“The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof.” ― Richard Bach, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah.
Resonates well with me and my relationship with Anu - that we became family without growing under the same roof.
Anuradha Challu, was born in the beautiful valley of Kashmir at the foot of the loftiest mountain range in the world-the Himalayas. It is believed those great depths and heights inspired the tenacity and courage of this leader.
Anu had a wonderful childhood in Kashmir. Her father was her first role model, from him she learnt that life had infinite possibilities and it was vital to have a dream — that it was important to dream big and have the tenacity to chase it. Anu’s family was progressive amidst a society that was understandably conservative. Her parents made no distinction between the way her brother and she were raised.
“My childhood was happy and simple and isolated from the rest of India, by virtue of its geographical make up. My family of working parents instilled a strong work ethic in my brother and me. Our parents taught us that hard work was the only route to success and there was no short cut to success.”
“I think my brother, till recent harboured the notion that the balance tipped towards me since I was my father’s princess. So, during my growing up years, I never felt I was any different from boys. I had equal opportunity in whatever I chose to do. My parents ‘leaned in’ all the time to pave the way for me, which might otherwise not have been natural, given the societal context. I was aware of this in my growing up years and often felt fortunate.”
While growing up there was another factor in her life that remained constant and kept her inherently vigilant.
“I was always aware that I belonged to the minority community in the valley and that I almost always had to be on the defensive. It was a strange contradiction in a society that was otherwise cohesive in all aspects other than allegiance to the nation.”
As years passed the once tranquil Kashmir started to become a hub of strifes. Stone pelting among mobs and curfews were commonplace in the 1980’s and in the subsequent years the conflict intensified leading to the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits towards the end of 1989, with hordes of families moving to various parts India, mainly to the plains of Jammu and Delhi.
“My family was dispersed in four places. I saw unfairness and brutality of life, all around me. I saw the miserable plight of people who had nothing to do with the national politics, of which they became collateral damage. I witnessed my parents age, overnight. This was the first turning point of my life.”
Many of us matured prematurely due to our exodus and the trauma that came along with it; our perspective changed, so did our priorities. Anu felt a sense of responsibility and wanted to share her parent’s burden and started her MBA in earnest in Pune. On completion she joined Tata Consultancy Services in Mumbai.
“What a rapid transition this was. Mumbai unnerved me and fascinated me. The pace, professionalism of the city made me grow by leaps and bounds in a very short span of time. It unnerved me because it took effort to keep up with this pace for a small-town girl. While I grew in many ways, I think I lost myself along the way.”
Between 1993 and 2009 Anu worked for Tata Consultancy Services; Pricewaterhouse Coopers; National Dairy Development Board and Motorola. She also finished a Doctoral program from XLRI and was awarded a Fellowship in Human Resources “It was a steep learning curve with all life stages progressing concurrently.”
Alongside her career growth came challenges on the work-family balance front as well. One of her biggest personal challenges came in December 1999. The birth of Anu’s older son, Aryaman, coincided with her husband falling seriously ill, in a different city. This truly shaped her leadership motto of fighting the good fight and never giving up.
“He was in and out of hospitals subsequently for six months with multiple surgeries and several doctors changing hands. At one point the hope of his staying alive was negligible. This was another significant turning point of my life. It took me a while to understand the depth of chaos I was in. My life plan had to alter, altogether.”
“A strange realization occurred during that phase — it was as if this challenge had arisen to make me realize many things including the goodness prevalent around and the immense potential of a human being to overcome the greatest misfortune. I simply believed in the power of goodness and fairness.”
“The one thing that I ended up doing and has stayed with me is to express my vulnerability. I was in crisis and I said so. This behaviour was alien to me otherwise, given my formative years where I only took charge and was always in control. I reached out for help, unabashedly. The universe stood behind me, it truly did. Help was coming my way from all directions, including PWC transferring an interest free loan into my account, my friends sourcing expensive medicines from pharma companies, my larger family physically present to help while I had a sick husband and a newborn baby to look after. I was on maternity leave at this time, stretched physically, mentally and emotionally. I called my boss, one day and told her how I felt. Her response was almost divine — “Come to work my dear and you will find it therapeutic.” I took her advice and stretched myself further. I discovered the vast reserves of potential that a human being possesses. The next few years at PwC were fantastic amidst everything else at home.” It took her husband six months to recover and come home.
