Notes From Qutub

He was tall. Well dressed, always. A father-like figure to me.

A friend. Well read. Seen the world.

A Tambrahm. But that's not what brought me closer to him.

His child like enthusiasm and his desire to keep himself busy even at an age when he can easily put up his feet on the stool and relax was the attraction. I like busybees, not lazybones.

No. He wanted to be 'engaged' in true sense of the term.

When he was inducted a few years ago into the UMS fold, the then General Manager and current CEO Sandeep Sehgal put out a "welcome note". One of the longest, I reckon.

He used to occupy the large cubicle on the ground floor of the Renaissance House in central Business District - a few feet away from Sandeep's cabin - churning out his 'management fundas" which he felt would be of assistance to UMS.

How much of his inputs were found to be useful, I have no idea.

If my memory serves right, he was brought in as a strategic advisor to the UMS fold consisting of publishing, advertising, PR etc. He came in at a time when the parent company Renaissance Services was in the process of exiting out of non-core activities.

Renaissance Services, a Muscat listed company and in the Top 10 league, was and is focused on providing service to burgeoning oil and gas service - both onshore and offshore. It rightly felt that UMS is not its core function and hence the decision to sell it.

To get a better valuation and make it attractive for the potential buyer, the UMS team (Sandeep and ably assisted by his second-in-command Alpany Roy) began tweaking things for the better. That is when Ganesh came into the picture. His IIM background coupled with his Gulf experience (He had worked in Bahrain and Dubai for several years), perhaps would have made UMS to accept his candidature. Another obvious reason was his son was working in Muscat in the adveritising world and Ganesh candidly admitted that he wanted to be close to his son and his grandchildren, whom he adored.

Given the fact Muscat is a small town (compared to any Indian city) and his son was in the media business, the connect between UMS and him was to be expected.

Ganesh met UMS boss and was on the job in double quick time.

He used to live near OCC - hardly 2 kilometres away from office with his wife. I had the privilege of dining with him on several occasions - both while he was living alone waiting for his spouse from INdia and after her arrival. A nice, cosy couple in their golden age.

On my maiden visit, he prepared home-made food and we drank and ate to heart's content. For me, home made food was the icing because I used to survive on supermarket packed food since I was living alone during my UMS days (2005-8).

Since he was a management expert and I was in the business/economic journalism, we had a lot to talk and share. In fact, on occasions I utilised his services as book reviewer. He loved reading such tomes.

We discussed global management practices and Gulf economy. Of course, the office issues as well because he was handling HR as well and there were a few ticklish issues at regular intervals involving expats and natives. It was a minefield.

An interesting aspect of him was his focused approach to get a driving licence in Oman. To get a licence there is a dream come true. In less than six attempts, he managed to pass through. Sorry, "managed" is a wrong word.

You cannot "manage" a driving licence in Oman - like we can do in India. Very strict. He bought a car and I had the pleasure of being driven by an elderly gentleman like him while I sat next to him!

After a while, he moved out of strategy and HR into PR division of UMS. We used to meet and discuss the status fo PR in Oman.

Honestly, the PR scenario is very much in nascent stage even today there. Forget about Ganesh and his PR division. I used to discuss the same issue with Bikram Sehgal of Adinc (another advertising agency cum PR outfit in Oman) and PR Manager Sangeeta Sundaresan, an ex-journalist.

Ganesh was candid. "Learn to live with reality. We can't change the corporate mindset here," he used to reason with me.

When I decided to leave UMS, he hosted a farewell dinner at his home. His parting shot as I climbed into the cab to return to my pad was: "We were passengers on UMS train. You are alighting down at this stop to catch another one. The journey is on. The train you have chosen to move ahead is different. Best of luck."

Yes, I fully endorse his views. I always loved the journey. Different companies. Different formats. Differrent cultures. Every time.

For me, the journey is more important than the halts en route. UMS was one such stop where I had the pleasure of working with the Carnatic music-loving and an intellectual like Ganesh.

Will catch up with you There One Day, Ganesh!

How about analysing the way St Peter handles the toughest portfolio meanwhile?