found myself enjoying three
years that I had. College gave me the freedom
of doing something where I felt that I was finally
finding my feet. Even today, whatever I've learned
in phonetics, crystal clear. I mean, I have a
lot of admiration for my teacher because I felt
I was so grateful that I was in an environment
which I could relate to. Eventually got a first
class distinction in college and I was so happy
being part of college. And that gave me a lot
of self -confidence, which I guess I didn't have
in school, which... which was nobody's fault,
but it was just their direction at that point.
The whole process of exploration, which is what
you've outlined so brilliantly, which is whether
it was flying or whether it's understanding very
clearly that these subjects are great, but they're
not for me. They're not. What is it that, yeah,
and what is it that I want to do? So how did
you finally get into training or as one of...
PCE, anything. So like now it went back to the
thing as to what do I do after college? Okay.
MA literature from us. MBA, which was becoming
the new darling. Sorry. IT, which was again becoming
the new darling. All these were, you know, options
which were coveted, which were respected, which
was finding a lot of respect. And people expected
you to do that. Not by parents, but I'm just
saying society at large. Friends, peers, everybody.
Your teachers. Some of... You know, so it was
then becoming a little difficult for me to find
out as to what do I do? Do I do higher education?
Then I said, enough of beating myself up doing
things which I don't want to do. So let me try
and get a job. Now, that was easier said than
done because even those days, it was not adequate
if you just had a graduation in order to get
a job. So I looked at the kind of jobs which
would accept me. And I looked at sales. I had
no idea what it would entail. I had no idea whether
I would fit in. But I did know that I was told
that you needed to have reasonably good communication
skills. What that breakup was, I had no idea
till I got in. You know, what I found, what I
discovered was that it was a welcome. entry into
something which gave me a lot of confidence.
I was an introvert when I was a kid because I
was the only child and I was not very sure of
how to mingle with everybody else. I was a perfectionist.
I was creative. I was idealistic. I still am,
I think. Traditional by nature and yet rebellious,
you know, when my value systems are at stake.
So I was all of this and I still am. I think
all these values, all these, you know, your basic
nature seldom changes. You just learn how to
cope with it better as you go along, sometimes.
But then in sales, I found that I was given an
opportunity to come out of my shell. I was meeting
customers. I had some targets. I had to meet
people. I had to, you know, go across and talk
to many people and see how they accepted me.
And I found, strangely enough, that I was doing
rather well in that. And I'm not saying that
there weren't better performers. Of course there
were. But I felt that this was a very important
step for me to find my feet, get self -confidence.
And I'm eternally grateful to the sales career
for having given me that kind of insight. So
for a couple of years, I worked with a wonderful
company, very respected company at that point
of time called Gestetner. And I still have some
very, very dear friends and colleagues from my
very first job who I'm in touch with every day.
So that gave me a... Engineering products? Gestetner
is into... They were into duplicating machines.
Okay, okay. you know, cycle styling machines.
So that was their forte then. And they were the
first manufacturer and the best in their field
with duplicators. But of course, it phased out.
And I also was, you know, I realized that initially,
although it was, it gave me a, what I'm very
grateful for all my job, to all my jobs is that
however long or short. I've had as a stint in
each of them. The experiences have been really
wonderful. I mean, it's something I would treasure.
And I have a lot of takeaways. So Gestetna, I
was with them for a couple of years. Then I began
to realize that, you know, the company also was
losing ground because photocopiers were coming
into the market. And we were being eased out,
you know, slowly, but very slowly. And then,
wham, suddenly I got this opportunity. ANZ Bank
in Australia was getting into a partnership with
a cultural exchange organization, usually meant
for youngsters, you know, in school, call it
American Field Service or AFS. And they did a
partnership and they wanted to bring their own
employees from Greenlees, India, which they had
just acquired, to work in Australia in ANZ Bank.
have an exposure of a different country and live
with Aussie families. They first threw this open
to, you know, employees of Green Days. But I
don't think it went very well with the employees
because they wanted their own little independence
and all that. So when the sea was almost falling
through, then ANZ and AFS came to an understanding
and they said, look, let's throw it open to the
Indian public. And I got a wind of it. And I
was, one of the lucky four, very lucky four,
to be selected with a non -banking background.
