Temple architecture prompts business wisdom

The Brihadeeswarar temple in Thanjavur, built 1,004 years ago, came in for rich accolades from MV Subbiah, the former chairman of the Chennai based Murugappa Group. Terming it as a prime example of collective skills brought together, he said pride in one’s work could help create masterpieces.

“This year 2014, is exactly 1,000 years since Rajendra Chola, the son of Rajaraja Chola, ascended the throne and took over the reins from his father. Around 2,000 temples of granite were built during the reign of the father and the son, in an area that was just a rice belt. There is not an ounce of granite for 100 km around the Brihadeeswarar temple,” he said.

The fact that a thousand years ago, the emperor decided to build the highest granite structure in the world, “spanning 64 metres, with the topmost slab of granite weighing 80 tonnes is proof that inculcating a sense of pride and boosting skills in the local populace can actually transform the landscape,” he said.

Subbiah was present in Mumbai to interact with the students of the Visionary Leaders for Manufacturing (VLFM) Project, a flagship programme under the Indo-Japan Joint Technical Cooperation Agreement that was set up to develop ‘visionary leaders’, who would lead and strengthen the growth of the Indian manufacturing sector.

Exhorting the students, who comprised senior executives from several corporates, to transform India’s skills landscape, Subbiah said it was imperative that lessons needed to be learned from Indian culture and history to help many individuals realise their dreams.

The first Chairman of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Subbiah said the kind of visionary thinking, to encourage and develop the skills of the local people, enabled the king to achieve the impossible. Subbiah is a third generation member of the Murugappa family. Though he retired as the Group Chairman in 2004, after 43 years of work, he said he was dragged from his “vanaprastha” state of the last 10 years, to mentor and foster young leaders for the manufacturing industries.

“Just as Rajaraja Chola ensured that the people who worked under him had pride in their work, there is an element of pride that we need to bring in to the manufacturing sector. Our pride should be communicated through our products and sent across our country, just as Rajaraja Chola did with the temples in Cambodia,” he said.

The patriarch of the Murugappa family, and the former executive chairman of the Murugappa Group, said all the temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia were built by the skilled manpower that was sent out from Thanjavur. He exhorted the VLFM students to extend their learning and skills to the villages.

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