The millionaire chairman of Silicon Valley and Ishwar Chandra Sagar

It is 1865 and a young gentleman is traveling on a train to attend the lecture of a very famous Indian social reformer. As he arrives at his destination, he searches for a porter to carry his very small bag. When he saw a very odd-looking person wearing an Indian dhoti and Kurta, he asked him to carry his bag in exchange for some money. That middle-aged man when asked the person that why does he need someone to carry such a small bag, although the gentleman seems very young, the youngster haughtily replied that it is below his dignity to carry a bag. That ordinary-looking Indian old man accepted his offer and carried that young man's bag.

That young man was very excited about attending Ishwar Chandra Sagar's lecture. Ishwar Chandra Sagar who some of us might know just because the famous Hoogly Bridge is named after him, was a very famous Indian author, thinker, activist. social reformer and humanist. He was an intellectual person who fought against Hindu custom where widow remarriage was considered to be a taboo and flagrant breach of Indian society.

Many British and Indian intellects were present at the lecture. When the lecturer arrived at the hall, that young man was ashamed and embarrassed by himself to see that porter, who carried his bag at the station was none other than Ishwar Chandra Sagar himself. After the lecture young man was remorseful and ashamed. He fell on his knees and asked for an apology.

So what is the relation of the Silicon Valley millionaire chairman to this story? Pindar has five rules of success in any corporate world, which he tells Joe, a banker. Pindar has a firm belief that appearances can be deceiving. and truth is, they nearly always are. As in the above story, this point was proven by an Indian reformer, almost 150 years ago. To know more about the conversation between Pindar and Joe, read The GO-Giver book by Bob Burg and David Mann. Also, when Indians are celebrating 75 years of Independence, I want to pay my tribute to people like Ishwar Chandra Sagar who freed India from all these inhuman practices and brought a more liberal and sensible change in Indian society.