Gen Z, Gen AI and the Future of Work

 

Hardly a quarter of the 21^st century is over and mankind is on the cusp of witnessing a ‘never-seen-before, never-imagined-before’ revolution, impacting lives of most of us. One particular segment could be bearing the brunt of it and that could be Gen Z!

Gen Z –

This could be of one of the most widely used terms in the last couple of years.

By the way, naming a generation is typically a US phenomenon; we read of ‘silent generation’ (Born 1928-1945), then came the ‘Boomers’ (they were born during a massive ‘baby boom’ that happened after World War II , spanning the years between 1946 and 1964), followed by Gen X (born 1965-1980), Millennials/Gen Y (born 1981-1996) and then came in Gen Z (born in 1997-2012)! While these names until Millennials/Gen Y were more or less confined to US media, Gen Z became a buzzword across the world, mostly due the world coming closer due to technological advancements and thereby the vast reach of social media!

The formative years of Gen Z (all over the world) were impacted by COVID-19 pandemic. For almost 2 years, they didn’t go to school (or some to office); attended school/office from home. This early (and over) exposure to smartphones made them digitally fluent with vast access to information and thereby got them global exposure. But it also came with the downside. Too much screen time has been affecting their health, people skills, EQ (Emotional Quotient) and attention span also.

And as if all this were not sufficient, just when they are about to enter the corporate world (or just entered it a couple of years ago and learning the ropes) , they have to face the biggest of the challenges, …of the most disruptive technology of.. Gen AI!

Gen AI – (Generative Artificial Intelligence)

In 1950, Alan Turing proposed the question ‘Can machines think?’ and outlined the famous Turing Test. In this test, a human judge has a text chat with both a person and a machine. If the judge cannot tell which one is the machine, the machine passes. (By the way, the first Turing test was passed in 2014, just 12 years ago, by a computer program named Eugene Goostman)

In 1956, John McCarthy coined the term ‘Artificial Intelligence’ at Dartmouth College, marking the official birth of AI as a field of study. The 1970’s saw the development of Expert systems (rule-based programs designed to solve specific domain problems e.g. Medical diagnostics). 90’s witnessed Data-driven machine learning. In 1997, IBM’s Deep Blue defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov (proved the power of raw computing power and decision trees). The years 2000-2010 saw rise of Deep Learning and Big Data explosion.

In 2016, Google’s DeepMind’s AlphaGo defeated world champion Lee Sedol at Go, a complex game once thought impossible for machines to master.

LLMs (Large Language Models), The Generative AI (using NLP – Natural Language Processing) and autonomous Agents got developed.

Year 2022-2026: OpenAI’s ChatGPT popularized Gen AI, followed by Gemini, Copilot, Meta AI, Grok, DeepSeek, Perplexity, Claude.

Corporate world has been quick to move in. Traditional BI, which helped analyse and report data (that too in a batch mode) is getting replaced by AI which not only makes predictions and recommendations in real-time but also enables automated decision-making when you use AI-powered autonomous agents. In short, we’re seeing Reporting à Predictions → Recommendation → Autonomous Action.

Indian enterprises have been pretty receptive. While the early adopters were e-Commerce players (like Swiggy, Zomato, Paytm, Amazon), many industries/verticals are embracing AI with gusto.

•        Software Engineering/IT – (GitHub Copilot, Claude) – writing code to auto-debugging to creating Apps

•        Marketing/Sales/Content creation

•        Back office - BPOs/customer care agents, email automation, Personal Assistant (thru’ agentic AI)

•        Healthcare and life sciences – drug discovery (predicting protein structures/design custom molecule etc.) , clinical workflows

•        Media/Gaming/entertainment - News/cartoons/memes creation, create songs(numbers/album!) from lyrics (AI writes lyrics too!!)

•        BFSI industry, stock brokers, investment consultants 

•        Professional services, Legal professionals

Even the traditional engineering/automobile companies are deploying AI. 

