THE PICHAI PAY-PACKAGE






Pic.: Sheela Mohan


Many of us think, that when we come up in life the hard way… get a great job and a very fat salary… or, do exceptionally well in business, make loads of money…. buy our big houses and cars… yes, many of us think, that when we achieve our success through hard way, we remain grounded, very humble in life.

Some months ago, I was with this young-man – who was in his mid-thirties – at a social function. I must have been with him for fifteen minutes… I didn’t want to stay with him any longer! I knew this boy’s family… his parents and siblings. The parents weren’t educated and hardly any money came home… They lived in a small one-room-house in a chawl and had tough time to make the two ends meet…They were two brothers, both got good jobs, went abroad… bought big houses and cars, sent their little ones to best schools, provided them great comforts… yes, just the way any well-indented parent would do… But, what, always, baffled me - in fact unnerved me – was this: the older one did remain grounded, very humble… never forgot about his tough times. The younger one loved to float in the air, tried to show off!

At the function, that day, I was put off when the younger-one – without any need for it – kept telling me about his ‘phenomenal pay-package’… He wanted me to believe, that it was really, really phenomenal and he was ‘somebody’ now… not the boy I had seen growing up before me… Yes, it was a real puzzle for me to think as to why the younger brother was so pompous while the older one preferred to remain so simple and grounded.

It was months ago. I had completely forgotten about this episode… And, just two days ago, when we got to hear, read and see more and more about 43-year-old Sundar Pichai... the new CEO of Google, I thought of the young-man who kept trumpeting about his ‘mind-blowing pay-package’… I watched many videos… listened to Pichai’s interviews, read about the articles written on him… and, the more I saw, read and listened about him, the more I got convinced that this boy was what simplicity, being humble and grounded all about… I really laughed my heart out when I just imagined the kind of ‘pay-package’ and the ‘perks’ Pichai’ must have been enjoying… Yes, as the CEO of Google!!


Has Sundar Pichai come up the hard way?

Well, by now, you don’t need me to tell the Pichai story… So, I won’t tell, that his parents had to sacrifice a lot to educate their son… I won’t tell, that they did not own a car or a TV… that they did not have a decent house…  I will only tell this…


I know of two other young-men… They are brothers. Their parents had done exactly what Pichai’s parents had. But, when they became ‘big men’ in life, one remained grounded and humble… the other loved to float in the air and show off!

Well-done… Sorry, well-grounded Picahi sir. May your breed increase...


GERALD D’CUNHA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or painful that
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How does it matter
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...