Footprints on the Mountainside

Very often, when I conduct programmes for run of the mill employees in smaller businesses, a recurring dissatisfaction for employers seems to be a lack of motivation and initiative among employees. Employees on the other hand, seem to think themselves “doing what they are paid for” and feel it is unfair of employeers to be constantly applying pressure for performance. Not that anyone says it in so many words….

This mismatch of expectations and delivery mints me a fortune, yet it is such an obvious thing, that sometimes I wonder why people can’t see it.

If you buy an apple, you get to eat an apple. If you want an orange, that’s what you have to set out to buy as well. Yet, I find such a basic thing missing in practical life.

I have seen hiring scenarios, where “dependable”, “qualified” and “budget” rule. The eccentric geniuses are walked by, in favour of the “stable” guys. Paper qualifications are important, as is not spending too much. Why would someone you hire in such a scenario turn out to be a creative genius at work? If he has all the qualifications, but is willing to come cheap, surely, it doesn’t make him an equal in terms of delivery with the dream employee in your mind, who you can’t afford - of course. I fail to see where is the problem. You are eating the apples you purchased.

The truth is, that many small employers would prefer to get someone inexpensive and spend time and money grooming this person into the dream employee. I have even seen plenty of “management training” businesses do this. So many people do this all the time, that it never ceases to surprise me that this “method” is still in practice after a consistent record of unsatisfactory results. Goes to show that temptation goes beyond rational behaviour.

What happens in practice is that the work in terms of quantity as well as quality delivered by this budget employee is far less than the dream one, even if there were a ratio to be considered. That dream guy could replace three of these and still find time to skip off home early everyday. Yet, the temptation of “saving money” works each time. Now the employer is not satisfied with his apples, because they don’t taste like his favourite or

Flashback time.

A client just called, asking for rock climbing training. He wanted to learn, but he was alone and didn’t have anyone to share the price of sessions with. I was wondering what to do, as we also are really packed with work, when I remembered the date. It is December. The time of the glorious rock climbing camp tradition started by Girivihar way long ago, long before I took my first uncertain steps on a mountain even.

This is where I first learnt to climb. It was an annual routine. Every year, members of this club take time off from the 24th to the 29th of December (regardless of day of the week), and volunteer their efforts to teach the new generation of enthusiasts the fine art of climbing. This volunteering of effort and extremely basic facilities make the camp affordable to many young climbers (young climbers are always broke - they spend their money on heading out every weekend). When I did the camp, I paid Rs. 350/- as fees (or was it Rs. 550/- I don’t remember).
A lot has changed since then. Our old venue - Kanheri Caves is no longer available to us, where we could avail of really cheap accommodation (a government bunglow, which was basically two huge empty rooms). The camps now take place at CBD Belapur and 14 years later, cost Rs. 2,000/- and should be well worth every rupee paid.

I did the unthinkable. I forwarded a professional client to the place I learnt in. There is no way I can match the level of instruction, hard core climbing ambience, and the company of fellow enthusiasts for that kind of a price. I would love to attend it myself again, for the experience.
May this tradition of old mountaineers dedicating time each year to produce new ones live long!

Those who are interested in this years camps, may download the file here - Girivihar’s 35th Annual Rock Climbing Camp - Entry form

These days, I spend a lot of time in the SGNP, in a series of nature trails for school children. Its been years since I did this kind of a thing this regularly, and it was like the good old days, when I used to beg the parents for money and head off into the park every Sunday.

With the heavy monsoons these days, everything is dripping wet, green and tempting. My schedule everyday consistsa of two short nature trails with two groups of the students, and its a time to refresh my love for nature too, as I introduce them to this world.

I am planning to do something I had wanted to do for a long time. I will be writing about specific animals, birds, plants, insects, etc, as well as I can in a series of posts. Let me see how much I remember and how much info I need to hunt for.

Stay tuned!

Raka and I were off again. This time on a training programme for Capgeminii. Dr. Dilip Panniker - one of our favourite outbound facilitators was conducting an indoor training programme for them, and wanted to introduce them to the power of Outbound training activities. Since this was more of an introduction than an actual programme, it was just the two of us going to conduct some very basic activities.