Tata Motors, Hyundai Motors, Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra and Mahindra, Larsen and Toubro are using AI in some of the following applications -

•        Predictive maintenance

•        Automated quality checks

•        Simulate crash tests

•        Driving assistance software

•        Supply chain and smart plants

Future of Work –

Gen AI is a transformative force with some some metrics showing capability doubling every 6 to 7 months (sometimes described by industry leaders as "Moore's Law squared"). Humanoid AI could be accelerating the pace further and thereby promising 20X/50X productivity gains. This is bound to make paradigms shift (rather, it could be seismic shifts!)

So can anyone really foresee what the workplace will look like in 2040? Probably not!

..And here is yours truly giving it a humble try; so please take it with a liberal pinch of salt! 😊

There could be three possible scenarios (or rather, stages) unfolding over next 20 years.

•        Scenario A (Next 10 years) – AI augments humans

Limited net impact on white-collar employment, but significant task-level changes.

Stanford University Study says-

•        AI’s impact on aggregate employment is likely small right now.

•        A tough market for recent graduates may be partly due to AI.

•        AI’s impact on worker productivity is mixed but generally positive.

•        Firm adoption has accelerated but unevenly across the economy

Boston Consulting Group has something similar –

•        Reshaping over replacement: Most jobs are changing rather than disappearing completely. Over half of jobs are being actively transformed. BCG says - AI Will Reshape More Jobs Than It Replaces.

•        Entry-level squeeze: Early-career and entry-level positions—such as junior analysts, customer support, and data entry—face the steepest decline as AI agents handle foundational tasks.

•        High-exposure sectors: Finance, legal services, software development, and administrative support see the highest task overlap with current generative AI tools.

Times of India news (8^th Aug’26) confirming the same –

‘AI creating more jobs than it cuts in India. India recorded 83,100 AI-related hires during the period, compared with 31,921 layoffs and attrition, according to the report released Friday.’

Vineet Nayar (former CEO of HCL Consulting) captures it succinctly. He says, “Worldwide, the number of people in technology is going to go up and not down. But for some companies that are not going to re-invent themselves in the age of AI, the number of employees is going to go down. And That’s what you are seeing today. You need more what I call imagineers — people who imagine different kind of solutions.”

•        Scenario B (After 15 years) – AI replaces many tasks

White collar jobs would be affected greatly. Blue collar jobs would be in demand. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and AI Godfather Geoffrey Hinton believe manual labour is safer from AI because it will take longer for AI to have the dexterity to take on more physical jobs.

•        Scenario C (After 20 years) – (AI + Robotics/Humanoids) radically reshape work

White collar as well as blue collar jobs would be reduced drastically. There would be productivity boom (due to AI and affordable automation/robots/humanoids). Governments would be giving UBI (Universal Basic Income) to all – to be at home and do nothing!

 To prepare for the future –

While nobody would be 100% correct over which scenario would unfold over the next 20 years, overall, it certainly isn’t very rosy. How should Gen Z prepare for it?

While there is no magic mantra (or a magic wand), one needs to do a SWOT-style analysis of what AI brings to the table (speed, scale, data, pattern recognition, content generation) and what we (humans) bring to the table (judgement, empathy, leadership, creativity, ethics, context).

We should neither shun nor fear AI nor should we blindly follow it. (Never develop the notion that ‘AI is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent’)

But we need to see AI as our coworker/collaborator bringing out the synergistic results/huge productivity gains.  

While 74% of Gen Z use artificial intelligence tools every day, we don’t know how much it adds to their efficiency. Prompt engineering should not be overlooked.

As noted by Fortune, about 62% of Gen Z admit they use artificial intelligence as a mental crutch. Heavy use of automated tools can weaken natural problem-solving and critical thinking skills. So, one needs to draw a boundary over AI usage and should not overlook his/her innate human skills, rather they need to be leveraged to survive/succeed!

It is worth noting that AI doesn't necessarily replace entire jobs. AI changes the tasks within jobs. There will be new tasks unimagined today. One just needs to have his/her eyes and ears open to see the changes happening around, spot the opportunities and embrace the best possible one with open mind. The time-tested best habits of networking, continuously sharpening your skills and keeping abreast of the technologies/developments would come in handy!

