Talent vs. Pay. Deserving vs. Non-Deserving. Achieving vs. Failing.
We love to debate these things as if success is a neat formula of hard work plus skill. But a couple of real incidents from my early career still make me laugh — because they showed me that even the greatest leaders know the truth: most of it is just luck wearing different masks.
How an Unlikely Candidate Landed in the NDDB Chairman’s Office
I had no business being there.
My predecessors were heavyweights: one was an IAS officer who retired as Additional Chief Secretary; the other was a brilliant graduate from St. Xavier’s College who is today a famous author, Professor and Research Fellow at the University of Tokyo.
Me? A postgraduate in Mathematics from the University of Gorakhpur in 1967. After struggling to get a full time regular job kept working on short assignments during the year 1967-1968 till I got a full time job on 1 May 1968 with the National Dairy Development Board. My English was poor both written and spoken, I was completely raw, and the only things I had done at NDDB till 1974/1975 were contributing as a team member to carry out large-scale sample surveys in 52 districts and 4 metro cities, data collection, and analysis for feasibility studies, Operation Flood-1 documents, review missions, and MIS reports etc.
Yet, to cut a long story short, I was ordered — no choice in the matter — to move to the Chairman’s office as EA to Dr. Verghese Kurien. I was shit-scared, wondering if I could manage at all.
Things eventually settled down thanks to the patient guidance of Mr. Aranha, Personal Secretary to Dr. Kurien.
And for some completely inexplicable reason, Dr. Kurien liked my sincerity and work ethic. That one small thing turned into a lifelong association.
The Two Incidents That Still Crack Me Up
One day Mr. G.M. Jhala burst into Dr. Kurien’s room, glowing with excitement. He had just cracked a tough government approval — great news.
I was quietly placing papers in front of Saheb. He looked up calmly and said:
“Jhala, as old Sudarshan would say… when luck is fucking you, what can you do?”
Many months later, Jhala Saheb returned with a long face and some bad news.
Exact same calm tone, same deadpan expression:
“Jhala, as old Sudarshan would say… when luck is not fucking you, what can you do?”
Good news. Bad news. Same reply.
The Real Lesson
Even the legend knew it.
Whether you’re riding high or hitting rock bottom, the difference between “deserving” and “undeserving,” between spectacular success and quiet failure, is often just luck showing up in different clothes.
Talent matters. Hard work matters. But sometimes the universe simply decides to fuck you — or not fuck you — and all you can do is smile and get on with it.
P.S. If I remember correctly Sudarshan Saheb was the Dairy Superintendent at Amul and earlier at the creamery when Dr. Kurien first reported to Anand to serve his bond in 1949. I had the chance to meet him once too in 1967— but that’s a different story for another day.
2 replies on “Luck Wears Many Masks: My Undeserving Days in Dr. Verghese Kurien’s Office”
I know Shailendra Kumar since 1983, when I joined NDDB. In many cases and times, I witnessed great things and got lots of experience, while working in MD’s office and in Chairman’s office, still I am gaining the confidence and knowledge.
So true…dada s reply is so characteristic of him…tongue and cheek reply…