I am An ARCHITECT

ARCHITECT - The word in itself sounds so beautiful. In fact I chose to be one because I was so impressed by the words Architect and Architecture when I heard them for the first time. I was 11 years old then. Not an age to understand the meanings though. I made up my mind and gave heart. A few days back, I was asked by my friend's son, "Who is an Architect?, What does an Architect do? How does one become an Architect?". The Kid is nearly 11 years old now.

The place where we stood at that time is so pure and full of energy that I could not give him an ordinary answer or for that matter refuse to answer him. I do not really remember what I said to that child but I would like to Pen my thoughts on these questions.

WHO IS AN ARCHITECT?

GOD is an Architect and every creation of GOD that includes man, animals are Architects. Why do I say this? OK, I will explain.

Anyone who has the vision and knowledge for creation, who has the discipline and character to lead and is responsible enough to inspire others by making an impact, is a True Architect. He who has all these qualities in him needs no degree or any license to call himself an Architect. Architects are not made in colleges nor do they need any office. They are true leaders who pave way for others to walk and follow.

There is a very famous novel by Ayn Rand, "The Fountainhead". In this novel the lead character is an Architect. To my understanding this novel was not written just for the Architects but is for everyone to realize the essence of life. The only reason as per me why she chose to depict the hero as an Architect is that she was cognizant of the fact that no other profession/al could have explained her point better.

WHAT DOES AN ARCHITECT DO?

Life is a WAR in which one has to fight a battle every day or every other day. Starting from the home to the office or anywhere on the street we encounter some or the other problem that needs our attention and action. An Architect is not dependent on others to take his decisions or permission to act. His imposing actions would lead by an example thereby restricting others to imitate. More importantly it is the timing of the action that is important. Dependency does not allow you to take right actions at the right time. Even the best of actions taken after a delay can be useless. An Architect leads others when the situation demands a team effort by being creative in his plans and disciplined in his efforts. He knows what is the need of the hour with the knowledge that he has accumulated. To sum up, An Architect leads with discipline and authority by taking creative decisions at the right time when the situation demands it.

If you analyse this, you will realize that this is what we do or are expected to do in any situation whether or not we are professional Architects. All the Entrepreneurs, Doctors, Army Men, Sportsmen, Politicians, Bureaucrats, Teachers, Professors, Industrialists etc, are Architects. Even a lower division clerk or a laborer who runs his family in a disciplined way is the Architect of the family. Have you not heard this line before, "Sachin Tendulkar was the Architect of the Indian victory". It sums up everything.

HOW DOES ONE BECOME AN ARCHITECT?

Simple. We all are Architects, we just need to fine tune ourselves. No need to go out, just be an inspiration for your own family members, for the people you work with everyday.

I, who has a degree in Bachelors in Architecture, who has a license from the Indian Council of Architecture to practice would consider myself to be a True Architect, the day in future when my son is asked,"Who is your Role Model?". And he takes my name.

WHY DO MANY KNOWLEDGEABLE OR TALENTED PEOPLE BECOME FRUSTRATED IN LIFE?

Sometime during February 2011, while having an after lunch walk with Avtar Saini Sir (My senior and friend at the Jaypee Group), we started to discuss about a topic he and his MAUJI group-mates were discussing the night before. "WHY DO MANY KNOWLEDGEABLE OR TALENTED PEOPLE BECOME FRUSTRATED IN LIFE? I said, whatever you discussed Sir, but I would like to add my point of view.

I said,

This world is a huge society that comprises of many smaller societies and further smaller societies and so on and so forth. Finally we reach the smallest of societies and then we reach an individual, A MAN. A man mixes with other men to make a society. He may be intelligent, he may be not. He may be strong or talented, he may be not. But he has to mix and work with other men to complete the society. The problem with many knowledgeable and talented people is that they feel they are above all others because they know what others do not or that they can do what others cannot. Due to this egoistic nature they try and stand outside their society, thinking that they are different and that they are above others.

This is where the trouble is. If I am egoistic then I should realize that others also have an ego. If my ego gets hurt then others are also humans, irrespective of whether or not they have same knowledge/talent as me. When we stop realizing that it is not ME but WE that is important, we are not on the right track of life. In this competitive world, it is not important that I am knowledgeable, this is the basic now. What is important is that how well I/we can get the work done from others and these others can be anything from smart professionals to duffers.

This is only possible when knowledge mixes with experience. Experience not just your own but gained from others also. It is not smartness that you put your hand in fire to feel it is hot. Smartness is when you learn from others experience that fire is hot, stay away from it. It is not smartness that you just curse others when they make a mistake, smartness is that you solve the problem created by their mistake. He who does it becomes successful, he who does not gets frustrated.

In order to learn from others experience, one has to lower down his own ego and work with others. Stay in there and fight the battle of life/work in your own way. Staying away and claiming that others do not deserve you make you nothing more than a SCHIZOPHRENIC. Great are not those who stayed away from a battle, GREAT are those who fought the battles in their own way and won. Even Achilles had to enter the Trojan war (after being a spectator for days) in order to prove that he was the greatest ever, even ARJUN had to fight his own people to prove that he was the greatest ever. You do not achieve this by being a spectator, You got to be in there and lead other men to prove your mettle.

My experience is, BE IN THERE BUT BE DIFFERENT but do not be different by staying outside.