 

 

 

 

अपनी भी पाठशाला..

शशिकांत(जाधव)ने शाळेत मला आधी बराच त्रास दिला पण नंतर मैत्री छान झाली होती! त्याचा आवाज चांगला होता! ‘शिर्डीवाले साईबाबा ‘ हे हिंदी गाणं त्याच्या पुढाकारामुळे आमच्या वर्गातील ५-६ जण सामूहिक म्हणायला जमायचो! नळदुर्ग रोडवर , गोलाईच्या जरा पुढे / पंचायत समितीचं कार्यालय / गोदामाजवळच्या मोकळ्या मैदानावर! (आता हे आठवून गंमत वाटते!)

 ‘बंबईसे आया मेरा दोस्त’ या गाण्याची चाल ‘आता उजाडेल’ या मराठी कवितेवर लावण्याची कल्पना बहुधा त्याचीच होती! ती कविता तुम्हाला आठवत असेल (दोन ओळी तरी ) , तर म्हणून बघा! चालीत fit बसते! :-)

अशीच हिंदी चित्रपटातील गाण्याची चाल हिंदी कवितेला fit बसवली होती कै सदाशिवराव कुलकर्णी सरांनी! सदाशिवराव धोंडोपंत  कुलकर्णी! (लहान गावात  राहण्याची एक  वेगळीच मजा असते. तुम्हाला मित्रांची (आणि शिक्षकांची पण) केवळ पूर्ण नावेच नाही तर त्यांचं आख्ख कुटुंब माहीत असतं) ...कडक इस्त्रीचा नेहरू  शर्ट, पांढरी  विजार, डोक्यावरचे केस  पूर्ण मागे वळवलेले, कपाळावर अष्टगंध, तोंडावर  एक  मिस्कील  हास्य  आणि  हातात  वेताची  छडी!  'Spare the rod and spoil the child' याला त्यांचं १००% समर्थन  असणार! (मार खाल्लाय  नां मी  त्यांचा एक-दोनदा तरी! :-) तुफान वेगानं चालायचे  ते (म्हणून  आमचा मित्र  शशिकांतने त्यांना 'बुलेट' हे  टोपण नाव  दिलं होतं! :-)) पाचवीत असताना आमच्या  इंग्रजी व  हिंदी शिकण्याचा  श्रीगणेशा त्यांनीच केला होता.

..तर सांगत  होतो  ती  हिंदी  कविता; ‘ऐ मातृभूमी तेरी , जय हो सदा विजय हो। तेरे प्रसन्न नभ में, सुखशांती सदा हो।’ 

आता हे खुप जुनं गाणं म्हणून बघा .. ‘ऐ दिल मुझे बता दे, तू किसपे आ गया है..’ !! 

…अर्थात ती कवितेची चाल या गाण्यावरून घेतलीय, हे मला परवा परवा कळलं! 😀

सदाशिवराव सरांनी आम्हाला ५ वीत ‘Lazy Mary, will you get up’ ही कविता २ विद्यार्थ्यांकडुन मुलगी व आई यांचा अभिनय करून घेत शिकवली होती! म्हणजे एकाला सांगितलं बाकावर झोप Mary असल्याचं सोंग घेत. (तेंव्हा बाकच होते , डेस्क आम्ही ७वीत असताना आले)  दुसऱ्या मुलाला आई म्हणुन बाकाजवळ उभं केलेलं. संवाद/कविता सुरू - 

आई झालेला मुलगा: Lazy Mary, will you get up? Will you get up??

मेरी झालेला/बाकावर झोपलेला मुलगा: No, no mother; I won’t get up! I won’t get up!! 😀 

पण बघा , असं interactive / role-play करून त्यांनी अंदाजे १९७६ मधे शिकवलेलं आज पन्नास वर्षांनंतर २०२६ मध्येही जणू काल घडलंय असं आठवतंय!! 

 खरोखरच थोर शिक्षक लाभले होते आम्हाला! 🙏

 

…आणि रम्य त्या आठवणी!! 

