The Hindu Business Line : ‘A spirit of learning & enquiry’

For a man with his academic, scholarly and professional track record, Prof S. Ramachander (Chander as he was more popularly known to his good friends) was self-effacing to a fault.

Even in the last book of his which I reviewed (Manager@Work), he was almost wondrously apologetic in his introduction, “How could I, who have spent half his career before these post-industrial changes in India happened, help by saying anything worthwhile or sensible?”

For a man schooled in the best of management institutions (Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad’s inaugural batch and Harvard Business School), Chander did not confine himself to just business writings and thoughts. That way, he was far more eclectic.

Subjects such as creativity and innovation, the science of complexity and chaos, thinking, philosophy (he was a Jiddu Krishnamurti acolyte) absorbed him thoroughly.

Apart from a busy professional life in top-notch companies (Pond’s, TI, JWT, Shaw Wallace), Chander was also a respected academic, having taught at IIM-A and British Open University. In his later life, his approach to management and to life itself was much more oriented to Indian philosophy rather than the Western-oriented linear, sequential approach. His view, which grew stronger over the years, was that Indian spirituality and thought helped individuals remain centred, whatever the situation.

In a sense, he always remained rooted in the Indian context even while having a very global world view.

Our association was on several levels – as fellow consultants, visiting faculty in IFMR, as my client, as a reviewer of his books, but most of all as a friend, philosopher and mentor.

I had, in fact, suggested to him that he embark on a work of fiction, a sort of managerial English August. I didn’t get an answer.

Maybe “the answer my friend, is blowing in the wind” along with your evergreen spirit of learning and enquiry.

(The writer is President, Scope e-Knowledge Center and was associated with Prof Ramachander both professionally and personally for several years.)

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