Almost five years back (or may be more) I had a chance meeting with Rajendra Gupta at S Vyasa University in Bangalore. Both of us were attending a conference and sharing a room and we got talking till late night/early morning. He had mentioned about his wife’s outstanding work in a school in Muslim dominated area, which had full backing of the community.
I was amazed listening to him about his wife’s work and wanted to know more about it but never got a chance to meet Rajendra Gupta again. Thanks to the author Rashmi Bansal for profiling work of Chitra Gupta at Zeenat Mahal Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya No. 2 and also featuring Rajendra Gupta in her profile.
Finally my thirst to know about the work of wife of Rajendra Gupta has been quenched. One unique aspect of the book is giving due credit to the better half of successful people featured in the book. Without the support of life partner it is not possible to succeed and have a happy life and these profiles reestablish this fact. And yes, Chitra Gupta transformed a low-performing government school into an institution of excellence.
The book, Shine Bright, is about inspiring stories of CEO’s who are intrepreneurs, that is, managers doing the job of entrepreneurs, but within the ambit of a job. The book profiles usual suspects like managers from Unilever, Tata, Mahindra and each one of them deserves a place in the book by sheer merit.
But what makes the book outstanding is inclusion of Chitra Gupta or Harsh Bhanwala, Chairman, NABARD. In a nation where majority thinks no one works in government service, appreciation of these individuals work will not only help in change the public perception of government departments and its employees, but also might inspire few more government employees to put their best foot forward.
Manu Jain’s story is like turning the table: A successful entrepreneur-turned-employee, who then became super successful. For an intrapreneur, intrapreneurship is not limited to job alone. After clearing CAT, Manu Jain went for interviews at three IIM’s out of the five he had received calls from, wearing kurta-pyjama — and yes he was selected by each one of them.
Vineet Gautam’s story will inspire many individuals in our country where degree, name of college, time spent in a job are often considered benchmark of success. The glimpses in the overall life of the individuals profiled make the reading interesting and learning’s are easy to absorb. This is the strength of the book.
The eight profiles in the book have been segregated into three sections which have been named aptly as Srishti, Drishti, and Sewa. The story of Dr Prahlad Chandra Agrawal, father of the author written as a note is gross injustice to one of the illustrious space scientist of India and hope the author will write about him and his work in details in one of her future works. This book has lot to offer to every reader.
Book: Shine Bright
Author: Rashmi Bansal
Publisher: Westland
Pages: 283; Price: Rs 350