 …शाळेचं नांव काय म्हणता? 

जिल्हा परिषद उच्च माध्यमिक प्रशाला..!!

(...अर्थात मराठी माध्यम! Convent किंवा ‘इंग्रजी माध्यम’ असे शब्दही तेंव्हा कधी कानावर पडले नव्हते हो!!) 

 

SAP S/4HANA Condensed: For CXOs to Consultants

 

Most of the SAP books are written by consultants for consultants talking about a particular module or technology detailing about table structures, configuration or deep-dive coding. 

But there is nothing there for the CXO or the Senior Management, Delivery Leaders, Business Heads and Presales Architects who don’t need to configure a movement type or pricing conditions, but they need to enable a multimillion-dollar digital transformation led by SAP. 

This book (‘SAP S/4HANA Condensed: For CXOs to Consultants’) provides the much-needed ‘500-Foot visibility’ into SAP S/4HANA suite/ecosystem, Migrations, Rise/GROW with SAP methodologies and much more in a 250-page compact guide. It also provides a holistic approach, rather a 360-degree view of SAP S/4HANA Suite along with the essential cross-skilling framework enabling career progression for SAP Consultants and SAP Users.  

It cuts through complexity, offers practical insights, executive clarity and consultant depth.

Call it ‘From Strategy to Execution’ or ‘Your Boardroom-to-project guide’, it would assist you to drive the SAP-led Digital Transformation of your organization.

Also, considering SAP is being used by almost 80%+ of large companies in India (& worldwide) , the book should be useful to Engineering as well as Management students. (Many reputed institutes offer ERP/SAP as an elective/optional subject. This book would be an added advantage there. And even if the subject is not there, this book should give enough exposure and details which should enable a student in becoming more productive at work.) 

With 30 years of deep SAP experience from various top-notch organizations, I’ve tried to nail it down.

(If you’re a CXO/Sr. Leader in an enterprise running on SAP (or planning to go for Rise/Grow with SAP) OR if you’re a Delivery/Practice/Presales leader in a SAP consulting company OR a SAP Project Manager/Consultant/newly entrant OR a SAP User with high aspirations, this book would be immensely useful. (It would be an ideal gift also to your relative/friend working in any of above role) 

For readers in India: - URL  - https://notionpress.com/in/read/sap-s-4hana-r-condensed 

Get the Hardcover copy @ Rs. 595) 

For readers worldwide - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H54N5ZFD#  

- Available in Kindle/paperback/hardcover editions on Amazon) 

मायमराठी...!

परवा भाजी-मंडईत गेलो होतो. अर्थात सह! (कारण 'मला भाजीपाल्यातलं अजूनही का ही ही कळत नाही’ असं बायकोचं परखड मत!) तर कानावर  शब्द आले, "लौकी , लौकी ", दुसरीकडून "भिंडी , भिंडी" ची  हाळी  कानावर आदळली. भेंडी, आपण पुण्यनगरीतून थेट कानपुर/रामपुर मध्ये  गेलो की  काय असंच क्षणभर  वाटलं! 

केवढे आपले मराठी विक्रेते सर्वसमावेशक आहेत  नां? १५-२० टक्के परप्रांतीय ग्राहकांसाठी "लौकी , लौकी " म्हणत राष्ट्रभाषेचा लौकिक  वाढवत मातृभाषेला अलगद अडगळीत टाकलं! 

आता  मी  आपले मराठी पाणी-पुरीवाले (असतात नां :-?) गोलगप्पे वा फुचका असं नामांतर कधी करतील  याची  वाट  पाहतोय. मोदींनी  प्रसिद्ध  केल्यानंतर माझी खात्री  आहे की  कोणी ‘झालमुरी’ नावाची टपरी काढली तर मराठी जनता तीच सर्वसमावेशक वृत्ती दाखवत  रांग लावून दुप्पट किंमत मोजतील त्या भेळ-पुरीसाठी! 