There's another very dear friend of mine called
Ramesh Raja. Two of us from Madras who were selected.
One from Calcutta, Vishal Suri, and Rajiv from
Delhi. Four of us. We went to Australia and the
deal was that we would work with various departments
of the bank. We would be paid a small stipend.
And we would live with Aussie families. We would
be, everything would be sponsored. Our to and
fro travel, our travel within Melbourne. And,
oh my God. You know, you heard of Yudhishthir.
His feet never left the ground. I felt like Yudhishthir.
More than the year, even when I came back to
India after the year, because there was no strings
attached. We weren't supposed to get any jobs.
They said, see, we'll give you this opportunity,
but you come back and you fend for yourself.
What did happen was the, it was a fabulous experience.
Not just the fact that we had a wonderful time,
we were getting to see another culture, but it
was a great learning experience, you know, because
We had seen Indian culture, work culture, and
we got back to the Indian work culture again.
And we realized how different the Australian
culture was in terms of work and even with people.
They were very casual. They were very casual,
very informal. At the same time, it's not as
if work didn't get done. Of course, it got done.
The reporting, it was very, very serious about
that. Can you imagine asking your boss's boss,
Bernie, you're going up to the cafeteria. Why
don't you give me a sandwich? Imagine your office
peon telling that. And here in Australia, he
was an office assistant. Bernie, please get me
a sandwich. Oh, Bernie. And he was a senior manager
there. About four levels more than this office
assistant. And he would smile and get everybody,
you know, get a big token and come back and ask.
And, you know. And all the change. This was something
which, this was just not meant for me because
I was in an exchange, you know, visitor and they
were giving me any special treatment. This is
what I can write through. Right. So that was
something which I found very strange and wonderful.
In fact, I felt that, you know, it made it so
much easier to have that human equation. And,
you know, you would go around, you know, when
you were traveling by tram in Australia, you
would find a guy in this dungarees or overalls,
obviously a painter or some kind of worker. He
would be sitting next to somebody who obviously
looked like top management because the top management,
they take public transport. They don't always
take their cars to work. They would be animatedly
talking about some religion or politics or something
like that. And then say, all right, well, good
day to you. and walk away. So I used to find
this amazing. And I lost my shyness. I completely,
as it was sales and marketing, gave me a little
bit of courage and confidence. This just took
away any inhibitions which I had. And I'm so
grateful for that one year because it changed
me. And I realized that when I came back to India,
the things... were not going to be what it was
in Australia. Well, I didn't realize that. I
came back. After about three months, I dropped.
But then, it was not a bitter experience. It
was just different. But it gave me a lot of resilience.
You know, it gave me a lot of strength of mind
because I realized that I understood a different
set of values there and I took the best from
that culture also. And that has stayed with me.
And that is so much, you know, part of who I
intrinsically am, that I'm extremely grateful
for that one year and the cascading effect it
has had over my life and held me in good stead.
My values and the way you treat people, fair
play for something, which is very good. So that's
for something. One more comment, which is basically
that I think sharing your story with such honesty,
because that I think is part of what makes you
who you are. Now, how did you get into the training
aspect of? So, fag end of my, you know, stint
with Australia. Suddenly the top management.
realized in Australia that we were coming back
without a job. Okay. Generous enough to offer
us a training position, not as a trainer, in
the sense as a management trainee in Grimley's
bank if we chose to join them. Okay. Which was
so generous of them. And usually, you know, the
IIMs, XLRI, Bajaj, These were the candidates
who got into a management trainee kind of a portfolio,
I mean, kind of a career with Grindley's Bank.
And here we were with our respective graduation
degrees walking in to an organization which was
very traditional, very different from ANZ Australia,
very process -oriented. And you had to mind your
P's and Q's. They were wonderful people, but
I mean, it was very process oriented. And so
it was a culture shock once again, you know,
getting into something where it was huge. I mean,
we were overwhelmed. I mean, I definitely was
overwhelmed because this was an opportunity of
a lifetime. And I spent almost four years in
various capacities and operations, you know,
banking operations, you know, deposits department.
