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Panchatantra Story 1

As Vrushabha, the bull walked towards the only source of water in the Jungle, Karataka and Damanaka

watched him carefully. Vrushabha neither had the usual rhythm in his walk nor the pride which he use

to have earlier.

Something is wrong with Vrushabha, isnt it Damanaka? Asked Karataka.

Why should we poke our nose into affairs that are not our concern? Havent you heard thestory of

the monkey which pulled out the wedge from the log, asked Damanaka.

Karataka remembered the story well but he had not taken any moral out of it. He insisted that as two

very diligent and alert citizens of Panchatantra forest it is their duty to find out what has happened.

Irritated Damanaka said Havent you learned any lessons from previous stories I told

you? Havent you heard what happened to Krish the Software Engineer working in a reputed software

firm?

Karataka swirled its tail in excitement while Damanaka continued to eat the peace of meat he had had

stolen from Sanjeevaka the Lion King.

What Happened to Krish? Tell me Damanaka, tell me. I have heard that IIT, Call Centers and Software

industry usually have action, sex and thrill packed stories. Is Krishs story is that interesting? -Karataks

enthu had no bounds.

Not every one is Chetan Bhagat Karataka, we are mere Jackals in the forest, we dont have IIM-A

degrees and no one will publish our stories. Besides people dont like stories with moral, but looking at
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you still behaving like a fool, I think there is no point in having a moral to the story. Damanakas tone

was grim which put water on Karatakas enthu but he knew that Damanaka will soon start his story.

Krish was a very ambitious engineer. He had slogged very hard to get into the so-called Best scope

engineering stream only to realize that all streams were essentially the same and none of them

enlightened him to any new knowledge. Though Krish persisted and believed that his talent would be

valued once he joins the industry, he did not smoke or drink like his other friends. He cleared

engineering without getting a single back and 70% aggregate.

Damanaka you need to work on your story telling. We are no more kids, unless Krish drinks cans of

beer and has a girl friend who smokes how the story will generate that excitement? No Wonder

panchatantra is losing to television. Its time to add masala to the story.

Damanaka however ignored Karatakas sarcastic comments. He continued.

Krish joined a reputed company. If you are not familiar with Indian software industry Karataka let me

tell you, All software companies in India are reputed. They all are number one in something or other

and all of them do only challenging work and all of them are driven by innovation of very high rank. In

fact reading their advertisements you will wonder where are all the companies who are doing the

legacy, support and other kinds of ordinary work.

Damanakas face was glowing as he narrated the story. Karataka was flipping his left ear.

Damanaka lifted his right paw and scrubbed his left ear. He then continued.

Krish joined and he had to be on bench for some days. He wondered what went wrong. his fingers were

all excited to type out that code which he believed will make his life seem useful to the world. He

thought he will do amazing things and will soon climb the ladder. But as time passed and he was still

on bench his interest started decaying. He spent most of the time in TT room and pantry. And just in


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case you need some spice Karataka, he also started line marofying on the tester girl in the next

cubicle. Krish got more and more cynical as the higher management failed to get him billed. His anger

increased as that tester girls married off to one man in higher management.

Krish began to feel victimized. He started feeling that the security guards check his bag

more thoroughly when he left office. His friends on projects started avoiding him on weekend. Give me

one chance oh God, and I will work very very hard and show these people what I am worth of. He

suddenly felt religious.

And that day arrived. Krish got himself on a project. He told the manager that he was already familiar

with the framework and hence would start giving results right from day one. Manager showed

happiness over his attitude and asked him to prepare some important documents as well. Krish did his

work like a honest sincere and alert employee Karataka. Just the was you felt the need to go and talk

to Vrushabha.

However Krish was a bit disappointed when he saw the same documents being mailed to client the

only change being that the Authors name was changed from Krish to his Managers name. But Krish

was sincere like you Karataka. He did not take it to heart. He knew that the manager values him. When

Pappu in his team screwed up Bug no 805 and 640, he promptly fixed them staying up the whole night.

Did his manager value his work Damanaka? asked Karataka with a question mark on his face.

Yes of course. Managers are good at it. Everyday when the manager left at 6 pm he would visit

Krishs cubicle instruct him about what needs to be done in next four hours and gave him few words of

encouragement.

When client appreciated Krishs work manager sent all the team members and super manager an

email.


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Krish has received praise from client for the work he has done. Certainly if all team members stick to

the processes I have set forth, I am sure everyone can perform like Krish. It shows that our processes

are spot on.

Not everyone is as smart as me. Krishs heart cried but he kept quite Karataka. He kept quite. He came

on weekends he spent sleepless nights. He could not remember when was the last time he went out on

weekend. When was the last time he read a good book on lazy Saturday afternoon. While Manager

drank coffee with Pappu and Smitha, Krish worked hard.

His hard work paid off. The Bugs were reduced, deadlines were met. Client was happy. Manager

praised himself, patted his own back and asked others to clap in meetings.

The day of appraisals came. With heart full of hope Krish opened his mail. He just heard that Pappu got

promoted.

Stop it Damanaka. Shouted Karataka. Thats enough.

But this is the climax of the story Karataka, arent you interested?

No I am not. Replied Karataka. I got the moral of the story. Lets shut our mouths and let the Bull drink

his water promptly. Let us not go to find out what happened.

Moral: When you hear that appraisals happened in your ex-company,dont ping your friends and ask

them what happened. Not when its Saturday and when they are working.

