Index

Introduction i

Values to Inspire us at an Individual Level

1 Gardener's Advice 3

2 Toiling at School 5

3 Mango Vendor 7

4 Vegetarianism 9

5 'No' to Borrowing Money 11

6 Keeping Promises 13

7 Living within Means 15

8 Courage v/s Tradition 17

9 Putting others before Self 19

10 Organizational Skills 22

11 Sartorial Simplicity 23

12 Self-Help Training 25

13 Pocket Money 27

14 Time Management 30

15 Punctuality 32

16 Patience Pays 34

17 Non-Attention Seeking Personality 36

18 Simple Living, High Thinking 38

19 After Nehru, Who? 40

20 Family Man 42

21 Message in a Car 44

22 Devious Driving Licence 46

23 Indian Values 49

24 My Grandmother 51rd

25 3 January 53

Values to Enhance our Interpersonal Relationships

26 Strong Work Ethic 57

27 Crisis Management 59

28 Purushotham Das Tandon and Pandit Nehru 61

29 Man Management 62

30 The Great Motivator 63

31 Chamber of Commerce 65

32 Tea Party 69

33 Trusting those Below the Radar 70

34 Raising Delicate Issues Unabashedly 72

35 Coalition Politics 75

36 Two Deputy Leaders 77

37 Touching Elders Feet 80

38 Mediation in Uttar Pradesh (UP) 82

39 Keep Enemies Closer 85

40 Empathy Towards Subordinates 87

41 Chairing a Meeting of the

Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) 89

42 Aap Saath Chalna Pasand Karenge? 91

43 Pratap Singh Kairon 94

44 Morarji Opts Out of Shastris Cabinet 96

45 T.T. Krishnamachari 98

46 Relations with Indira Gandhi 99

47 The Witty Shastri 102

48 Affable Personality 104

49 Saying No Elegantly 106

50 Never Pulling Ranks 108

51 Interacting with Girls 110

Values Vital for a Healthy Society

52 Caste Connotations 115

53 Family v/s Country 117

54 Dreams of Serving the Nation 119

55 Regard for Sincere and Committed Employees 121

56 Against Untouchability 123

57 Handling Unresponsive Officials 125

58 Accessible to All People 126

59 General Elections 128

60 Praying to God in 30 Seconds 129

61 Akali Agitation - Fast unto Death 130

62 Kashmir Issue 133

63 Prisoner of Indecision 136

64 War against Pakistan 138

65 Standing Tall 141

66 A Credible Leader 143

67 Jai Jawan Jai Kisan 146

68 War Heroes 147

69 True Hospitality 149

70 Shastrijis visit to Amul, Anand 151

71 Super Communist 153

72 A Touching Tribute 155

73 Select Bibliography 157

Punctuality(Circa 1962)

Shastriji was a punctual person and taught us also to be on

time too. Once he was going out of station on a special plane

and checked with me the previous evening if I would be

interested in coming along. I happily agreed since the

following day was a school holiday. He said he would leave the

house at 8 o'clock in the morning as the take-off was

scheduled at 8.30. Since I could not get ready on time, I tried

getting to the airport in another car. By the time I reached, it

was 8.35 am. The doors of the plane were closed and the

engines were running. Although I was just 5 minutes late,

Shastriji did not wait for me

and took off and I was left

behind. I felt very

embarrassed and

wept profusely at

the airport itself.

In the evening

when Shastriji

came back, my

mother

Lalita Shastri was annoyed with him and said that he could

have waited for just 5 minutes instead of leaving me behind.

All he said was, If I didn't do that, how would Anil ever learn

to be punctual.

This was a big lesson for me and to date, I do my best to be

punctual at all times.

Wisdom Window

This anecdote is very vital for understanding the

importance of punctuality in management. Through one

master stroke, Lal Bahadur Shastri not only taught his

son the importance of punctuality but also demonstrated

to everybody around him his colleagues, driver, airport

staff, etc and left them with a useful lesson to pass on to

their colleagues, friends and family.

33 Lal Bahadur Shastri - Lessons in Leadership