Indian businesses suffering from enlarged-hearts?

Big-ticket philanthropy is flavour of the season.

The spring-summer corporate collection of 2011  showcases multi-billion-dollar “chequed” business suits in casual fits. Very pret in appearance, supremely haute in price. Mega role-models like Warren Buffett & Bill Gates have agreed to walk the ramp among the handpicked Indian audience. Some home grown billionaires, like the top-honcho of GMR Group, have already certified the line by pre-ordering.

I was reading about such largesse (try http://bit.ly/mintphilan or http://bit.ly/ef4dPA ), comfortably nestled in the shade, under the sprawling, leafy mango tree next to our house. All the while being thankful to the person who planted this wonderful flora, for people like us.

Big numbers that do not fit in regular spreadsheet cells generally overload my hare-brain. I am not sure if i can write, in numbers, sums like hundred-billion, correctly, at first attempt. As a matter of fact, i was so confused after my salary crossed one-million that i quit. Work that is.

Reading about those large doles consisting of a zillion zeroes, made me drift as usual. And my mind took off in a tangent as it always does in such “situations”. Why is philanthropy (defined as active effort to promote the well being of others) such a big deal today? Specially among the suited junta? After all, all of them own or manage very large orgnaisations teeming with thousands of “others”. So, what’s stopping them from making active efforts to promote the well being of those captive “others”?

As i too, for a large part of my life, been one amongst the “others”, probably i am qualified (it scares the hell out me as i am swarmed by MBAs from all sides, all the time, everywhere), just enough, to verbalize what possibly are ways of promoting “our” well beings?

In the fall of ’87 five of us greenhorns joined ITC Limited as probationary executives. 3 months down the line one of us lost his mother to a short bout of viral fever. He needed a few days of leave and possibly a short-term financial assistance, naturally. We checked and the very official looking company rule-book ruled them both out, as no paid-leave would accrue before a mandatory 12 months’ with the company. A cash-advance was not even mentioned! But, even in 1987, philanthropy was live in a very Raj-era-hungover corporation like ITC! This poor fellow was granted a week’s “paid leave” by none other than the then Branch Manager Mr. K N Grant. And no, he did NOT do him a personal favour – the leave was very much by the book, under a fine-print of  “on compassionate grounds”. I am given to believe that he was also sanctioned an advance, but probably in a useful guise.

Decades later, while i was handling a mammoth team of over 500 contracted sales-promoters at ABP Pvt Ltd., a somewhat similar but more serious issue was at hand. One of our promoters, while accompanying a morning newspaper vendor on a single rickety bicycle, became victim of a hit-and-run. He was admitted to a private hospital ICU & was underwent a major surgery later in the day. Our entire team, informally, raised some money and managed to tide over the first few days. From the 3rd day, things went awry & this guy went into a deep coma.  We also came to know that he was the only son of a widowed mother. We also knew that neither the contractor (for 3rd party resources) nor ABP was liable to foot medical expenses in his case. Insurance was not as popular those days. We were in great jeopardy with money running out fast. But again, philanthropy kicked in and in a very generous gesture ABP not only took care of the medical bills, but also handed out a large compensation. All completely “un-officially”.

There are several such instances where i have been witness to or part of corporate philanthropy that saved livelihoods, re-united broken homes or provided higher education, without seeking anything in return, even gratitude for that matter.

Why do i have this feeling that many of these big-ticket donors, today, have probably failed to truly internalise the active effort to promote the well being of others in their own little kingdoms?

Could that be the reason why they seek subterfuge under such lofty in-vogue fads? Is it so late for them, to start charity, at home?