June 2, 2012: PN was looking at an invitation letter to be sent to M. F. Husain, the renowned painter. The invitation was for the inauguration of an art gallery owned by PN’s employees.
The gallery had a large number of paintings, mainly reproductions of paintings by the great masters. What was unique was that PN’s employees had created all the paintings. Each was accompanied by a write up explaining why the original was famous. It was a great collection and a great effort by his people to create an awareness of art appreciation.
PN’s thought back to five years ago, when this new revolution had started in his organization. It was November 2006. PN had been invited to the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a conference entitled The Emerging India. After the conference, someone mentioned M. F. Husain’s art exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum. PN had not seen Husain before and did not want to miss this opportunity.
PN did not know much about art, but he was definitely fascinated by the artist. He was happy that he could actually meet the master himself, the great Husain, and spend some time with him.
Husain was curious to know what PN did for a living. PN told him about his organization and how it had become a matter of pride to the country, a feather in the cap of the emerging India.
Suddenly, Husain asked, “Could I visit your company?” PN could never say no to such requests.
Some weeks later, Husain visited PN’s company at its fascinating campus. He saw the pride in everyone’s eyes and was excited by what he saw. When he came back to PN’s office after the visit, he told him, “PN, I want to create a painting for your company—an emergent India.” It was one of PN’s the happiest moments.
After some pleasantries, PN went down with Husain to see him off. As soon as he returned, he called a meeting with his team members. Once they gathered, PN told them the whole story and asked how they could use this event for the benefit of the organization.
Shoma, the PR person, spoke first. “PN, Husain is a well-known name. And it is great news that such a celebrity regards us as the representative of the new India. We can capitalize on this to create a good PR campaign.”
“PN, a silly question.” said Sam, head of Business Process Outsourcing. “Will he teach painting to some of our people?”
“This looks to be a good idea,” said Suchitra, head of resourcing. “Some of our people would give their life to have Husain as their teacher.”
Pawan, head of compensation and benefits, was excited at what Suchitra said. “I don’t know if this will happen,” he said, “but if it does, it will be a greatest incentive to people. But only top performers should be included in this.”
There was a consensus that this was a very unusual reward and people would definitely love it. PN was aware that Sam was an amateur painter. So Sam was more than happy when PN asked him to manage the overall project.
He met Husain and got an amused Husain to agree to train about twenty people for a week. The grand day came when Husain’s painting, “The Emergent India” was unveiled with great publicity. The painting was a depiction of the emerging spirit of India, an empowering canvas, a poetry that captured the country’s new hope and confidence.
The names of the “trainees” to be taught by Husain were announced during the unveiling ceremony. The nominees were ecstatic about this new “reward.”
It was an experience for Husain to teach painting to PN’s people. Some of them knew little about painting. But at the end of the week, each of them had created a painting with a distinct Husain stamp of wild colors and heroic figures. The paintings were proudly displayed in a prominent place on the company premises.
This event created a new revolution within the company. Many people who were good at painting met Sam and coaxed him to start regular classes. They were ready to spend their weekends learning if the company would provide them with the space to work together. They were ready to pay tuition fees. And a new enterprise started with a lot of participation. Teachers from a local art school, Chitrakala Parishad, were happy to come and teach.
People came together on weekends, learned painting, learned about the great masters, and spent time together to share their happiness. They had never thought that it possible to complete their unfinished symphonies, their dreams of painting. For many, it was probably the best time of their lives.
During one such discussion, Sanjib, who loved to paint in an impressionist style, broached a topic. “Why don’t we paint the famous paintings of the masters and display them in our offices?” Many were happy to do this. Someone said, “Sanjib, we are happy to do this, but who will understand your impressionist paintings?”
“Well, I can create a detailed write-up on each of the paintings,” Sanjib said. “You all can create write-ups for your paintings. You can get help from many others in our organization.”
People liked the idea. Many came forward to do the research and wrote up their findings about the paintings. The theme agreed for the paintings was the Impressionist painters. Each group was assigned a master whose painting they could reproduce.
They planned to create a hundred reproductions in twelve months.
