🌳 Howard Gardening Story #49 Vineet Nayar and ‘Bodhi Shopping’

 

🪷 Time for a corporate fairy tale

This story comes from a personalised book I created to honour Vineet Nayar, then CEO of HCL Technologies.

In this story, HCL employees didn’t just admire the Bodhi Tree. They grew a part of it.

Here it goes - 

In 2007, as the Japanese Prime Minister prepared to visit India, leaders at a tech company debated what gift would befit the occasion.

Ideas flew — Nachiarkoil brass lamp, Pashmina silk shawl, Swamimalai bronze statue …..

And then, one voice — a business head and environmentalist — asked:

“What if we give him something alive? A piece of India’s spirit?”

🌱 His idea was a Bodhi tree sapling — a symbol of enlightenment, peace, and rooted wisdom.

At first, people laughed it off. But he persisted.

The team collaborated with scientists. They cloned the tree through tissue culture.

Vineet, the CEO, backed it fully.

🇯🇵 The Japanese PM bowed to the sapling. Not out of politeness — but reverence.

That single act sowed a forest of impact.

🌍 Over one million Bodhi saplings were distributed across Buddhist nations.

👩‍🌾 Employees and families joined organic farming and tree planting.

🌾 Rural self-help groups blossomed around the idea.

🪴 What began as “just a gift” became Project Bodhi — an ecosystem of culture, commerce, and consciousness.

This wasn’t just CSR.

It was an innovation in gifting that grew roots.

🌳 It turned gifting into storytelling.

🌏 Diplomacy into ecology.

💡 And an overlooked idea into a legacy that still grows today.

🌟 What gifts are your people planting — that might grow into movements?

                                                            ***

The synopsis above is only a sliver of the magic — the rest is in the book I created for Vineet. 

If you're curious, you know who to ask. 😉

📚 Howard Gardening Story #48 – Achyut: When curiosity becomes an engine to service

 

What happens when a leader NEVER stops being a learner?

What happens when a leader is busy 24x7 to democratise knowledge? 

You get Achyut Godbole — a living library for society.

Some people live one life. Achyut seems to have lived a hundred.

Here’s his profile - 

- Topper at the state-level matriculation and University

- Chemical Engineer from IIT Bombay

- CEO of leading IT companies for nearly 25 years (Patni, Syntel, L&T Infotech, etc.)

- Prolific author — with nearly 90 books spanning subjects as vast as Operating Systems, Music, Psychology, Economics, Management, Literature, Law, Technology even AI ... to name a few.

- Over 1,000 articles across newspapers and magazines, hundreds of public speeches and TV interviews, TEDx talks

- Ranked 35th among the “Top 100 Great IITians” who stayed in India and achieved greatness

- Human rights activist in his college days — including imprisonment during a Satyagraha for Adivasi rights

- One researcher has completed PhD on Achyut’s body of work. Two more researchers are currently doing PhD on his work

But here’s what truly makes him extraordinary:

Most of his books are written in Marathi, aimed at educating and inspiring the vernacular population of the state of Maharashtra — especially those without access to world-class knowledge.

I’d call him a Wisdom Bridge — someone who distills the world’s knowledge and makes it accessible to everyday people.

Achyut is a shining example of how authors can serve society — not just by creating knowledge, but by democratising it. 🌍

He once shared a profound story with me about the impact of his autobiography, Musafir. He told me that he received letters from 18 people who, in a moment of despair, had been planning to end their lives. After reading his book, they found renewed hope — and chose to live. 💫

Salute to him for his relentless endeavour.

                                                             ***

Dear Leaders,

Imagine if the employee communities in your organisation could also channel their passions to serve society; you would create an ocean of opportunity - 

- Democratise technology - Create open-source projects for people across the globe or turning AI into an everyday assistant for farmers

- Democratise learning - Example - Explaining APIs through regional languages

- Democratise opportunity - Example - Providing platform to small-town coders

- Democratise empathy - Design products that include the elderly, differently-abled …

That’s the promise of Howard Gardening. 🌱

📹Howard Gardening Story #47 Mrudul: The voice of the wild

 

Mrudul spoke passionately about ‘A Call in the Rainforest’, a documentary on Lion-tailed macaques — the rightful owners of the forest, now portrayed as thieves in their own home.