Luggage was light, and the spirit of adventure took over. We decided to go to Manor on bike. The monsoon season, the heavenly atmosphere and both of us together, alone on the road again.

We started off around 5am and hit the Mumbai - Ahmedabad highway. Surprisingly, while a lot of petrol pumps were open to fuel up, NONE of them offered air for the tyres - strange! I guess they don’t offer air round the clock since its free Just mentioning here, as if there is a Hindustan Petroleum or Bharat Petroleum guy reading this, it might be a PR exercise worth investing in. Anyway, coming back on track.

It was dark when we started, and the day began dawning around us, just as we got out of the city environment and among the natural beauty worth seeing. The countryside was lush green and the mist flirted with every hill it found as is the way of the monsoons in this region. Water fell from everywhere it could and it was the beginning of an ideal outing. It is incredible that we guys actually get paid for doing this stuff.

Reaching Manor, and the programme location at Silent Hills resort, we found it to be a really charming place. We were using Dilip’s room for the day, and it overlooked a charming courtyard with hammocks and the river beyond the fence in the backyard (well kind of). The area was spacious and perfect for group activities.

The group itself was a fun group, and while the outbound activities were really light, they turned out a good number of learnings for the group that they could apply in their practical lives. Dilip himself is a very capable and sensitive facilitator, and it was a superb learning experience for us as well.

A particularly memorable moment typical of Dilip happened in the discussions. When analysing performance and success/failure, there was a participant constantly speaking of trying to achieve. Dilip asked him to take off his cap. He did it. “Now put it on the floor and try to pick it up………….. no! DON’T pick it up. Try to pick it up!” It was an instant awakening into how we cushion our egos against the hurt of failure.

What is try to do something. It workd as an effort sure. But what is its place when you are analysing? Did you do it or not - is the bottom line. Once you have the courage and accept it as a yes or a no, you are in a better position to consider the whys.

Well this was a point when we all really laughed while we actually registered an important point, but there were lots of moments like these. What keeps these programmes refreshing each time is that while the activities are the same, the participants and companies they work for keep changing, and the performances, interactions, attitudes are all different, and like a new learning exercise for us as well with each time.

The programme done, we headed back home on our trusted bike, enjoying the ride every moment.

All said, a superb experience.

Leaving for Pench today. Haven’t been there before. It is Wide Aware’s first Wildlife tour to this Tiger Reserve, and we are filled with apprehension and excitement. We have organized this tour at expense, as we have no experience of this region to be offering services. It is a nail-biting time as we wait for the train to arrive, and our journey to start.

Many thoughts cross my mind. Nervous “what if” ones as well as fanciful flights of my imagination. We want to see tigers the most, as it is supposed to be the highlight of this reserve, but we are also anticipating a fantastic time among trees, birds, wild dogs, herbivores like bison, deer… My hyperactive mind serially visualizes all available options including a boring trip with no sightings, people collapsing in the extreme heat of the region in this season, superb sightings, but getting lost in the jungles, a tiger attack, evenings of star gazing…. My mind knows no limits. I even found myself idly thinking about a campfire evening – The temperatures out there are going to be prime heat stroke material – campfire!!!??

This happens to me with every new tour I begin. My mind goes into an imagination expedition. All the years of experience and their accumulated wisdom are inapplicable to these fantasies, and I am free to be a completely ignorant child on these flights of fancy. However bizarre, it may sound, but the girl who has spent 12 years in the wilderness one way or the other still gets fits of nail-biting, particularly when on a new tour with clients.

We are well equipped with a camera, another camera, a third camera, binoculars, field reference guides, notebooks, small pouches we are planning to gift participants to put their rubbish in so as not to litter, a book on astronomy for the nights (I am a perpetual beginner, with my reliably forgetful memory), snacks for moments of hunger, a first-aid kit, and lots of things besides. A friend even joked that the only thing left out is a pack of diapers in case we see a tiger from really close.

So, I have vented my jitters, reviewed my preparations, and it is now time to leave for the much awaited tour. Bye folks, wish us luck. I should be back soon with tictures and an account of the trip, maybe backed by a short video or something.

Ta-ta!