 आणि  हाच  मराठी माणूस जेंव्हा ग्राहकाच्या भूमिकेत  असतो  तेंव्हा नेपाळी वॉचमनशी, राजस्थानी/उप्र/बिहारी  किराणा/सुतार/प्लम्बरशी मोडक्या-तोडक्या हिंदीत  बोलून, पैसे मोजून स्वत:चं हसं करून घेत असतो! शिकेल की मराठी तो पर-राज्यातील माणूस, जर  तो पोट भरण्यासाठी महाराष्ट्रात आला आहे तर! आपण स्वाग्रही पाहिजे मातृभाषेसाठी! 

 …आणि  उद्या  हेच  परप्रांतीय अमेरिका/कॅनडा/आखाती देशात  गेले  तर तेथील स्थानिक  भाषा  म्हणून इंगजी /अरेबिक शिकायचा प्रयत्न करतात नां स्वतःहून! 

When in Rome, be like Romans! 

मग इथे  कुठे  घोडं पेंड खातं हो?

आजकाल देवळात गेलात तर हनुमान चालीसा लिहिलेला बोर्ड दिसेल. (पेशवेकालीन मृत्यूंजयेश्वर मंदिरात सुद्धा) हनुमान चालीसाशी माझं  बिलकुल  वाकडं  नाही; पण  आहे  ना  आपल्या  मराठीत समर्थ  रामदासांचे   खणखणीत 'भीमरूपी  महारुद्रा...' !! 'सुखकर्ता दुःखहर्ता वार्ता  विघ्नाची' वर विनाकारण 'सिंदूर  लाल चढ़ायो' ची  कुरघोडी होतेय! मला हिंदीविषयी  द्वेष , दुस्वास बिलकुल नाही; आदरच आहे त्या  भाषेबद्दल! 

कसं आहे नां; हिंदी  काय , इंग्रजी  काय , या आपल्या मातृभाषेच्या  भाषा-भगिनी  आहेत. 

पण मग एखादी मावशी  कितीही श्रीमंत/मोठी  असली तरी आपली आई  ती  आईच  असते  नां! तिचं विस्मरण कधी होता  काम नये , तिच्यावरचं प्रेम  कधी  कमी होऊ  नये , हीच इच्छा!

..आणि ते शक्य आहे जर आपण मराठीचा वापर टिकवला तर, वाढवला तर! 

पटतंय नां? 

मराठी वाचवा, मराठी वाढवा! 

…म्हणजे काही अगदी प्रत्येकांने कथा-कादंब-या-कविता लिहाव्या अशी अपेक्षा नाही. पण स्मार्टफोनवर मराठीत टायपायला काय हरकत आहे? १-२ दिवाळी अंक, वर्षाकाठी २-३ मराठी पुस्तकं वाचायला, ४-५ मराठी नाटकं/चित्रपट पाहायला नक्कीच जमावं! जमेल तसे मराठी प्रतिशब्द संभाषणात आणणंही काही फार अवघड नाही. फक्त इच्छाशक्ती पाहिजे! 

 ..अन्यथा पुढच्या २०-२५ वर्षातच मराठीचं रूपांतर, किंबहुना अध:पतन ‘बोली भाषेत’ झालेलं असेल! ..जशी आज मालवणी, अहिराणी भाषांची गत झाली आहे!

 

जय मायमराठी, जय महाराष्ट्र!! 

 

 

 

-प्रशांत पिंपळेकर 

The Desert’s Diamond: Deciphering the Success of the Marwari Business Community

From the dusty, arid, wind-swept expanses of the Shekhawati region in Rajasthan to the towering glass-walled boardrooms of Mumbai, Kolkata and London, the Marwari community’s journey is one of the most remarkable stories in global commerce. Accounting for a staggering percentage of India’s GDP and industrial output, this community has produced names like Birla, Bajaj, Goenka, Hinduja, Mittal, Agarwal and Bansal—architects of modern Indian industry.

But what fuels this consistent dominance? Is it an innate ‘business gene’, or a meticulously crafted ecosystem of culture, frugality, and foresight? To understand their success, we must look beyond the balance sheets and into the heart of the Thar Desert.