One by one, the paintings started adorning the walls of the company premises. Below each painting, there was a small booklet describing the work, discussing its nuances and meaning. Each was highly educational. The artists were proud that their photographs and names appeared in those booklets, and superiors were proud too when they showed visitors what their employees had created.
The initiative became the talk of the town. People absolutely loved it. Many sent thank-you notes to PN, and others sent requests asking, “Why do you favor the painters? There are many of us who have other skills, and you must do something to fulfill our dreams too!”
PN was pleased with what was happening. Many people came up with ideas on initiatives in other arts or sciences. They were happy that their organization could start something around each one’s unfinished dream.
PN visited the artists’ hall on a weekend. He could see the many happy faces engrossed in recreating the masters’ paintings. Each one of the paintings was a high quality job by the teachers and their students, PN thought. He was proud of his people.
Seeing PN walk around, many stopped their work and gathered around him. PN looked at his team with pride and said, “Great work, guys. I can clearly see the result of what you have created. Five hundred paintings are on display in an art gallery at the end of three years. Half of Bangalore’s population has visited your gallery, which has become a must-visit destination for the tourists.
“Congratulations. Your contributions are of great value, both to the organization and to the city. You should be very proud of yourselves.”
The dream he sold to his team three years earlier had actually became a reality.
His employees loved being part of this revolution. They raised funds internally to set up an art gallery and came up with an unusual name for it: Reproduction Material, because all the paintings on display were going to be the reproductions of the world’s greatest paintings. Some people objected to the name, but the artists went ahead with it. They wanted their venture to be bold, confident, and befitting the spirit of “the emergent India.”
PN returned to the present. His eyes rested on the invitation letter on the table. The result of the hard work of his people was in front of him—an art gallery they owned with the paintings they created.
The great Husain inaugurated the gallery on September 17, 2012, his ninety-seventh birthday. The opening was a major milestone on a journey that had started when M. F. Husain visited PN’s company and captured his people’s pride on canvas.
What followed the inauguration was exciting. The media covered the opening and visitors soon flocked to see great masters’ paintings. They brought guests to see and learn and enjoy.
It was one more victory for John Galt!
The gallery had a large number of paintings, mainly reproductions of paintings by the great masters. What was unique was that PN’s employees had created all the paintings. Each was accompanied by a write up explaining why the original was famous. It was a great collection and a great effort by his people to create an awareness of art appreciation.
PN’s thought back to five years ago, when this new revolution had started in his organization. It was November 2006. PN had been invited to the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a conference entitled The Emerging India. After the conference, someone mentioned M. F. Husain’s art exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum. PN had not seen Husain before and did not want to miss this opportunity.
PN did not know much about art, but he was definitely fascinated by the artist. He was happy that he could actually meet the master himself, the great Husain, and spend some time with him.
Husain was curious to know what PN did for a living. PN told him about his organization and how it had become a matter of pride to the country, a feather in the cap of the emerging India.
Suddenly, Husain asked, “Could I visit your company?” PN could never say no to such requests.
Some weeks later, Husain visited PN’s company at its fascinating campus. He saw the pride in everyone’s eyes and was excited by what he saw. When he came back to PN’s office after the visit, he told him, “PN, I want to create a painting for your company—an emergent India.” It was one of PN’s the happiest moments.
After some pleasantries, PN went down with Husain to see him off. As soon as he returned, he called a meeting with his team members. Once they gathered, PN told them the whole story and asked how they could use this event for the benefit of the organization.
Shoma, the PR person, spoke first. “PN, Husain is a well-known name. And it is great news that such a celebrity regards us as the representative of the new India. We can capitalize on this to create a good PR campaign.”
“PN, a silly question.” said Sam, head of Business Process Outsourcing. “Will he teach painting to some of our people?”
“This looks to be a good idea,” said Suchitra, head of resourcing. “Some of our people would give their life to have Husain as their teacher.”
Pawan, head of compensation and benefits, was excited at what Suchitra said. “I don’t know if this will happen,” he said, “but if it does, it will be a greatest incentive to people. But only top performers should be included in this.”
