As I sit and reflect on moments, experiences and people who taught me something in the week gone by, I am grateful for the exquisite and bountiful thali that life presented to me.
The best dish had a hint of bitterness (as it made me see something in myself that I am not proud of). It came to me courtesy of a young lady named Alina Alam, who was speaking at PRana. She was a wonderful storyteller with an incredible story to tell and she is just getting started. Alina is the force behind Mitti Cafe, a chain of hope in a world often filled only with despair. She feeds people the ability to see possibilities in themselves. Mitti Cafe today has served over 10 million meals across 35 cafes. It is a non-profit organisation committed to the cause of employment and livelihoods for people with special needs. Alina and her team work towards creating economic independence and dignity for adults with physical, intellectual and psychiatric disabilities and persons from other vulnerable communities.
What was my takeaway after listening to her story? Simply put it was my inability to see ability – I was too caught up in their ‘disability’. The thought that I had been unconsciously biased was not one I enjoyed recognising. Like a guilty thought stealing into my mind space, I saw it for a few seconds and with relief that nobody else noticed, quickly squashed it. But I have to be honest, with myself. When I first walked into the event in the passageway outside a few young people were wearing yellow tee-shirts and sitting in wheelchairs. As I scanned the room looking for people I knew and wanted to meet, I looked through these beautiful yellow tee-shirts. I saw the wheelchairs not them.
Only on my way out of the event when I stopped to talk with Alina and tell her what an inspiration she is, did I get a chance to shake the hands of a few of my new friends in yellow. Her storytelling on stage helped me see my inability to see what was right in front of me.
The next delicious dish on my thali of experiences was a conversation with Abhishek Poddar. Among the many hats he wears as a business leader, he is also the force behind India’s finest private museum – the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP) in Bengaluru. Abhishek has literally put India on the World Museum map, making art and photography accessible to everyone. Tuesdays are free entry for all and some areas are always open to anyone who cares to visit. I asked him what art is… “An idea or anything that makes you dream” is what he said. Abhishek’s story of creating a world-class museum in India is the masterpiece that he has dared to dream of and brought alive.
Another wonderful speaker that added to my thali of lessons was Imtiaz Ali. In his inimitable style, he told us the story of a home cook who found worldwide love and acclaim on the sets of some of the biggest movie sets around the world. He kept us engrossed and delivered a strong and clear “moral of the story”. Imtiaz underlined the need for us to embrace diversity and celebrate our uniqueness. The power of food to cut across geographies and to unite people was a lovely reminder of our sameness on one hand and also a reminder to embrace one’s unique life skill and how that can be a calling card to success.
Devdutt Pattanaik in his keynote used words to paint a picture of the many India’s. On the subject of reputation, he said “We don’t need to impress the world. We just need to explain who we are… we are a diverse and complicated country”. One of the ways he explains the difference between our beautiful country and others that are more homogeneous is his comparison of a “master chef” dish and “master thali”. In master chef if a contestant is asked to make a particular dish the ability for the judges to sample it and find a winner is fairly easy. In the case of a thali, while the elements on the plate are all the same, the way each person chooses to eat it are different. The unique combination and proportion of each element that the person chooses to mix on their plate defines the final taste and enjoyment. This complexity and nuance are what makes the taste of India so different from anything else in the world.
He ended on a note of optimism when someone in the audience asked him how he looked to the future, as India approached the milestone of 2047 and 100 years of Independence. He said he hoped that India would “listen to the world and be understood”. This is in essence what the discipline of Public Relations aspires to cultivate – a two-way dialogue between a country (or organisation) and its publics. To listen, understand and be understood is what creates the relationships that the public relations industry aims to cultivate.
The survey-based report ‘Bharat ki Baat 2024’ commissioned by PRCAI to local circles, was also launched at PRana. It received 180000 responses from 40,000 citizens located in 396 districts of India. The aim was to decode their hopes and aspirations across 10 key areas. Listening to each other and the world is something that we all need to embrace as we approach India @100. Embracing our differences and holding on to our uniqueness is an admirable goal to reach for, cheers to the amazing thali of diversity that India is and offers the world.
There was so much that PRana had on offer, many more conversations and speakers, each with insights to offer, but using Devdutt’s analogy of the thali, for today this is the set of dishes that I chose to dip into. My key reflections from the event are shaped by how I combine them into this particular article. A reminder to myself to seek to see in people their ability, for when I see it in them, they too see it in themselves. This is the ability that I wish for all my brothers and sisters across India, today, tomorrow and @100.
The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
A trusted coaching and communications professional, Nikhil Dey is a certified life and leadership coach (International Coach Federation - ICF). Nurturing talent and helping clients achieve their goals is what makes him happy. He loves learning from students of communication, teaching courses and guest lecturing at various educational institutions. When he is not working you will find him on the tennis court or out for long walks with his family and four legged friends.
Previously he has held senior leadership positions at Weber Shandwick and Genesis BCW.
He can be reached on twitter @deydreaming
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