The Crucible of the Desert:

The Marwari story begins with harsh geography. Hailing from the Marwar region (and neighbouring areas like Bikaner and Jaisalmer), these people were forged in one of the most inhospitable environments on earth. The desert of Rajasthan offered little in the way of agriculture; water was scarce, and the climate was unforgiving. This geological pressure created a unique psychological blueprint, the Migration Instinct!

When the land cannot feed you, you move. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Marwaris migrated in waves to the then trade hubs of the British Raj—Kolkata and Mumbai—and later to the tea gardens of Assam and mineral rich hinterlands of Central India.

Migration is the ultimate gamble. Leaving one’s roots for a distant land requires a high tolerance for uncertainty, it needs a high risk-appetite, a trait that remains a cornerstone of Marwari entrepreneurship today.

The Parta System: Financial Discipline Much Before Software
Long before modern ERP systems or high-frequency trading, Marwaris utilized a sophisticated accounting method known as the Parta System.
The Parta is essentially a daily reporting system that calculates the ‘cost of production’ versus the ‘daily profit’ in real-time. Unlike traditional accounting which looks at the past (quarterly or yearly), Parta focuses on the present.
Radical Accountability: Every evening, the head of a Marwari firm would know exactly how much money was made or lost that day.
Frugality filter: This system fosters an obsession with overheads. In the Marwari world, a rupee saved is a rupee earned. This frugality, often misunderstood as stinginess, is actually a strategic focus on Capital Efficiency.

In short, every transaction is meticulously recorded promoting financial discipline, much-needed transparency within family business and close monitoring of cash flow.

Though digitization has taken over, the philosophy of strict financial oversight remains ingrained.

Strong Family Roots and the Joint Family Model
The Marwari business is rarely a solo endeavour; it is a Family Collective. The community operates on a high-trust, low-transaction-cost model.
Internal Funding: Marwari families traditionally operate as cohesive units, pooling resources and supporting collective ventures. In the early days, if a young Marwari wanted to start a venture, the community—through informal credit networks—would provide the capital. No banks, no collateral, just the word of the family.
Apprenticeship: Children are introduced to the gaddi (the business seat) at a young age. They don't just learn business; they absorb it through osmosis, listening to elders negotiate and manage workers on a day to day basis.
Family Support: During times of crisis, the extended family acts as a safety net. This allows the entrepreneur to take bigger risks, knowing that failure won't mean total destitution. Risk-taking is cushioned by family backing, allowing entrepreneurs to experiment without fear of complete ruin.

Succession planning- Business knowledge is passed down generations, ensuring continuity.

Core values driving success –

• Frugality and respect for money: Marwaris are known for cautious spending and reinvestment of profits in business.
• Hands-on experience: Young members are trained early in business practices.
• Expansive mindset: They diversify across industries—from textiles and trading to steel, cement, and finance.
• Networking: Strong community ties ensure trust-based partnerships and easy access to capital.

No wonder, the list of Marwari icons is essentially a ‘Who's Who’ of Indian wealth:

·       The Birlas: Pioneers of Indian industry who transitioned from trade to heavy manufacturing and financial services.

·       Laxmi Niwas Mittal, the ‘King of Steel’ who took the Marwari ethos of turnaround management to a global scale. Anil Agarwal (Vedanta), Hinduja, Goenka group, Bajaj group, Jindal , Lodha, Oswal are the luminaries helping India becoming 4^th largest economy.

·       The New Guard: Interestingly, the Marwari spirit has successfully pivoted to the digital age. Founders like Sachin and Binny Bansal (Flipkart) and Deepinder Goyal (Zomato/Eternal) carry the same risk-taking DNA into the startup ecosystem. They proved that the Marwari spirit is comfortable with ‘bytes’ as it was with ‘bale’ of cotton.

These names symbolize Marwari dominance in Indian business and their ability to adapt to modern corporate structures.

The Downside: Weaknesses and Modern Challenges

No system is perfect. The very strengths that built the Marwari empire can sometimes become its Achilles' heel.

