Its been a long stay
for us at Jaipur .When you are about to enter your tenth year at one place
,then you realize how much of time has passed you by .In terms of
percentages its nearly 20 percent of your life away from where you came from
and where you plan to go to .At some point of time this fact started to knock
softly into my ears -urging me to listen to something that i could not wish
away .
A lot happened in these 9 years .I came here leaving behind a very comfortable
township of the Aditya Birla Township at Jagdishpur ,where i was a Principal ,
only to find a dusty piece of land .I remember the day very well .There was a
strong wind blowing across the field which was not protected by either the
walls or the trees that guard it now .There were lots of workers and they were
busy doing up the place for the bhoomi pujan .I was disheartened -oh my
god ,i thought .Not another school to build!!.I had undertaken a similar
mission in setting up a school at Bhopal ,and i knew it required endless
thinking and huge physical demands to push the project through.I also remember
the chairman asking me how i found the school after i returned to Delhi to
debrief him .''But there is no school''i told him .''Havent you seen the model
of the school?Havent you seen what you will get to manage once the buildings
come up/'',he had replied .It was a lesson i learnt from a visionary .He
was looking beyond the present and into the future .That is why he was where he
was -at the pinnacle of a glamorous and successful society .
Now as i look back ,i find his words prophetic .Its a school worthy to run by a king .!!Its got everything that anyone -students ,teachers ,principal-would want in a school .Except a swimming pool .It does not cost much to build a swimming pool for a school like ours .We are not strapped for finances .But ,i have always opposed swimming pools in a state in which people find water difficult to come by for drinking and bathing .And in the midst of such a scenario ,to have a pool in which a select few can splash and have fun ,just does not sound rational to me .
The school has been built brick by brick .The brand did not work as expected .In the first 4 months we had only 123 registrations (as opposed to admission-the 3 stages are form selling,then registrations,then admissions).There were only 197 admissions in our first year .So clearly ,the brand DPS was not on our side .But by the second year once the teachers work got recognized ,we had a flood of admissions.In other words ,DPS Jaipur was built on the reputation of its worth and not on the brand .Its always a better way to build the school .I have seen many schools destroyed because the brand expectations were too high and the school subsequently lost its clientele because of the mismatch .DPS Jaipur overtook all the schools -it produced the best results in every sublect,produced the best debators, dancers , volleyballers,actors who stood first at all India level,and last year produced a student (Hardik Jain)who got a staggering 97 percent in the 12th class .He was placed 3rd in India and first in West Zone .It was only our 3rd batch ,!!From 1000 the strenght grew to 2000 ,then 3000 and now stands close to 3500.We have come a long way from the days of the dusty fields which i saw when i first came to have a look at the school .
Now as i look back ,i find his words prophetic .Its a school worthy to run by a king .!!Its got everything that anyone -students ,teachers ,principal-would want in a school .Except a swimming pool .It does not cost much to build a swimming pool for a school like ours .We are not strapped for finances .But ,i have always opposed swimming pools in a state in which people find water difficult to come by for drinking and bathing .And in the midst of such a scenario ,to have a pool in which a select few can splash and have fun ,just does not sound rational to me .
The school has been built brick by brick .The brand did not work as expected .In the first 4 months we had only 123 registrations (as opposed to admission-the 3 stages are form selling,then registrations,then admissions).There were only 197 admissions in our first year .So clearly ,the brand DPS was not on our side .But by the second year once the teachers work got recognized ,we had a flood of admissions.In other words ,DPS Jaipur was built on the reputation of its worth and not on the brand .Its always a better way to build the school .I have seen many schools destroyed because the brand expectations were too high and the school subsequently lost its clientele because of the mismatch .DPS Jaipur overtook all the schools -it produced the best results in every sublect,produced the best debators, dancers , volleyballers,actors who stood first at all India level,and last year produced a student (Hardik Jain)who got a staggering 97 percent in the 12th class .He was placed 3rd in India and first in West Zone .It was only our 3rd batch ,!!From 1000 the strenght grew to 2000 ,then 3000 and now stands close to 3500.We have come a long way from the days of the dusty fields which i saw when i first came to have a look at the school .
With
the incomparable Ravi Jaipuria
|
There are always a few people who drive institutions towards excellence -not neccessarily the teachers ,students or the Principal .They are the dreamers who think big ,who take chances ,and who get the right people to implement the dream .Leading this pack is the exceptionally brilliant Ravi Jaipuria -Raviji as we fondly address him always .I havent quite met someone like him in my life (and i have met many famous men and women ,believe me ).His grasp over issues is amazing , he is very decisive and aggressive ,and he takes hardly any time to settle a issue .He works round the clock ,flying in and out of the country to honour his business commitments .And yet he has all the facts on his finger tips .His mind is like a computer .He will be able to calculate projections 5 years down the line by the time you are understanding the question !!He once came to Jaipur late at night when we were in the initial stages of building our blocks .He was due to arrive at about 5 pm .But he kept getting delayed because of important meetings , and finally reached at 1 in the wee hours of the morning .He told me to go off to sleep ,and when i asked him whether he would inspect the site ,he replied in the affirmative ''I like to finish off my work before i go to sleep Mr Kain.Then i can sleep in peace'' he replied .So i waited for him to arrive at the hotel. He appeared tired ,looked quizzically at me (as to why i was not asleep),and said ''So should we leave ?''.The site was 20 kms away ,he had been travelling ,and i told him that we could go after he had freshened up and had a cup of tea ''Nahi Kain saab(he called he Mr Kain or Kain saab),woh sab baad me karenge.Abhi to chalo''.So off we went .And once there ,he was at his energetic best -overseeing things ,asking the right questions ( a key to successful people by the way) ,waddling through water and debris ,meeting and greeting people etc etc etc .!!It was a lesson that everyone should learn -there are no timings for work ,that this talk of 9 to 5 is crap,and that achievers are obssessed .But then there are only a handful of Ravijis'.Wonderful man ,very close to my heart and too high for my head .I look up at him .On the same trip we discussed about the building of the hostel .I was at my defensive best -what if we dont get children ,what if we dont get a experienced hostel staff ,do we have enough water to sustain the hostel ,will we get the requisite electricity from the Rajasthan State Electricity Board .Etc Etc Etc .He just looked at me and smiled and ''Mr Kain ,if i start thinking like you ,i would never be able to do anything''!!Oh yes -he is so different.One of my greatest regrets about leaving DPS Jaipur ,is losing a mentor like him.But i have been lucky to have had a glimpse into the mind of a truly remarkable man -generous ,broadminded and a go getter .He runs a number of successful business ventures -from Costa Coffee,Pizza Hut,KFC,Cream Bell and a host of others .And yes -he is Indias biggest Pepsi bottler and thats why we all call him ''The man with the fizz''.I simply love the man .I dream of working with him again once more before i hang up my boots .!!
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