We had four bosses in BDD those days in the mid 90s and I worked with three of them during my time in IDBI, Mumbai. Mr Subaraman was easily the boss with the most energy, the most mischief, the most intelligence and most fun. He was the kind of a boss who would show up in the list of bosses who made a positive impact on your career, someone you would always stay in touch, someone you could call up for advice or just to hear an encouraging word. He is in my list for sure and am sure in the list of many of my colleagues.
 |
Mr Subaraman deep in thought
(probably thinking of how to improve something that was said or done) |
The first thing I remember about him was his smiling face, his boundless energy, his fun demeanour. He had a sharp brain, understood people well and their limitations and motivated them accordingly, rarely lost his temper and was always ready for a laugh.
In my early days at IDBI Mumbai, I would go early to work and try my hand at poetry - a poem a day was my challenge for a while - until one day Mr Subaraman came to my desk (he always did that, never summoned us by phone to his room which had a magnificent view of the Arabian Sea from the 14th floor of the WTC Tower) to drop off a paper. He read my poem, asked me a couple of questions about it and with all seriousness advised me to stop writing poems. 'They are depressing,' he told me. I continued writing of course and would pull his leg about it for many years - that he throttled a young poet's voice then and there. He would laugh and repeat - but they were depressing.
I would like to believe that he had a particular liking to our bunch of friends - Parag, Mony, Mahender and me - and would always exclaim - you guys are so tall. But then, we all looked up to him and I am sure he knew that. His relationship with Mahender was very different - Mahender, the deep, taciturn, witty Haryanvi and Mr Subaraman, the genial, full of beans Tamilian. We would all have a laugh after one of their famous discussions. He had a very academic relationship with Mony who as a CA rank holder perhaps understood finance like he did. Parag he had a lot of respect for because somehow Parag commands respect by his very presence and with me, we were mostly shooting the breeze because that was what I was good at. Since three of us were in the IDBI cricket team (Parag, Mony and me) he would tell us stories of the days he would play cricket - if I remember right he fancied himself as an off spinner. He must have been good with his guile and his way of foxing people.
.JPG) |
| The picture by Landmark Bookstore guys - Immensely grateful |
Professionally he had one of the clearest minds I have seen - he understood finance well, he understood business and marketing and he understood human nature. Not many were good at so many aspects of managing businesses - it's just a sign of intelligence. For example, he would encourage me to go on client visits in Bombay which was unheard of then (but which is such a basic thing when you're marketing anything). He always did what was good for the institution - no hanky panky. As a boss he would take time to mentor you, understand your limitations and give you inputs from there, was very patient and mostly fun. He made the grind of the work bearable with his happy demeanour.
He wrote an article with Mony, a very academic one which I would never have read but which made sense enough for the Economic Times to publish it. It was sent to the PMO and the FMO I hear. Quite an achievement and I remember him being quite excited about it.
He could simplify things in his own way to explain to the level of intelligence - one day he told me that we must understand industry like we understand a dosa stall - what's capex, what working capital, what's debt. what's equity. I used that analogy for ever in my classes (still use it, copyright Mr Subaraman). He could also complicate things and ask me stuff like what this ratio meant when used with another ratio and I am like sir, I can barely calculate this ratio right why are you asking me these questions. He would laugh and say, but you should know these things. Never with a 'how come you don't even know this' but with a 'I challenge you to learn this and believe you can'. That's a sign of a great motivator, someone who can always think of interesting ways to challenge you and make you feel equal to the task. He would have made a great coach, teacher.
I remember how he would deal with clients. If they came with some political pressure etc he would first put them in place by asking questions like - why is your company named so and so. It was a simple question but it gave an insight into their mindset. (I used that a lot later on, still use it.) He would be quite direct and sharp if they fooled around. I remember one time he went with our colleague Sati to recover some money from a client to Calcutta and was told that the concerned man was not in office. He figured they were fooling him so he came outside and hid behind a pillar or something and caught that guy when he stepped out of the office later! It's exactly the kind of stuff he was capable of doing.
And oh, he would get wild with any client who was lax enough to pronounce his name wrong - it is Subaraman not Subbaraman - only one b and not two, he would reprimand them severely! Many a promoter went red in the face trying to get it right, more so the gentlemen who were not from the South who squirmed and died to pronounce it right. I can still visualise him doing that.
Another time, he and I went to visit a windmill farm in Andhra Pradesh which had some 20-25 metre high windmills. He decided we should climb up the ladder inside the windmill. It was a tough, vertical climb and all we had were rungs to hold on to, but he climbed. As a sportsman who was still playing some amount of cricket I found it difficult but not my boss who was all smiles at the top of that swaying tower! With him you could always expect the unexpected.
I came away to Hyderabad after our division was shut but kept in touch with him. When I quit I told him. When he came to Hyderabad to meet Ravindra, another colleague of ours, he called me over to chat and I went to Ravindra's house and met him.
When I visited Chennai for the launch of my first book launch in 2008, I invited him and he was glad to come all the way from Tiruvanmiyur to Mount Road at Nungambakkam, where Landmark Bookstore was. He said he would not buy the book and I was like sir, you have to buy, otherwise how will I make any money. Anyway he was adamant and made me buy my own book and gift it to him which was his guru dakshina and I was glad to do that because I learned so much from him. Even gladder that Landmark people took some pictures and he is there in the audience which is the only picture of his that I have. He read the book and gave me his feedback - this time very positive unlike his opinions of my poems. The next time I went for a book launch to Chennai for '50 Not Out' I invited him but he was away on some consulting work.
I kept updating Mr Subaraman of all the developments in my life - would call him every time in Chennai, even from Hyderabad at times. He would be very happy to hear from me and asked about my friends, my writing. He would always end with a positive word, a pat on the back, so you came away with a smile. I do not remember calling many other bosses like that. Of course I would send him copies of my books when I could.
 |
| The book launch event - R Mohan, renowned sports journalist, K Srikkanth, former Indian cricket captain, me and Late VB Chandrasekhar, former Indian cricketer and dear friend |
Last I spoke to him was about a year ago when Parag came to visit me in Hyderabad. He was in Bengaluru then and he was happy to hear from us. And last year when Mony and I were in Chennai we spoke about him - don't know if we called him though.
I am sure Mr Subaraman had enough going on in his life, but he would never tell us of his troubles and bore them alone and with a smile. There's so much to say and so many things to write but enough to say that Mr Subaraman, you've made a deep impact on me as you must have on so many more and I believe there's no better way to live a life. Every extra moment you spent explaining something, showing something through your actions, teaching, giving feedback, asking a question, challenging us, being eternally curious about life - every bit made a difference. And I hope to imbibe some of it which is the best way to remember you.
This morning I heard from Sati that Mr Subaraman had moved on after a brief illness. Adieu, Mr Subaraman. It was such a pleasure knowing you. And for sure, I will not write a poem or a depressing note about you - I know you would not like it. You always wanted the world to be sunny and that's the way it should be.
.JPG)