Anu’s professional journey has been equally fascinating, a great career at Motorola and subsequently anchoring the downsizing of the company was a very humbling experience for her. She then was approached by PepsiCo where she has been working for 10 years and currently is the CHRO for Middle East North Africa, based in Dubai. Anu believes that she has been fortunate to have several outstanding mentors.
“While doing my Masters, I met a couple -Vijay and Nisha Munshi. They have both been great mentors to me. While Uncle Vijay taught me the value of simplicity, finiteness of life and therefore the need to make choices that contribute to pursuits that are more than materialistic, Nisha didi was an outstanding role model of a complete woman — a doctor by profession, she played all her roles to her best.”
“At a spiritual level, my mentor is Daisaku Ikeda, who I have never seen but of whose presence I feel in my life through his teachings and written guidance” she added.
There have been other mentors who have had a deep impact on her professional life and Anu is proud of the progress that women are making in PepsiCo. “PepsiCo has very inspirational leaders. It will be great for these leaders to be able to coach/ guide future generations of women workforce at critical junctures of career milestones”
Anu is optimistic about what she sees as her personal life mission and advises young women professionals to look within themselves for answers. “My mission is to learn to be happy and to be the beacon of hope for all around me. To work for the happiness of others. Through everything, it is important to look after oneself. A journey within oneself is as important as the one without. Inner strength drives happiness. When happy, one can create value for oneself and for others around.”
Throughout her professional and personal journey Anu’s mother provided her with unconditional support that instilled confidence and trust in her helping her tide over many challenges that may have appeared unsurmountable.
“My mother was a constant source of inspiration. She is a living example of ‘working for the happiness of others’ and the epitome of patience and value creation. She helps me rise above things that could pull me down. She believes in the here and now and taught me through her own example to do one’s best. She stood alongside through my struggles and cheered me on as I traversed the journey of my life. I hope to do the same for my children.”
Anu has been a great inspiration and source of strength to me, the ride has been tough for her, yet she has created her own path and solutions to overcome so many obstacles and challenges, she has navigated through all adversities with such grace and poise. She is so grounded and so humble that I find it surreal — how could anyone so successful be so modest that you have to literally cajole her sometimes to just acknowledge her achievements or ‘show off’ a bit — she tacitly refuses and there is nothing aggressive or intimidating about her demeanour.
From our days in Convent School when we did not interact much but I always viewed her as a person of substance, to Women’s College bonding sessions, laughter and fun filled moments, exodus sending us both in different directions, from bumping into each other again briefly in Colaba working women’s hostel to her moving to Dubai; it’s been a tale of parting and reuniting repeatedly. The daily ride for years in the same school bus, her short hair, almost a tomboy appearance and now a very feminine, sensible and composed Anu with flowing tresses, us singing Kashmiri songs together — she likes in particular Masharev thas jaanaan and Hann Hann Chum loal chaani baerith, I have cherished all her ‘avatars’ and would do no justice in summarising her in just a few sentences. Oft in our pensive moods we talk about spending our old age in Kashmir with me invariably dissuading her and giving her a reality check with a tinge of humour!
“You’re never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true.”Richard Bach, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah
Learn more about Anu here
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/anuradha-challu/?originalSubdomain=ae·
- https://houseofroseprofessional.com/btctts-singapore-2015/highlights-btc-
- 2015/https://www.facebook.com/seguesessions/photos/a.1601530250081090/1601990926701689/?type=3&theater
Originally published on July 20, 2019 at https://www.facebook.com/notes/773198933475709/
© Jheelaf Parimu Razdan