And I was in credit cards. I was in sales. marketing
there also so i spent some you know varied amount
of times with ains and bank and with grinley's
bank and some of the my colleagues are you know
still in touch with me and wonderful people but
then you know there was a part of me which kept
tugging away saying that this is too process
oriented for me i wasn't the right fit so even
though hats off and A lot of gratitude for people
who so graciously gave me a job in Wembley and
the opportunity that ANZ gave me. And I'll forever
be grateful to them. But there was a part of
me which kept knowing and saying that this is
not you, this is not you. And I had a friend
of mine who was in NIIT. And for some reason,
I was part of his, you know, colleagues, his
group. And they welcomed me in. And before I
could think twice, I had said yes to a job opportunity
with NIIT, a brand new wing of theirs called
NIS, National Institute of Sales. They were looking
for people in business development. And I said,
hey, this seems interesting. And by then I had
come to Hobnob with middle to senior management.
at NIIT, a kind of window, because NIIT was also
a very entrepreneurial kind of an organization.
And, you know, a lot of their top management
were very casual and very friendly and very open.
And in the initial stages, we had a lot of access
to them, which usually happens in the startup
kind of an environment. I was very lucky. And
so when NIS came up, I, you know, said, this
seems to be something. which is very close to
him. And I interviewed for them. And they said,
hey, you've already had, you know, a few years
of sales background. Even in your banking, you've
done sales. Be it credit cards or being in deposits,
you've done sales. Would you like to consider
a stint in training? I said, I've never trained
in my life. And I remember the bad old days in
college, you know, I was so scared of even facing
any kind of a presentation or, you know, giving
any presentation. I was, I was stumped. I didn't
know how to present myself at all. An interview
like this, God forbid. So, I mean, but this,
why don't you try? I said, all right, let me
give you a shot. And I did. And for some reason,
they liked me. And they said, we'll offer you
a job. And there began one of my most intensive
roles of learning to be a trainer. And I had
the best teachers. Dr. Dhruv Nath, I remember
with a lot of gratitude and affection, he headed
NIS. It was his brainchild. And there were wonderful
people in the training department. They honed
us together. And I was so well, I mean, I found
my calling in terms of a corporate, This was
the first job where my heart sank. And I was
learning how to train youngsters, you know, who
were first in their career, you know, who were
trying out sales and marketing as a career. Because
there was no course in sales and marketing. It
was just that you tried your luck and if you
were successful, you were successful. Otherwise,
you got out of the job. But here was a course.
So on one hand, I was training youngsters, college
students, or young professionals, and then also
getting into corporate training with a matter,
and then into behavioral management. And that's
when I realized what an incredible organization
I had entered into. Not only did I have absolutely
wonderful colleagues who shaped me. put up with
me and who also gave me such opportunities to
you know to grow that I'm incredibly grateful
to NIS at which later on came NIS Sparta and
I was with them for eight long years so can you
tell me a couple of let's say training incidents
that happened which kind of defined or you know
brought you into What is it that helps people
get better at what they do? See, first of all,
I myself have, you know, when I realized that
I was a slow learner in perhaps mathematics or
sciences, that gave me a lot of, you know, understanding
of what students went through, especially when
they were trying to come out of their shell.
There were people who were coming from the Northeast,
for instance, who could. barely speak in english
you know and they were very tongue -tied and
there were a lot of people from all all walks
of life who came in i realized not so much for
a sales career but as a personality development
program and a lot of students were pushed on
to me because apparently although i might be
otherwise an impatient guy but as far as training
was concerned I was extremely patient with slow
learners and because I realized that I've gone
through the same experience myself so with kids
gloves you know I would train them and give them
opportunities there was a guy who couldn't express
himself at all and I made but I realized that
he was coming from a from you know the northeast
and he I had a lot of exciting stories to tell.
I made him give a presentation before all our
faculty members, and for two hours, he held us
spellbound. He was never the same. So that, you
know, when I saw that it was making a difference
in the lives of students, and I would get myself
very deeply entrenched into student activities.
to see how I could, you know, possibly get some
of them to come out of their shells. And there
were some very, very good students also who were,
you know, intrinsically good and they were willing
to, you know, go the extra mile. And together,
I think we formed a community which was not just
an institution. It was a family. It was very
closely guarded by both the employees and the...
students who are part of that community. We are
very close. So we worked so closely and I think
that we grew. I mean, we helped each other grow.
