Well the title of this story has a close resemblance to the tagline of the place I work for. But, I couldn't come up with anything better. This is the true story of a young man who joined my workplace on the same day as yours truly. Lets call him Mr Z. He joined in as a supervisor in Stewarding. A very low key personality but hardworking and always bearing a smile on his face.
Our hotel had organised a picnic and while the Jam session was on, with the floor opened up for dancing to all, I managed to sneak out, for the lack of dancing prowess. I was sitting outside the entrance to the dance floor overlooking the open areas and had Mr Z sitting alongside.
He was trying to catch up on some sleep but sat upright as soon as he saw me on the side. We began to chat casually about the days spent in pre-opening and how we have all worked in our personal capacity to get the magnificent hotel open to serve our esteemed guests. I thanked him for his contribution as Stewarding and IT are roles which are not really guest facing but do affect the guest experience in one way or the other.
He broke the news to me. He had resigned and was leaving the job as well as the city.We were only into the 9th month since joining. I asked him what were his plans. He said a few lines and I was all ears to him. Some things which were very visionary and strategically thought out for a man who I never thought would have such clear mission in his life.
He said, “ Sir, I have just done 10 years of schooling from a village near Cuttack in Odisha. I come from a poor family where nobody ever dreamed larger than life. After 10th standard, I had to work at a bakery to support my family. In 2001, my monthly take home was a grand Rs 300 and after an year of toiling in the bakery, the increment was a mere Rs 50. I did sundry jobs to manage and support my family. We own some fertile land and a small pond but my interrupted schooling meant, I couldn't pursue my studies further due to lack of funds, support and guidance. To earn more money, I started working in stewarding, first on contract and then as coordinator and rose to the level of supervisor in the last 15 years. I have worked in far off places like Chandigarh, Chennai and now Bangalore. With my qualification, I don't think anybody would make me a manager. I cant speak English fluently and not well versed with the technology advancements.”
He continued, “ May be 5 years down the line, someone will recognize my potential and may offer me an Asst Manager position in a smaller hotel. That would be the end of road for my career in the Hotel industry. I don't want to stop at that. I want to do many more things. Today, I live in this city alone, leaving aside my wife in our village and longing for togetherness. Money does not mean anything for her as we yearn to be together. I have a set plan in my mind and in the next few days I will be taking strides towards it.”
I was dumbstruck by what he was opening up to. I asked him, if he considered it okay to share his plan with me. He said, “ Why not Sir? First of all, I want to go back to my family and stay with them. I will convert one small room into a bakery and start with normal food stuff. I have already bought a few equipment over the past few months from a shutdown bakery in another village at dirt cheap rates. I know a few things and my younger cousin works for another bakery in another city. I have urged him to join me and help with its production. We will not go full blast. We will start slowly with daily essential stuff and then move on to pastries and cakes as my village may not have the market for luxurious cakes.
To support the bakery business, I have already leased out the small pond on our land to a fishing breeding center. They give me a fixed annual fee for breeding fish in my pond. I also plan to start cultivation of crops which can be harvested in 3 months . Ours is a farmland which can give even 3-4 crops in a year. This will keep me busy all through the day. I intend to earn money from all these small ventures but at the same time my larger goal is to have multiple personnel being given a means to livelihood. Our village has a lot of young blood who have no direction in life. I want to support them by employing a few in the long run. Based on the success of the small bakery in my house, I wish to open up more in a few years to employ as well as support a few more people in life. Life is unpredictable but I want to give it a try. I want to take that plunge into the unknown and help others in my small way”
I was impressed by his game plan. I wished him all the best and told him that at Conrad we tell our guests they should never just stay, but stay inspired . Here we had a small town guy leaving us but still inspiring us with his clarity of vision and outlook to the life ahead.