There was a consensus that this was a very unusual reward and people would definitely love it. PN was aware that Sam was an amateur painter. So Sam was more than happy when PN asked him to manage the overall project.
He met Husain and got an amused Husain to agree to train about twenty people for a week. The grand day came when Husain’s painting, “The Emergent India” was unveiled with great publicity. The painting was a depiction of the emerging spirit of India, an empowering canvas, a poetry that captured the country’s new hope and confidence.
The names of the “trainees” to be taught by Husain were announced during the unveiling ceremony. The nominees were ecstatic about this new “reward.”
It was an experience for Husain to teach painting to PN’s people. Some of them knew little about painting. But at the end of the week, each of them had created a painting with a distinct Husain stamp of wild colors and heroic figures. The paintings were proudly displayed in a prominent place on the company premises.
This event created a new revolution within the company. Many people who were good at painting met Sam and coaxed him to start regular classes. They were ready to spend their weekends learning if the company would provide them with the space to work together. They were ready to pay tuition fees. And a new enterprise started with a lot of participation. Teachers from a local art school, Chitrakala Parishad, were happy to come and teach.
People came together on weekends, learned painting, learned about the great masters, and spent time together to share their happiness. They had never thought that it possible to complete their unfinished symphonies, their dreams of painting. For many, it was probably the best time of their lives.
During one such discussion, Sanjib, who loved to paint in an impressionist style, broached a topic. “Why don’t we paint the famous paintings of the masters and display them in our offices?” Many were happy to do this. Someone said, “Sanjib, we are happy to do this, but who will understand your impressionist paintings?”
“Well, I can create a detailed write-up on each of the paintings,” Sanjib said. “You all can create write-ups for your paintings. You can get help from many others in our organization.”
People liked the idea. Many came forward to do the research and wrote up their findings about the paintings. The theme agreed for the paintings was the Impressionist painters. Each group was assigned a master whose painting they could reproduce.
They planned to create a hundred reproductions in twelve months.
One by one, the paintings started adorning the walls of the company premises. Below each painting, there was a small booklet describing the work, discussing its nuances and meaning. Each was highly educational. The artists were proud that their photographs and names appeared in those booklets, and superiors were proud too when they showed visitors what their employees had created.
The initiative became the talk of the town. People absolutely loved it. Many sent thank-you notes to PN, and others sent requests asking, “Why do you favor the painters? There are many of us who have other skills, and you must do something to fulfill our dreams too!”
PN was pleased with what was happening. Many people came up with ideas on initiatives in other arts or sciences. They were happy that their organization could start something around each one’s unfinished dream.
PN visited the artists’ hall on a weekend. He could see the many happy faces engrossed in recreating the masters’ paintings. Each one of the paintings was a high quality job by the teachers and their students, PN thought. He was proud of his people.
Seeing PN walk around, many stopped their work and gathered around him. PN looked at his team with pride and said, “Great work, guys. I can clearly see the result of what you have created. Five hundred paintings are on display in an art gallery at the end of three years. Half of Bangalore’s population has visited your gallery, which has become a must-visit destination for the tourists.
“Congratulations. Your contributions are of great value, both to the organization and to the city. You should be very proud of yourselves.”
The dream he sold to his team three years earlier had actually became a reality.
His employees loved being part of this revolution. They raised funds internally to set up an art gallery and came up with an unusual name for it: Reproduction Material, because all the paintings on display were going to be the reproductions of the world’s greatest paintings. Some people objected to the name, but the artists went ahead with it. They wanted their venture to be bold, confident, and befitting the spirit of “the emergent India.”
PN returned to the present. His eyes rested on the invitation letter on the table. The result of the hard work of his people was in front of him—an art gallery they owned with the paintings they created.
The great Husain inaugurated the gallery on September 17, 2012, his ninety-seventh birthday. The opening was a major milestone on a journey that had started when M. F. Husain visited PN’s company and captured his people’s pride on canvas.
What followed the inauguration was exciting. The media covered the opening and visitors soon flocked to see great masters’ paintings. They brought guests to see and learn and enjoy.
It was one more victory for John Galt!
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