A passionate "Dr." becomes the honorable "Dato"

The Dr. i worked with, had lesser grey hair!!!

Today morning, I received a mail from Dr. Palan who was my Chairman at SMR. Just to bring you up-to-date on current affairs, The change of scenery is that he still is the Chairman and I am not there anymore.

The crux of the mail was that he has been bestowed the title of "Dato" by the government of Malaysia. This title is the highest civilian award given to the citizens who have contributed to the growth of that country and society. This indeed is an apt recognition of an unassuming genius who will always be an enigma to me.

I remember meeting him in 1999 at Taj during my job interview. He has this unique gift of making people comfortable in the first meeting itself. He always greets, even strangers, as one would greet a long lost friend. He does that then and he still has it in him. I met him after a long gap of 10 years in a marriage. Once he started speaking, it was as if the long time gap never existed. The 10 years disappeared in thin air and we were communicating as if we were still colleagues. He has this fantastic ability to make you feel important and respected, even if you - like me - ditch him and the company in search of greener pastures.  Did my side of pasture get greener??? I don't know. Maybe, got a bit blue ;)

During the days of my employment with him and SMR, I had considered him to be a mystery. He was extremely intelligent, very popular and had a lot of contacts. Still, he would talk to me - who had about 1/millionth of his knowledge - as if I were an equal. For a young, underdeveloped mind of mine, that was a bit too much. I suppose I was just too overwhelmed to understand the emotional bond. It also did not help that I had too many walls of pre-judictions built around my mind.

He was like the "Duracell" bunny and was going on-and-on-and-on.... untiring. I don't think such energy came from his body. He derived it from his mind... and more importantly, his heart.

When he was in Malaysia, he was in office; When he was at home, he was working. I remember him suffering from backpain but still continue travelling around the globe for training during the week and come back and conduct weekend sessions at the office premises. He used to clean up the office training room after his sessions and never needed a coordinator. While he was not training, he was writing books or producing training movies. Even while sitting to meet somebody, he would make a few calls to utilize whatever tiny window of time he got.

His work ethics were immaculate. As a trainer, he was the typical role model that all participants had to emulate. He had elephantic memory and recollect the name of somebody he met 10 years back or remember where he kept a small piece of paper with information relevant to a current proposal.

He was the one who identified that I might have "people" issues. But, true to my cocky character, I never bothered to rectify that important aspect of my personality and paid for it later. I am still trying to learn those skills and remember his observation whenever I cross the boundaries.

Once, I saw him crying during a company dinner. The interpretation of my immature mind was that he was weak. But, how wrong was I not to recognize those passionate tears. Passion - that is the right word that can define Dr. Palan. His personified the word "Passion" - through his words and action. He truly was a person who could stretch beyond his physical and intellectual faculties purely because of the passion he had for his work.

During my farewell speech, he mentioned me as only the third person at whom he gets very angry, the other two being his wife and his brother. It never occurred to me, until much later, it was a very special thing. He took his liberties because he treated me as somebody very close. What I didn't realize was that getting angry was just a natural extension of a passionate person. The sad thing is that I had to get a Masters in Psychology to understand all this stuff, which I would have understood if I had the common sense of a Kindergartner. 

I suppose I might have stayed back with him if I were not an insensitive moron lost in my ego... with an icing of rationality. I realize it was not about the money or compensation. It was about the experience of being associated with such a great personality.

It was much later, after I became a dad, did I realize that silly, immature things that we do as youngsters shouldn't affect an opportunity to be in touch with a person of substance and quality. I wrote a mail to Dr.Palan, with maybe, putting my attitude aside, and saying I might have done a mistake. I felt being asked to stay in a house that I didn't like, or being shouted at for extending a stay at Middle-east, wasn't reason enough for me to quit. I suppose it showed a side where I was not equipped for the roller-coaster rides with such passionate individuals. He responded positively and told I am most welcome to be in touch with him.

Being a father, I know how much I miss not spending more time with my sons. I don't remember Dr. Palan spending lengthy time with his kids. I am pretty sure he might have missed the family when he spent long hours at the office. These are the sacrifices that escape our notice. Sacrifices that visionaries are ready to make to achieve what they set out to. Such sacrifices make these achievements much sweeter. I hope he finds the elusive time to share with his loved ones.

With his elevation, I read that Mrs. Palan also became Datin.Mrs. Palan. A welcome recognition indeed for being a great support for the Dr. He is truly fortunate to have such an understanding partner.

Thank you, Dato' Dr. Palan, for showing us where passion can lead us to... Your conviction about your vision was so strong that you knew that future was waiting to happen and the present was only incidental.

Note: If you already know him, please send a congratulatory note. If you don't, better get to know him. you won't find many like him!!!