Not only... Which is usually the case that when
you're in an organization that is nurturing,
everyone tends to grow. It's not just the, you
know, the organization itself, but the team.
And why is this so? We've got a person like,
and the managing director was Rajendra Singh
Power. Guy, hats off to him. I mean, I have so
much of admiration and love for the gentleman.
I mean, he would come to every center and address
and explain to people what the I in aniety meant.
And his visions, his values, you know, coming
from the horse's mouth and done with so much
of honesty, integrity, and simplicity. It was
enduring. So, for me, That organization, its
customers who were our students or even our corporate
clients, it was magical for me. It was magical.
I have so much of love and respect and gratitude
for the kind of stint I had with them. So I was
with them for eight years and I'm sure that given
a chance, I would have retired with them. But
then as many organizations, it happens to many
organizations that... Somehow their paths changed,
their focuses changed. And I was seeing that
the old guard was moving away. What we stood
for was no longer involved. So slowly I realized
that the charm which it had, it was losing that.
And we would eventually lose out our business
entirely. And we did. And I as, well, maybe a...
a few years before it actually closed shop, I
did get out. And I did a short stint of, you
know, training development for an organization.
And that was when I got a calling from ING Life
Insurance, which was the next years of my career.
Okay. So, each one of these places, it's almost
as if that there's a certain amount of providence
where, Just when you sort of got across at one
point and then you were at a lose in trying to
figure out what exactly needed to be done, a
certain thing fell into, it's maybe in the network.
It is just that that particular organization
required, had lost skill at that point in time.
Yeah. Of course. Life happens to you. Yeah. It's
just that you have to take the cues. Sometimes
you're quick in taking those cues. And that works
out. Sometimes, you know, you're afraid to get
out of the status quo because the comfort zone
you have, you're hoping that you'll be able to
hold on to it for a little longer and maybe things
will improve. And it takes wisdom and a lot of
soul searching to come to a point when you realize
when it is time for you to move on or not. So
when I moved into ING, for instance, again, the
first four years were absolutely wonderful. I
was getting into something where it was like
a startup. And startups have always held the
charm for me because I was creative in nature.
And when you have the right kind of boss, I remember
my way with a lot of affection. My boss there
was Mr. Anil Bhatia. He is still a very, very,
very dear friend of mine. So I'm just saying
that, you know, the kind of free hand I had and
we worked shoulder to shoulder and we literally,
I mean, the sales department from his end and
the kind of support I got to head the alternate
channels training function, start from the scratch,
build up the processes from the scratch, hire
trainers from the scratch, build training programs.
not just what was provided in terms of the products,
but also to nurture skills amongst the employees.
Now that, the initial stage of my stint with
ING, I got all of that. A free hand. I had some
amazing, amazing colleagues. And like I said,
we were finding feet. We were in a small little...
And then we migrated to a bigger, you know, big
building until we had a huge, you know, building
on MG Road in Dangalore. And that's where we
found our feet as a corporate entity and all
that. And that's when we proliferated more. So
during all these, during all these stints of
training, was singing a part of what you were
known for at all these places as well? Yes. In
fact, my first boss, he was wonderful. I mean,
he was very encouraging. I mean, so I used, you
know, what did happen in those interim years
was I managed to keep singing for groups, professional,
semi -professional groups locally. And then there
was some talent scouts from Bombay who started
performing here in Chennai. migrated me to Bombay
and I started performing for them in Bombay.
So initially with low level of success, but then
I quickly understood that Bombay, once the market
opened up, it could be something else. And after
2007 or 8, it really started booming for me.
And at one point I found that I was making virtually
as much money. for music as I was in my corporate
career. But then again, you know, you wanted
the best of both worlds because you were performing
in the weekends and you were working during the
weekdays. Yeah. I mean, talk about having, doing
exactly what you like doing during weekends and
being paid well for that. It is because of my
health also because, you know, I honestly did
not like Bangalore as a city. I was quite miserable.