Mrudul was part of the production team that brought this masterpiece to life — a film that went on to travel the world: Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, New York; Haida Gwaii Film Festival, Canada; Wildlife Vaasa Festival, Finland… and many more.

We invited her to speak about her documentary at our all-staff meeting. Mrudul, the shy one, hesitated — but when she began, the room stilled. Her words, her conviction, her eyes reflecting the forest’s call for help… she spoke like someone who belonged to that world.

Mrudul was a wildlife photographer, an animal activist, and a storyteller of the voiceless. 

She worked on projects like Jewels of Thane Creek 🦩, Wild Gujarat: Discovering Rann 🏜️, and Leopards: The Last Stand 🐆.

But that wasn’t how her journey began.

Mrudul once dreamt of flying — she trained to be a commercial pilot. But corrupt practices kept her grounded. Heartbroken yet resilient, she turned to computers, studied Computer Science, and joined us as a Business Analyst.

We became very close. She was like my daughter. Whenever she found time, she would tell me about her wildlife projects — her voice carrying that unmistakable blend of pain and passion.

After I retired and moved to Pune, I missed her terribly. And then one day, the news came — a young, bright life snatched away too soon.

Dear Mrudul, I still have your last WhatsApp message — 15 August 2022 — where you wrote to me about your latest film Corona Warriors, and another about Leopards: The Last Stand, that you left unfinished.

The forests remember you, Mrudul.

Every rustle in the leaves, every cry in the canopy — it’s you, still calling in the rainforest. 🌳

                                                                 ***

It’s so painful to write about those who leave us — taking a piece of our hearts, yet leaving behind such beautiful memories.

🌏Howard Gardening Story #46 Tejas: From PayPal to the Planet

 

A few weeks ago, I joined a webinar by Tejas on Biochar. It was meant for students seeking internships — but it felt like a masterclass in purpose.

Bright young minds filled the chat with questions, and what truly lit them up was Tejas’ offer:

“Complete your internship — and either join us or start your own biochar venture. We’ll buy back what you produce.”

An internship… with a buyback guarantee and a higher purpose: healing the soil and enriching Mother Earth. 🌿

Before we dive deeper into Tejas’ story, let’s pause for a reality check.

India’s New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 mandates internships for undergraduates — a well-meant step. Yet, many students face unpaid or token work, thinly disguised exploitation, and no real learning. The terms “wage theft,” “gofer work,” and “resume filler” echo too often.

Tejas’ program was refreshingly different — an internship with dignity, discovery, and direction.

I salute Tejas, and also visionaries like Sarvesh Agrawal and Ankur Khator, founders of Internshala, for showing that internships can be bridges — not burdens.

The Making of Tejas 🌾

An IIT graduate, Tejas once worked at PayPal in the US — a company known for its social commitment (over $20B raised for nonprofits, 130K volunteer hours in sustainability).

And yet, something deeper called him.

He left it all to return to India — to serve her. 🇮🇳

He experimented relentlessly — with Black Soldier Flies as pet food, aquaponic systems (I still remember his delicious home-grown Tilapia 🐠), bamboo cycles, carbon sequestration, and teaching farmers millet farming.

Now, his focus is on Biochar — a carbon-rich soil enhancer that improves fertility, retains water, and boosts crop productivity.

Tejas isn’t just manufacturing Biochar.

He’s manufacturing possibilities — for students, farmers, and the planet alike.

May his vision ignite a million young Biochar Entrepreneurs 🌍✨

And perhaps, one day, companies like PayPal will find ways to harness—not lose—such hunger for purpose.

🧑‍🍳Howard Gardening Story #45 Steven: Garlic, Grit, and Greatness

 

It’s a Sunday morning.

We, the older ones, are visiting our company guesthouse — home to our young engineers.

Steven puts down a mountain of garlic in front of us.

Our job is to peel every clove, hand it over, and then wait — patiently — for his legendary chilli pork (sorry my vegetarian friends. No offence meant)

Even after 27 years, the taste still lingers.

By day, Steven handled the Foreign Exchange module of our product — a pucca techie.

By night, he was our resident foodie guide.

We were a small company, living those Narayana Murthy hours — but we didn’t mind.

