पुणे तिथे काय उणे - गोष्ट क्र. १ - होराभूषण काका आणि खड्ड्याची कुंडली 🔮🚗

 

पुण्यातले एक काका आहेत. होराभूषण काका. त्यांचा एक अफलातून किस्सा सांगतो.  

हे काका मनपाकडे (महापालिकेकडे) तक्रार करून आपला मौल्यवान वेळ कधीच वाया घालवत नाहीत.

काकांचं अगदी स्पष्ट मत आहे, "अरे, महापालिकेचे अधिकारी नागरी कायद्यानुसार चालतच नाहीत. ते थेट ग्रहांच्या चालीवर चालतात. मग त्यांना त्यांच्याच भाषेत उत्तर नको द्यायला?"

काका ज्योतिषातले मातब्बर असामी. मागच्या पावसाळ्यात आमच्या सोसायटीच्या अगदी मुख्य दरवाजासमोर एक गाडीचे शॉकऍबसॉरबर तोडणारा खड्डा पडला होता. सोसायटीतली तरुण मुलं मनपाला आणि स्थानिक नगरसेवकाला ट्विटरवर टॅग करून थकले, पण खड्डा काही बुजेना.

शेवटी काका मैदानात उतरले.

काका हातात मोजपट्टी घेऊन खाली गेले. त्यांनी खड्ड्याची लांबी-रुंदी मोजली, खोली नोंदवली; खड्डा पडल्याची वेळ टिपली आणि तात्काळ शनीच्या ग्रहाची स्थिती तपासून एक अतिशय अचूक गणित मांडलं.

दुसऱ्या दिवशी सकाळी कामावर जाणाऱ्या पुणेकरांना रस्त्यावर एक विलोभनीय दृश्य दिसलं. त्या खड्ड्याच्या मध्यभागी काकांनी छानशी पिवळी, लॅमिनेटेड कुंडलीची पाटी रोवली होती.

त्यावर स्वच्छ, मोकळ्या अक्षरांत लिहिलं होतं:

नांव: बर्वे रोडचा खड्डा

जन्म वेळ: १२ जुलै (राहूच्या महादशेत)

सध्याचे निदान: प्रशासकीय अनास्थेचा तीव्र योग

बुजण्याचा संभाव्य मुहूर्त: १४ नोव्हेंबर २०२८ (ज्या दिवशी गुरु ग्रह चौथ्या स्थानात प्रवेश करेल आणि मनपाच्या अभियंत्याचा आत्मा जागा होईल!)

टीप: कृपया २०२८ पर्यंत गाड्या हळू चालवाव्यात. ग्रहांची शांती करण्याचे प्रयत्न सुरू आहेत.

बस! लोकांचे दुचाकींवरून फोटो काढणे सुरू झाले. व्हॉट्सॲप ग्रुप्सवर 'खड्डा कुंडली' तुफान व्हायरल झाली. दोन दिवसांत स्थानिक न्यूज चॅनेल्सवर बातम्या आल्या!

तिसऱ्या दिवशी सकाळी महापालिकेची डांबराची गाडी खडबडून जागी होऊन खड्डा बुजवायला आली.

काका आपल्या बाल्कनीत उभं राहून निवांत चहाचे घोट घेत होते. त्यांनी हातातल्या घड्याळाकडे पाहिलं, मान हलवली आणि वरूनच कंत्राटदाराला हाक मारली:

"अहो कंत्राटदार महाशय! आज कुठल्या मुहूर्तावर खड्डा बुजवताय? शनी अजून वक्री आहे! आज डांबर ओतलं, तर शुक्रवारी नळस्टॉपजवळ राहू दोन नवीन खड्डे तयार करेल!"

कंत्राटदाराने काकांकडे भीतीयुक्त आदराने पाहिलं, पाच मिनिटांत डांबर दाबून खड्डा बुजवला आणि गाडी काढून पळ काढला!

आहे की नाही पुणेरी दणका!

खात्री आहे, लवकरच पुणे खडडे बुजवणे (PKB) पार्टी उदयास येईल आणि होराभूषण काकांना पाचारण करेल.  

🍯Howard Gardening Story #50 Satej: The CEO who preserves culture

 

Once I travelled with Satej, Co-Founder and CEO of his startup, carrying gift hampers of jam bottles and cream cheese for his employees and friends. Visiting every house was a sweet experience—literally. 

Everyone appreciated the care behind those gifts: the hours of stirring, bottling, designing labels, and packing.

Satej lives in Dallas, Texas, where he makes jams from local berries—strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry. He then brings them to Bangalore.

He hasn’t yet tried the more exotic ones like Deerberry or Lingonberry, but knowing him, it’s only a matter of time.

I remember us sitting late at night, writing handwritten notes and tying colourful ribbons around each hamper. It felt like a school project—a joyful regression into innocence. 

The next morning, as we planned our route to visit each home, I asked him, “Why do you take all this trouble? You could just order corporate hampers online.”

“Whatever we do,” he said, “we align it to our Prime Directives—our company’s culture principles.”

He explained, “Our first principle is to be exceptional at our craft. I study recipes like case studies until the flavour feels right. The second is to improve every day. Each batch gets a bit better.”

One may feel his explanation sounds a bit preachy. But I think for most CEOs, their Vision, Mission, and Values are their Bhagwadgeeta—principles so deeply ingrained that they guide every thought and action.

As we began our visits, I realised he wasn’t just making jam. He was bottling his philosophy—one of craftsmanship, care, and continuous learning.

Some CEOs build culture through strategy decks.

Satej does it through spoonfuls of sweetness.

Friends,

What simple act of creation helps you express your craft, connect with others, and leave a trace of yourself behind?

What’s your jam — your way of bottling meaning and spreading joy?

🌳 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?