As a city, I didn't find roots. Though I was
there for at least six, six and a half years,
I didn't find my roots in Bangalore at all. I'm
not blaming anybody. It's just that I was not
eating well. I was not looking after myself so
well. And I was not too happy. So I would run
back to Chennai every weekend or fly to Bombay
or Gujarat or someplace, you know, if I got a
chance to. I, in fact, had a chat with one of
my... Subsequent bosses, again, a wonderful channel
called Sanjeev. I told him, boss, at one point
of time, I might head the music way. But as of
now, I plan to pursue both music and training
here. Let me know if that's okay with you. Because
if it's not, if it's going to clash, let me know,
I'll get out. But I don't want to. I think you
guys are great. And I would like to be with you
as long as possible. But the weekends, I would
like them to be mine. Is that okay? And he was
gracious and he thought for a moment. I said,
go ahead. So that was like an official go ahead,
which I'm saying that, you know, I'm eternally
grateful to these people for being so helpful
in my career. So five, six years were absolutely
wonderful. And I got a... The amusement of my
father, I got a long -term service award after
five years in ING. My father by then had finished
about 40 years of service in the same company.
Very different. He was old school. Anyway, so
then what happened was, although I loved training
and I was... There was a change in my role. And
then all of a sudden, I found myself again straightjacketed
into processes. Processes which were very straightjacketed.
There was no leeway. I had no control over a
few things. And I would be still held responsible
for things I had no control over. For instance,
you were told to be responsible. for the performance
of the sales team. Whereas it was always not
possible to insist that they remained in training
because they had some pressures and they would
be taken out. So after some time, I realized
that this was not just this company, but the
industry at large. And then I found myself becoming
slowly more and more of a headmaster for other
trainers. And my own involvement in taking training
other than product training was coming to a standstill.
And being creative by nature, that began to hurt
me. Because I felt that, is this what I really,
is this what I signed up for? So like I said,
you know, it's absolutely nobody's fault. I mean,
it's just that sometimes you find yourself completely
in alignment with the company, the same company.
And then finally, finally, you find that focuses
of the organization is changing because of business
reasons. And it is, yeah. And yeah, realities.
And it's nobody's fault. It's just that you find
yourself becoming non -aligned to that. What
do you do? So sometimes you embrace status quo
and you hang on to status quo and you hope that
things will change. And then no matter what you
do, things don't change. The writing's on a wall.
But you still don't own it because you don't.
It's like, you know, it's like, it's like not
accepting that maybe this... Yeah, unwilling
to accept that certain things have changed. Okay,
so you're saying then that what you've arrived
at now, the happy place that you're in right
now, which is singing, was a gradual process
or was it one of those... The year which I left
the company, I had taken a... overall decision
that that year would be my breakaway year. Okay.
I had still not, you know, solidified on the
date, but I had made up my mind and I told my
management that I think this year I would look
out for a change. Not, I would not join any competition,
but I would be pursuing my music, which I've
been trying to do for a long time. Maybe I didn't
take myself seriously and maybe they didn't take
me. Very seriously. But one day I found that
a colleague of mine, who I was very close to,
said, this is my last day. I said, you can't
do that to me. How dare you leave just like that?
That was like a kick in the pants for me. Okay.
Overnight, I took a decision. What if? Now, I
had enough of leave with me. I took a split decision.
And the next morning, With a singing heart, I
wrote a polite and fond resignation letter saying
that I think I've finally found my feet and I
know what I want to pursue now. I've had a wonderful
eight -year stint with this organization. You've
put me into so many different situations and
I'm ever grateful for that. But I think I've
come to a decision that this is the time I would
like to give notice. The head of training was
shocked. I mean, he was a newcomer and he said,
are you leaving because of me? I said, no, at
all. I don't even know you. And certainly not.
Then he had a quick meeting with about 400 trainers
and said, Surjit, he was a very senior guy. He's
leaving. I'm going to stop him. So one of my
colleagues told him, have you heard him sing?
He said, no. He said, if you hear him sing, you
let him go. I'm telling you something. Vinay
Gopal, I mean, the day I took that decision was
the happiest day of my life. Not because it was
a relief to get away from something. Not at all.
I wouldn't take away a single moment from any
of the organizations. And I can't stop singing
the praises of all my colleagues, all the organizations
who've given me such a wonderful experience.