Panchtantra and Management


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Yes, you read it right - Panchatantra and Management! Your look of wonder

and confusion is completely apt. Who would have thought that the stories

we used to hear when we were small actually teach important management

lessons? Not me, for once! But such is the depth and greatness of our

culture, which we often tend to overlook or forget. Panch means five andTantra means strategies. The Panchtantra stories teach you the following

five strategies to solve the problems of life:

1. Loss of friends

2. Gaining friends

3. Of crows and owl

4. Loss of Gains

5. Imprudence

It may sound peculiar, or even anomalous, how these children's bedtime

chronicles are actually a management Guru's citations. But the fact is,

Panchtantra tales are renowned for their efficiency and effectiveness of

practicing Management. Each story gives you a practical guide to face the

world as it is. For example sample this story:

It was a fine sunny day in the forest, and a lion was sitting outside his cave,

lying lazily in the sun. Along comes a fox, out on a walk.

Fox: "Do you know my watch is broken?"Lion: "Oh, I can easily fix the watch for you."

Fox: "Hmm. But it's a very complicated mechanism, and your great claws

will only destroy it even more."

Lion: "Oh no problem at all, give it to me, and it will be fixed."

Fox: "That's ridiculous! Any fool knows that lazy lions with great claws

cannot fix complicated watches."

Lion: "Sure, they can do! Give it to me and it will be fixed."

The fox gave gave him his watch hesitatingly and waited outside the lion'scave. The lion disappears into his cave, and after a while he comes back

with the watch working perfectly. The fox is very much impressed, and the

lion continues to lie lazily in the Sun, looking very pleased with himself.

Soon a wolf comes along and stops to watch the lazy lion in the Sun.


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Wolf: "Can I come and watch your TV tonight with you, because mine is

broken."

Lion: "Oh, I can easily fix your TV for you."

Wolf: "You don't expect me to believe such rubbish, do you? There is no

way that a lazy lion with big claws can fix a complicated TV."Lion: "No problem. Do you want to try it?"

The wolf went back to his house, brought his TV and gave it to the lion

hesitatingly and waited outside the lion's cave. The lion again goes in his

cave, and after a while comes back with a perfectly fixed TV. The wolf

goes away happily and amazed.

Now come to inside lion's cave - scene inside the lion's cave:

In one corner there are half a dozen small and intelligent looking rabbits

busily doing very complicated works with very sophisticated instruments. In

the other corner lies a huge lion looking very pleased with himself.

The important management lessons we learnt from this story are:

1. If you want to know why a supervisor is famous, look at the work of

subordinates.

2. If you want to know why someone undeserved is promoted look at the

work of his subordinates.

Surprised? Precisely! This is exactly what means by Panchtantra teachingimportant lessons of management. Reading all of the above, it is indeed

amazing to know the extent of Ancient Indian wisdom. The creators of

Panchtantra surely thought far ahead of their time. And not to forget, it is

just one of the many pearls of Ancient Indian wisdom. The progressiveness,

practicality, power, profundity of the Panchtantra would surely make one

say - Incredible India-aah!

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Management Panchtantra
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Slow and Steady wins the race is not the only management lesson that we can learn

from the Animal Kingdom. Just as we realize the significance ofPerseverance through the

hare and tortoise story, we can add to our repertoire by observing other animals too. Whether it

be planning, discipline, team-working, dedication to the job or any other management concept,

Visnu Sarmas (of Panchtantra fame) Training Academy viz. The Animal Kingdom, has ample

practitioners who believe in deeds rather than mere words alone.

TakeAnts for example. These tiny creatures are the best knownPlanners in animal-

kind. You may get irritated by rows and rows of ants on your walls and floors, but the ants dont

bother, because they know their priorities. They are actually taking their ration for storage, which

they will use when they cant come out due to adverse weather. Another remarkable thing about

ants is that they are Team-workers and are very Goal-oriented. You try putting an obstacle, say

ant-killer, in their way and they will take an alternative route to reach their destination or goal.

Such Commitment to the goal is indeed exemplary.

Lets shift gear and learn about the story of the old donkey who became useless for his

owner and was thrown into a well. People started throwing dust into the well to bury him alive.

End of life for that ill-fated creature? Nope, he had probably heard of the dictum ofConverting

Challenges to Opportunities or the Stumbling Blocks to Stepping Stones. He kept on

stepping up on the mud thrown at him and climbed out of the well to live in freedom and

happiness ever after.

The epitome ofLoyalty, Dog, also has a lesson or two to teach. Other than Pavlovs

experiments on Positive and Negative reinforcement, dog exempliesAlertness and

Bravery to fight against all odds.

Self-Discipline, is what we humans can learn from Cock. Many of us need to imbibe the

habit of living a disciplined life from this early-riser and fierce-fighter.

Chameleon, teaches us to adapt to changing external environment. If only all managers

could adapt to the changing business environment as fast as chameleon changes colours to

match the external environment, the corporate world would have been a saner, less chaotic

place.

The almighty Lion, proves by his deeds that to be a great leader, one must do every job

with full concentration and vigour i.e. to Give 100 per cent to whatever one does. Whether it be

a small hare or the mighty elephant, lion attacks it with full power and ferocity.

In the end, I would like to say that instead of shedding Crocodile tears at our workload,

or exhibiting Cattitude, or having a Crab mentality, we should start doing our job and get busy

like a Bee.


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And if I may, I would recommend a reading of Who moved my cheese as a beginners

guide to Management Panchtantra

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