Illusions

The organization was typically traditional and the way things were done had to be “propah”! 

The way people spoke, the ideas that were put forth, the practices that were followed or incorporated had to be tested on the anvil of correctness. Anything that was recent or untested with rigour was deemed radical.

 

In this environment, it was seldom that the people were exposed to fast moving, loud presentation by anyone and even the criticism of such action had to be subdued.

 

The change, however, was unavoidable and soon a multinational conglomerate was contracted to train a small group of officers about some new work practices. Ten of us were chosen to attend the first phase of the program in Bombay - as Mumbai was then known- for a week.

 

The first day is always either very boring or very interesting. The multinational trainers were obviously putting in all efforts to not have a boring start and to open proceedings they started with a presentation by a very interesting character. An elderly Parsi gentleman, straight out of a Hollywood movie. Short height, extremely fair - almost reddish complexion, bright twinkling eyes, quivering pink lips, and a thick bushy moustache with pointy ends which moved as he spoke.

 

He looked like a man full of energy, and all his remarks were followed by a bright smile and sometimes by a naughty wink. He was instantly surrounded by the people present there and it seemed everyone wanted to have a word or two with him. He seemed to be used to this attention and for a senior person to be so open to mixing with everyone was something that we were not used to.

 

Shortly, things quietened down and the serious business of the week started. apparently, this Parsi gentleman was not part of the training per se, but was present there to start off and set the tone of the programme with an introductory speech.

 

What a start it was! He started with a flourish and the energy that he brought in was infectious. Moving all over the stage, speaking in clear precise tone, animatedly using his hands, his eyes and of course his moustache... he kept everyone captivated. There were comical parts some bordering on the lewd, and there were parts which appeared serious and to the point.

 

He spoke for about fifteen minutes and at the end of it all received a standing ovation - which he seemed to expect and enjoy. Only later did i realize that his entire speech was not even remotely connected to the subject at hand. The content of his speech was obscured by the brilliance of his presentation.

 

We wanted to know more about him and his role in the organization. We gathered that he was in a senior position but there was little clarity about what he was responsible for or what his area of expertise was. in fact, his colleagues seemed to know very little about him, though they all seemed to know him well.

 

However, the rest of the course was not remarkable but the top level of our management appeared sold on it. Being the traditional organization that we were, before committing fully, they wanted a summary presentation by the trainers to our top management team.

 

This was easily arranged and a week later the core group of trainers led by the Parsi gentleman arrived for the presentation.Our select group was also invited to be present and on the morning of the presentation, we saw a replay of the same scenes that we had witnessed in Bombay. The centre of attraction was once again the Parsi gentleman and everyone wanted a word with him. After the usual tea and introductions were over, people settled down.

 

The Parsi gentleman took the stage and started with his usual flourish. The audience was quickly captivated, but i was puzzled! It was as if I had been transported back in time to a few weeks earlier in Bombay. It was an exact replay of the act there. Not an inch of deviation, the sentences and the jokes were the same, the order was the same, even his movements were the same!

 

It was apparent that it was a well rehearsed act that he must have repeated hundreds of times. It was mechanical, boring and shallow. Not impressive at all and certainly not linked to the subject at hand.

 

It became apparent why everyone knew him, but knew very little about him. He was the court jester with one fixed act which he had performed over and over again. There was no connect, no relevance and certainly no spontaneity.

His appearance and his gift of the gab had been used by his organization again and again as a attention grabbing strategy.

 

His presence was an illusion that his company presented repeatedly to divert scrutiny from the content, but they made the mistake of presenting it to the same audience.....twice!

 

I rather felt sorry for him and the image that I hold of him is not one of an erudite, impressive speaker but that of one of the clockwork spring toys that starts beating its drums as soon as it is wound up.

 

Pity!