But it is because of them that... They helped
me come to a decision which was so natural that
now, even if there is, you know, a month without
business, it doesn't shake me, it doesn't rattle
me. Because leap of faith, which finally happened,
was a natural process. I went into it with confidence,
with absolute self -reliance that I was doing
the right thing. It was not out of frustration.
It was not out of desperation. It was like an
opening, a door opening and I saw it and I knew
the system. And every minute ever since, I've
been ever so happy, ever so happy. Wonderful,
Sarojit. It's been an hour and this must be one
of those few interviews or programs where You
have not sung a single bit. Closing thoughts
and then maybe we'll close out on a song before
you leave. Yeah, so my closing thoughts is if
I were to look at what I would do differently
if I were to start all over again. It's very
easy to be a glib talker when you've had 35 years
of experience. and say, I would have done this
differently. At that point of time, you really
don't know. Sometimes life puts you through those
entanglements because you need to figure out.
What I have figured out, though, is that when
life comes to you, comes across to you, and hits
at you, there are times we're going to have every
life has had its share of challenges. Right.
But, you know, the only time when you need to
change is if you feel that cold fear of not having
done your homework and you're going to be punished
in school. That is the time when you know that
you're... This is not what you need to do. You
need to do that. And if you don't, you're inviting
punishment. More punishment, which is unwarranted.
Life is not a punishment. Life is giving you
opportunities to look at different things and
try them for yourself. Some of them you're going
to like, some of them you're going to walk away
from. And no, I'm done. You don't have to beat
yourself up about it. It's just that you gracefully
leave. And now today that grace has been thanks
to everybody in my life. You know, every colleague,
every friend, my parents who, you know, gave
me that boost. to start with. So today I think
that don't be afraid to explore. When you begin
with something, don't be afraid to explore. Even
if it's something not your cup of tea, look at
it. And if it doesn't work out and you find that
you're not really happy with it, then ask yourself
really, what is it that you really want? What
is it that you need to ask yourself? Because
if you don't... If you don't invest that amount
of time, you are not going to leave one job and
get into another job. It'll be a very temporary
feeling of relief that you got into another job.
Yeah. If you do not know why you're leaving or
what you really want now, you are going to repeat
any unhappiness that you've ever experienced
again and again. But at some stage, ask yourself,
what is it that you really want? And if you don't
have it with you, build on it. One day when you're
ready, you hit the road. So, a couple of lines
to bid goodbye. Okay. Do you mind if I have a
little bit of accompaniment? Please. Okay. Just
a couple of lines. I don't think the audience
will tolerate me for more. No, they'd be glad
to, but I think they'd love to see you on stage.
All right, let's see. Rather than just... Most
of all, those who are watching this program,
I'm so grateful that you've joined in and tuned
into our program. It might have made some relevance
to you. Maybe you've had some similar experiences.
I'm very grateful to this organization for giving
me this platform because it allows you to really
share. And I think many of us feel at the end
of the day that... Even though we have had various
checkered careers or wonderful careers, there
are a lot of commonalities, a lot of learnings
which are similar. And that gives you more strength.
So let me close with a couple of lines. Okay.
Wahi tu mat rukh jana. Wahi tu mat rukh jana.
Tufa se mat khabrana. Kabhi tu nilegi. Teri nan
se. Kahil ka ghan ki china. Wow. Marvelous. What
a wonderful note to end it on, Sirujit. Thank
you very much for taking part in this and being
so honest, being so upfront and telling us with
so candidly about what you've had, how life has
treated you and what you've given back. Thank
you for coming on the program. Pleasure. That
was Surajit Goha. And as you've seen, the quality
of his singing is so good that he could have
made those decisions very early on. But he's
had such a wonderful life in all the places that
he's worked in. He's brought so much of happiness
to people and he himself. has been so happy as
a result. So tune in next week again. Thank you
for all those people who have joined us. And
you can catch this on YouTube at any time. Please
do subscribe to the channel so that you keep
getting updates on our listening. And every Friday
at 3 p .m. is when we hope to come back to you
or we will come back to you with a new guest,
a new career journey, and more fun. Thank you.