·       Resistance to Professionalization and innovation: Historically, Marwaris preferred family members in key positions over professional CEOs. This can lead to stagnation or ‘succession wars’ when the third or fourth generation takes over. Overemphasis on money management occasionally overshadows creativity and product innovation needed in the digital economy. Compared to Gujaratis’ global risk-taking and Sindhis’ resilience, Marwaris remain a bit more conservative, sometimes limiting innovation.

·       Social Conservatism: The community has often been slow to embrace gender diversity within the business hierarchy, though this is rapidly shifting as daughters and daughters-in-law take leading roles in many modern firms.

·       Family disputes: Succession battles can fragment empires.

·       Reputation for Opacity: Traditional accounting and a preference for ‘insider’ deals have sometimes led to a perception of a lack of transparency compared to modern ESG standards of corporate governance.

Conclusion: The Enduring Legacy

The success of the Marwari businessman is not a mystery; it is a masterclass in resilience, networking, and fiscal discipline. They turned the disadvantage of a desert home into a global advantage of mobility and hunger. In short, it is a triumph of resilience over environment.
By balancing the traditional Parta mentality with modern technology, and the security of family roots with the boldness of global expansion, the Marwari community remains the heartbeat of the Indian economy.

Marwari businessmen thrive because of migration-driven adaptability, strong family roots, disciplined financial practices, and community trust networks.

Their success stories—from Birla to Bajaj to Bansal—showcase how tradition and modernity can merge. Their blend of financial prudence and long-term sustainability is a case study that belongs in every global Business school!

 

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Prashant Pimpalekar | Founder & CEO

Magnum Primus Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Pune

 

आठवणींचा kaleidoscope (5)

 

दहावीची परीक्षा मार्चमध्ये संपली होती. जुनच्या पहिल्या आठवड्यापर्यंत चालणारी उन्हाळ्याची लांबलचक सुट्टी सुरु झाली होती. माझे जवळचे मित्र पुणे आणि बंगळूरला आपापल्या नातलगांकडे सुट्टीला गेले होते.अस्मादिक मात्र तोपर्यंत सोलापूर आणि धाराशिव या दोन जिल्ह्यांची शीव ओलांडून पलीकडे गेले नव्हते! (तेंव्हा मला कोणी सांगितलं असतं की "तू मोठेपणी १०-१२ देश हिंडशील, अमेरिका व सिंगापुरमध्ये वास्तव्य करशील" , तर त्या माणसाला वेड लागलंय किंवा माझी चेष्टा करतोय ,असंच मला वाटलं असतं!) मुरूम, अरळी, केळगाव व सोलापूरमधेच तेंव्हापर्यंत सुट्ट्यामध्ये गेलेलो (आजोळ/मावशी/आत्याकडे) ! पण तेंव्हा त्याचं मला फारसं वैषम्यही वाटायचं नाही. विजय वाचनालयातील पुस्तकं वाचणे (रोज एक या गतीने) , रेडिओवर हिंदी/मराठी गाणी ऐकणे , घरी भावाबहिणीबरोबर पत्ते, सोंगट्या खेळणे, अंगणात बॅाल खेळणे असे उपक्रम सुरु होते! मनात धागधुगही होतीच की परीक्षेचा निकाल कसा लागतोय , किती मार्क्स पडले असतील इ.

अशाच एका रणरणत्या दुपारी घरी मी सहज म्हणून गणिताचं पुस्तक परत एकदा चाळत बसलो होतो. सगळा अभ्यास झालेला, परीक्षा दिलेली , आता काय वाचणार , असं वाटत पुस्तकांच्या शेवटच्या पानांकडे वळलो व पाहिली एक यादी; गणितातील मराठी शब्द व त्याला पर्यायी इंग्रजी शब्द याची. उदा: चौकोन - quadrilateral , समांतरभुज चौकोन - parallelogram , लघुकोन - acute angle , गृहितक - postulate इ इ! माझ्या डोक्यात अचानक ट्यूब पेटली! अरेच्च्या, आपण हे शब्द पाठ केले तर? सोपं जाईल ना कॉलेज मध्ये इंग्रजीतून शिकताना ?