Not when Steven led our midnight food trails —

• Fish curry rice at 1 AM in St. John’s canteen
• Sheekh kebabs at Fanoos, after 11 PM
• Andhra meals (if we made it before 11 PM)
• Bheja fry at Empire on Residency Road (not after 1 AM)

One day, Steven followed his calling — he left to start his own restaurant, Mangalore Pearl. 

Today, Mangalore Pearl is one of Bangalore’s top-rated restaurants.

Back then, it was the only place in Bangalore that served Bombay Duck. The Sole Curry he makes is the best in the world. (Okay, maybe I’m biased.)

Steven still works long hours — buying fish at 4:30 AM from Russell Market, closing his shutters at 11 PM.

When he first told us he was quitting to start a restaurant, I thought: “He’ll make it — he cooks brilliantly.”

Only later did I realise — making Prawn Ghee Roast is probably the last skill you need to run a restaurant business.

Running a restaurant, like running a company, takes everything — finance, people, marketing, resilience, grit…..

**

Maybe every organisation should host a mock Shark Tank — To grill employees who dream of entrepreneurship, and give them a taste of reality.

What do you think?

💃Howard Gardening Story #44 Kaushik: Shaking a leg to Bollywood Beats

 

One day, I spotted an ad for Shiamak Davar’s Bollywood dance school — right near our office.

Without much thought, I asked Kaushik to bring his bike. We went together, and I enrolled him.

Kaushik could easily afford the fees, but he said, “I won’t pay you. I want to remain indebted.” Such magical words. It was an emotional moment for me.

Soon after completing the course, Kaushik joined Shiamak’s core team — and even performed in the Middle East.

**

Let me share how this all started.

Every month, our company hosted Last Friday Blasts. That’s where I first noticed Kaushik, a young software engineer who turned every step into poetry. I knew I had to do something for this kid…. And I did.

**

Later, Kaushik was selected for an engineering project in France.

Before he left, I made him promise one thing: “Teach Bollywood dance to the seniors in nearby old-age homes.”

The night before his flight, we both sat together googling all the old-age homes around his new city. I don’t know how many he eventually visited — but I knew he would do something nice.

I could almost imagine the response after his first session in France —

Seniors hugging Kaushik, feeding him fruit, laughing together, asking for another session…And their voices ringing with joy:

“Wow, I can still move!”

“So what if I danced sitting in my wheelchair — dance I did!”

“Oh, why didn’t we take our video? We would have sent it to our children!”

“Darling, you must train us for La France a un incroyable talent!” 

**

Years later, Kaushik moved on and returned once to conduct a dance workshop for our team.

It felt like a reunion of joy and rhythm.

Today, he’s Director of Engineering in Singapore — still dancing through life, I’m sure.

Dear Leaders,

Do you know who your dancers are?

Ask them how they can help your company find its rhythm of happiness. 💫

☮️ Howard Gardening Story #43 Girish: The backpack that carried his calling

 

In my younger days, most parents in India expected their children to graduate quickly and start earning.

But Girish wanted a different path. He convinced his parents to let him see the world before settling into work.

To the horror of the relatives, the parents agreed. With a backpack on his shoulders, Girish set off for Europe. He eventually landed in France and began teaching English.

Somewhere along the way, computers caught his imagination. He immersed himself in coding, multimedia, and computer graphics — even creating an interactive guide to spread awareness about Indian music.

Girish then transitioned from teaching to running the technology department of French Chamber of Commerce training organisation.

His curiosity drove him to take a sabbatical for a Master’s in Communication in Boston, and research with the Visual Computing Group at MIT.

When he returned to France, he proposed setting up a multimedia department to prepare students and businesses for emerging technologies. The Chamber of Commerce trusted his vision.

Girish then discovered pictograms as autonomy tools for intellectually challenged persons. He also created a method to teach illiterate adults to read by associating color-coded sounds with pictograms — two powerful ways to promote social inclusion. 

Today, as an associate researcher in a design lab, Girish’s focus is on a care and support model for the social inclusion of persons with intellectual disabilities and developing the use of pictograms as a visual language, with the aim of serving communities in need.

🌱 Dear HR Leaders: Don’t you think we need an “HR stethoscope” — a way to listen to the heartbeats of our people? When we truly hear their aspirations, we can support those who dream of changing the world, just as the French Chamber of Commerce did for Girish.