Perfect Show with Himanshu Rai : Exploring Life's Passion!

After a good long break of 4 months, Iam happy to present the next edition of Perfect Show. This show is something which I had been planning for a long time & will be liked by many. The Show guest; apart from being my Professor in PG, is someone who is highly respected & looked up-to. I had admired him both as a teacher as well as an Individual. May it be his innovative way of making the classroom session interesting or the eloquence with which he utters the Slokas, he always leaves an indelible mark on his students. It’s my pleasure to have Dr. Himanshu Rai as a guest in this edition of Perfect Show. 

Dr Himanshu Rai teaches PG and Doctoral students at Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, India, and his core area being Human Resource Management, Negotiation, and Leadership. He has also taught at XLRI Jamshedpur. Apart from academia, he had a corporate stint with Tata Steel for eight years where he played a pivotal role in developing Quality Systems for his Departments and the Communication Policy for the Company. In addition to his professional commitments, he is deeply involved in academic research, training executives across the board in various industries and management consultancy.

The latest feather in his cap was Common Admission Test 2010 (CAT 2010), as the Convener of which he successfully led the largest format change in world’s testing history exceeding all global standards of testing. He hails from a Vedically oriented background, making him a connoisseur of Sanskrit literature. He is strongly committed to yoga, which he has also taught to his students and is passionate about adventure sports, having led a dozen expeditions in the Garhwal Himalayas. An avid quizzer, he has conducted about 50 quiz shows across the country and has had a delightful stint in dramatics with many plays to his credit. He also juggles a keen interest in reading and collecting books with a strong dedication to music. You can know more about him here

Let’s begin with the Show now!

Guest: Dr. Himanshu Rai (HR)

Host: Prashant Sree (PS)

The PERFECT SHOW

PS: Welcome to the Perfect Show, Sir. Thank you for accepting my invitation to be in the Perfect Show.

HR: Thank You Prashant. It’s my pleasure be in the Show.

PS: Starting with the Perfect Show, What are you passionate about in Life?

HR: I am passionate about living, and I am passionate about learning. Life is beautiful and I love living every moment of it. In particular what excites me about it is the tremendous opportunity it provides me to learn and experience. I do it through my passion for mountaineering, trekking, reading, music and yoga.

PS: That’s sounds wonderful. To keep pursuing your passion in-spite of your busy schedule shows your passion for life. What are your life lessons which you would like to share with others?

HR: What I have learnt is that detachment is a virtue that can help you become a better human being as well as a professional. The concept of “Nishkama Karma” suggested by Krishna in Gita is the beacon that guides my life to a large extent.  

PS: If you could change one thing in world, what would that be?

HR: It is impossible to change just one thing for the consequences of that change would affect the entire course of history as it plays out. However, if I leave alone the intellectualization J and just play it like it is meant to be, the one thing I would change is the position and movement of tectonic plates! We seem to be having one too many earthquakes these days!

PS: I would have preferred the former reply to the latterJ. Who is your favorite Mythological Hero and why?

HR: My favorite mythological (or historical, depending on one’s faith) hero is Krishna. His life itself is a huge learning with the Gita being the icing on the cake. He is one character who is at once artful, diplomatic, detached, and sagacious. The way he handles issues, both philosophical and realpolitik, is amazing!

PS: What would you like to evangelize in your life?

HR: The need for our country to focus on primary education and community health, especially for the female child.

PS: What do you consider to be your charm, which you feel attracts people to you?

HR: My sense of humor.

PS: I can surely vouch for that. :) What is your Thumb Rule for Life? J

HR: ‘I don’t believe in miracles; I rely on them. Occasionally I create some!’. It actually is inspired by an Og Mandino quote which said, “I can accomplish far more than I have, and I will, for why would the miracle which produced me end with my birth? Why can I not extend that miracle to my deeds of today? “. Further, I have realized that I have been more fortunate than many others in my life and I owe it to divine intervention. J Being an eternal optimist, I expect these interventions to continue and in the journey, possibly, make a difference to some other lives as well.

PS: Wonderful saying; it is one of my favorite quote. It is certainly motivating to enable people to create miracles in their lives. Being a book enthusiast, what are your three must read recommendations for others & the reasons?

HR: My choice would be;

Gita: for it teaches you how to live

Siddhartha (by Herman Hesse): for it teaches you how to explore

Any PG Wodehouse book: for it teaches you how to write!

PS: Quite nice! I have found these books to be inspiring & enlightening, especially Siddhartha. Moving onto Entertainment, Name three movies which you have found most inspiring?

HR: My top three choices would be:

Life is beautiful, Gandhi & Dabangg

PS: Dabangg! Iam curious to know why Dabangg features in the list?

HR: Dabangg unapologetically presents a hero with darker shades of character, a Hindi speaking Robin Hood, but who is also a cop. Through its protagonist, it represents the importance of courage and also elements of realpolitik.

PS: Certainly, Dabangg did set a kind of precedent in the Bollywood Industry. What is your advice to the youngsters; on how to be successful in their professional & personal life?

HR: More often than not we are surrounded by negative thoughts for we have been told by people around us that we are not good enough, or not as good as someone else. You must learn to love yourself for what you are. Do not seek love or approbation from outside; seek it from within. Positive thoughts have to come from within; they can’t come from outside.

PS: My next question is regarding the Human Resource field. It is considered to be an easy job requiring not much effort. Can you share your thoughts on what could be done to make a difference in this field?

HR: Human Resource is all about motivation, and to do so you need to understand people and their individual needs. Having dealt with ideas and machines earlier, I can say with complete conviction that dealing with human beings is the most challenging job, one that has an extremely high emotional cost. So the statement that HR is an easy job is a myth.

One needs to understand that motivation is all about direction, intensity and persistence, and to instill that in people, one needs to observe and understand people with a detached perspective. 

PS: What is the skill sets required to be successful managers/leaders?
HR: Skills required to be a good leader: Communication, Negotiation, Networking, Persuasion; Traits required to be a good leader: Emotional Intelligence, Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Openness to new experiences and people

PS: On a final note, Iam sure this question would be of interest to the wannabe IIM aspirers. What is the secret to unlock the impenetrable CAT?

HR: There is no Secret ;). On a serious note, IIM Aspirants ought to focus on their basics in terms of the four areas of testing: Quant, Verbal, DI and LR. They need to analyze their preparation objectively, identify their strengths and weaknesses and then plan accordingly as to which areas to devote more time on in the prep stage. It is always useful to have a blank day just before the test, so that the mind is well rested and stress free on the test day. Also, they need not get bogged down by expectations, either raised through self or by others. They need to understand that CAT is not life, but a part of life and life has much offer to offer beyond CAT.

PS: Well said, Sir. With that, we come to the end of this show edition. It’s been a real pleasure having you in the Show and interacting with you. On behalf of my show readers and myself, I thank you for sharing your life lessons with us. Iam sure your life lessons would have been inspiring and motivating to young readers like me.

HR: It was nice to be a part of the Show. Thank you for your wishes and I wish you the very best too…

That's the end of this edition of the Perfect Show. I hope you enjoyed this edition. Let me take this opportunity to wish you and your loved one's a Happy & Safe Diwali!