Nuggets On
formative years
Discussions around how the leaders were influenced by the climate in which they grew up and how that has impacted them as individuals and the choices they have made as they have gone about their journeys
Where the seeds of transition were sown
How did Amish Tripathi go from being a banker to a bestselling author? You might think that making this transition would have involved a life altering event. But sometimes, unknown to you, the seeds of transition might be nurtured in your life, through your lifestyle, habits, hobbies or the even the milieu around you.
Early childhood wiring
How much of you as an individual can be attributed to early childhood experiences? In this nugget hear Ravi speak about three main influences in his early years that shaped his personality. Did you know that he had to take a year off from school due to medical reasons and this turned out to be a boon in shaping his boundless curiosity!
Early childhood wiring
The first few years often shape a big part of who we are. Nandan talks about the significance of having spent 6 years in a small town in shaping his independence and cultural adaptability. He also refers to the role of his family in terms of shaping his choices around social service.
Early childhood wiring
A lot of who we are often gets baked in our early years. It is often a function of the context we grow up in and the family culture. Vedika talks about how her home environment played a key role in shaping some of the behaviours which have helped her in the journey till date.
Early childhood wiring
A lot of who we are often gets formed in the context of our childhood. Vinita reflects on her upbringing, her parents’ influence and her passion for extracurricular activities and links it to how that has played a key role in her growth as a leader over time.
Early childhood wiring
Zia talks about how her mother’s strict parenting in her early years played a key role in shaping her as a person. She talks about the criticality of the extra-curricular activities that she pursued and the differing roles that her mother and father played through her growing up years.
Early formative years
Rama talks about the parenting context in which she grew up and talks about how that has played a big role in shaping her journey till date.
Early formative years (including re-attempting IIT-JEE)
Dheeraj talks about his childhood and how his parents have given him an interesting mix of resolve and humility. He talks about how he thinks about parenting given his context. He also talks about how he processed the trade-offs (including the notion of taking the plunge when the worst is not bad enough) when he retook JEE in 1993 despite getting through in 1992.
Early formative years
Anu talks about the influence of values, freedom of choice and financial independence through her growing up years. She also talks about the criticality of role-modeling behaviours that set the right example for the boys (not just for the girls) that are growing up.
Early formative years
Vishy spoke about how his habits and attitudes have been shaped by his parents. He also talks about his style of chess being significantly influenced by his parents. He traces his pragmatism on the chess board and open-ness to ideas (in terms of borrowing from other leading minds) as something that possibly was influenced by the style of his parents.
Early formative years
Meher talks about how her early years have shaped her approach to life, specifically around giving and social impact. She also talks about how her parents treated her and her brother in a gender-agnostic way and the impact of that on her attitudes.
Early Childhood and Dyslexia
KV Sridhar (Pops) talks about his childhood and how he had challenges due to Dyslexia (which was discovered much later). He mentions that in a lot of ways his story is not that different from Taare Zameen Par (Bollywood movie starting Aamir Khan). He also talks about his daughter being diagnosed with dyslexia and how he worked with her to overcome the problem.
Early formative years
Suresh talks about the importance of values that he derived from his childhood. He talks about the emphasis on Goddess Saraswathi (education) than Goddess Lakshmi (Wealth) in his family. He also discusses the important of Rishi Valley school and Jiddu Krishnamurthy in shaping his attitudes and beliefs and how that has helped him through his journey.
Early formative years
Devudutt talks about the profound influence of some of his teachers when he was studying medicine. He elaborates that they would often push him to think about the Why behind various elements beyond the what (anatomy) and the how (physiology). He mentions how that has discipline of asking the Why question has influenced his thinking and his approach towards mythology.
Early formative years
Amit talks about how his parents have influenced his attitudes towards giving and his parenting style. He talks about how he and his siblings were encouraged to be grounded and contribute with their capabilities (not just money) to help the needy. He also talks about his parenting style where he emphasizes nudging and role-modelling than prescribing and lecturing.
Early formative years
Roopa talks about how she grew up amidst nature in the North Eastern part of India and how some of her perspectives on working women started getting shaped right from an age of around 10. She also talks about her first brush with Mumbai when she comes to pursue a B.Com in Sydenham College but quickly find the city overwhelming and goes back to Guwahati to pursue B.Sc in Mathematics. She also talks about the peculiar situation where despite clearing the entrance process for IIMA, she is unable to join. She decides to teach in a primary school and appears for CAT yet again.
Early formative years
Neera talks about how her early years in a Boarding school in Bangalore (while her parents were in Canada) shaped her as a person and gave her a grounded understanding of India despite her parents immigrating to Canada after graduating from IIT Kharagpur.
Early formative years
Deepa talks about the discipline that she got from an upbringing in the Armed Forces context. She specifically discusses the point around planning for tomorrow and having Plan B and Plan C for situations. She also discusses the mindset of being prepared for the unseen which has helped her overcome extreme obstacles.
Path to becoming a Historian
Dr. Guha speaks about his journey from playing cricket for St. Stephens (along with players like Kirti Azad who played for India and was part of the 1983 World Cup winning Cricket team) to pursuing a PhD in IIM Kolkata to eventually becoming a historian. He talks about the context behind some of the choices along the way and talks about the role of chance at various inflection points.
More from Dr. Ramachandra Guha
Early formative years
Falguni speaks about how her childhood shaped her personality and her wiring in the years to come. She speaks about how she and her brother were treated equally across various aspects of life and the independence parents gave her to try different things (trekking, traveling to Kashmir, going on an exchange programme etc)
Formative years
Venkat speaks about the fact that he is a lucky recipient of the Ovarian Lottery and speaks about the environment in which he has grown up. He specifically speaks about the opportunity to interact with children from different segments of the society that helped him build a greater sense of empathy towards the world around him. He also speaks about some of the early choices in terms of discipline and how he ended up at IIM Ahmedabad.
Raising “Giving children”
Venkat shares his perspectives around how we can raise kids with a concern for the world around. She shares some thoughts on how we can engage with the child when he/she asks us uncomfortable questions. He also illustrates the criticality of reflection in slowly building compassion in the child.
Insights for parents as they bring up boys and girls
Sally shares some insights for parents as we bring up our boys and girls. She specifically speaks about how we could get boys to listen more and girls to let go without being trapped by the quest for perfection which could be counter productive beyond a point.
Formative years
Harsh speaks about how his personality was shaped in the early years. He speaks about diverse interests his family members had (ranging across Indian Classical Music, Sailing, Golf etc) that informed his thinking. He also speaks about values such as frugality, tolerance and consensus building one builds while growing up in a joint family construct.
Listening to stories as a child
Raghu reflects on his childhood and how his grandfather would read the Mahabharata or the Ramayana and also use those stories as an opportunity to share a self-reflective story about their life. He speaks about how this approach might have influenced his style of interacting with people and his teaching approach.
More from Raghu Ananthanarayanan
Going 'inside' as a child
Ethan speaks about the role of his father in shaping his interests. He speaks about his father’s interest in the Bhagavad Gita and other elements of Easter Philosophy and how he would encourage Ethan to go inside to find the kernel of truth if something bad happens. He speaks about how some of that might have percolated down to him and his career choices.
