25 years of growing up

Memories of your Class X th school are forever binding. I matriculated from school a clean 25 years ago, and fate brought me there again last week.

My school, SCB Medical Public, was a part of a broader institution, the SCB Medical of Cuttack. SCB started out as a British run hospital in the pre-independence era before coming into national prominence a year before independence when it started handing out MBBS degrees. It celebrated its 50th anniversary as an institution in ’96, coincidentally the year I passed out. This year, in its 75th celebrations, I was invited again. This time to speak. And I remembered the 2 things that the school taught me, which have stayed on with me, particularly in my years as a professional at OfBusiness.

SCB, as an institution, has the motto, “Citius Altius Fortius”, the same as that of the Olympics. It tells us all that aspiring to be faster, higher and stronger is not just the domain of the sportsmen. But also of academics, professionals, servicemen and researchers – all of which were members of the institution. It’s a value that is universal, all-encompassing. [SCB has
been the pre-eminent medical institution for care, service and research for decades in Odisha].

And on the entry to our school, right before you see anything else, there was a huge rectangular stone on which were carved the golden words, “Learn to obey before you command”. Through 25 years of last having seen it, I have seen it come true. A great servant makes a great master (in fact, a great master continues to be a servant). A great subordinate graduates to a great boss (and continues to be a subordinate). Same for the follower to a leader too.

Both values are core to thriving at OfBusiness and OfBusiness thriving.

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– Integral for Integrity
– 1 st homemakers