Page 56 - #letter to son

#SangamNiti NOONTIME PLEASANCE
Thinking about the ecosystem that my father created, the example of
redwood and sequoia forests come to my mind. Though these trees
are thousands of years old, contrary to popular insight, their roots are
not deep. Then how do they survive? Nature has given us an amazing
example here. As soon as a redwood or sequoia tree grows old, its roots
extend far and wide to ‘connect’ with the roots of its brethren. Even a
small baby tree spreads its roots to connect with those of the older giants.
This way, the forest subsurface is a maze of unified and interconnected
roots that link trees directly or indirectly with each other. These trees
have survived the ravages of time. They have stood tall through floods,
storms and droughts.

Father sought to create such an ecosystem in which his fellow redwoods
and sequoias would remain tightly connected with each other and
survive through the hardships of agriculture. They were trees that stood
tall and free.

In the year 2005, when I was working with an import-export group
as Finance Manager, I had a home loan and a personal loan. I was
starting my family life and hence these loans were essential. However,
I remember how my father insisted I repay my loans at the earliest. He
was adamant I pay-off every bit of the borrowed money and become
debt-free. This persistence was his redwood roots communicating with
mine, passing on essential survival tips. He knew if I had to grow tall
and fit, I had to shrug-off the encumbrances that held me back.

Since my salary those days was not keeping pace with my expenses and,
paired with dad’s recurring insistence, I soon started searching for new
jobs and assignments with a sense of urgency. This also helped me push
myself out of my comfort zone, and it was around the year 2007 when
I got a substantial breakthrough in being selected and appointed as the
Finance Controller of a prestigious ceramics company of Bangladesh. I
had a direct reporting line to the top management.

At this organisation, I spent five eventful years, learning a substantial lot
as larger responsibilities were entrusted to me. Me and my team hold the
honour of executing a record initial public offer of the flagship Group

48