माझ्याकडे वेळ तर होताच! मग मी चक्क अंकगणित, भूमिती, जीव/भौतिक/रसायनशास्त्र या ५ ही पुस्तकांतील शब्दांची यादी(glossary!) लिहून काढण्यासाठी ५ वह्या केल्या; प्रत्येक पानाच्या मधोमध उभी रेषा मारली, डावीकडे मराठी शब्द, उजवीकडे त्याचा पर्यायी इंग्रजी शब्द; चालू झाला माझा स्वयंप्रेरित गृहपाठ! यादी पूर्ण लिहून झाली की पुढचा उपक्रम - पाठांतर! उभ्या रेषेच्या उजव्या बाजूवर हात ठेवायचा व पाठ झालंय का, ते पाहायचं! मला वाटतं ८-१० दिवसांत मी ते सगळे technical शब्द पाठ केले होते.

या पाठांतराचं महत्त्व मला ११वीला कॉलेजातील (वालचंद कॉलेज , सोलापूर) अगदी पहिल्या दिवसापासून कळलं! कारण सगळे गणित /विज्ञानाचे प्राध्यापक अस्खलित इंग्रजीमध्ये शिकवत होते (and some like Prof N V Shah in a special accent); मराठी माध्यमातून आलेल्या बाकीच्या विद्यार्थ्यांना , सर काय बोलतायत, काय शिकवतायत याची काही हवा पण लागत नव्हती पहिले २-३ महिने! मी मात्र पहिल्या दिवसापासून आत्मविश्वासाने वर्गात बसत होतो, इंग्रजी माध्यमातून (हरिभाई देवकरण शाळा!)आलेल्या मित्राबरोबर फारसा नं बुजता बोलत होतो, tutorial exam. मध्ये पैकीच्या पैकी गुण मिळवत होतो! (By the way, दहावीच्या परीक्षेत मला गणितात १४९/१५० व इंग्रजी मध्ये ८९/१०० गुण मिळाले होते) लहान गावातील मराठी माध्यमाच्या शाळेत (तेही ‘जिल्हा परिषद शाळा’) शिकल्यामुळे भविष्यात इंग्रजीशी struggle वगैरे मला कधीच व कोणत्याच कॉलेजमध्ये करावा लागला नाही. मी इंग्रजीचा जागतिक मापदंड असलेल्या TOEFL/GRE परिक्षा चांगले गुण मिळवून उत्तीर्ण झालो होतो. आणि माझ्या सुदैवाने आजमितीला माझे २६ लेख (technical/management/miscellaneous) Times of India , Dataquest, Rediff. com , Corporate Citizen, Board Stewardship , EnterpriseIT world इ. मधे प्रकाशित झालेले आहेत)

.. आता चार दशकानंतर मागे वळून पाहता मी तेव्हा ते technical इंग्रजी शब्द पाहिले , list केले , गांभीर्याने पाठ केले , याची गंमत वाटते; थोडं आश्चर्यही वाटते!

आजकाल जी घोकंपट्टीच्या (rote learning )विरोधात ओरड चालू आहे , त्यात थोडं तथ्य असलं तरी मला वाटतं , आमच्या पिढीने पाठांतरबरोबरच चौकस बुद्धी/जिज्ञासू वृत्ती पण जिवंत ठेवली! आणि माझ्या मते पाठांतराचा सर्वात मोठा फायदा हा असतो की त्यामुळे तुमच्या स्मरणशक्तीला चालना मिळते, तुमची एकाग्रता वाढते! आजच्या युगातील भ्रमणध्वनी/समाज माध्यमांच्या (मोबाइल फोन /सोशल मीडिया) अतिरेकी वापरामुळे लोकांचा (खास करून पुढच्या पिढीचा) concentration span अतिशय कमी झालेला पाहतो, तेंव्हा पाठांतर पद्धतीचं आगळं महत्त्व नक्कीच अधोरेखित होतं!

..एक छान, अनोखी आठवण मात्र मनाच्या kaleidoscope मधे राहिली!

 

 

-प्रशांत पिंपळेकर