If someone wanted to explore the meaning of INFINITY, I suggest initiating learning process, whatever you feel to learn, however you wanted to learn. It’s a never-ending process. For me, learning is infinity!

I thrive to learn, every minute, not losing any opportunity, which comes the way. There are few people, who are around us, will encourage us to learn more. One such person is Sri.Mallanna, an engineer, a moderator, a ship captain, a philosopher, overall, an inspirational character to most of the people who follows him closely.

If I remember right, my first meeting with him was way back in 1990s in a project site meeting, probably in Karnataka Golf association. I have had heard his commanding voice module with high confidence in him while interacting with the project team.

Almost 20 years later, got a call through somebody to meet him in person. He was in Karle Infra by then. It was an assignment of a peer review for a mixed development project, which has already under construction, MEP consultancy by some other firm.

As usual, I started collecting the enough information about the projects and finalized my preparation kit for the meeting with him. After taking his appointment, reached Karle Infra office on said date, in time. I was made to sat in the reception lounge for 20 minutes, and a man with a taller stature reached the reception and called me to the nearest meeting cabin for the discussion. We got introduced to each other (formally after 20 years!) and immediately he started asking questions about transformers, cables, sizing of equipment etc.,

In a short time of interaction, I could understand that his queries are directly towards optimization of equipment in turn the optimization of project cost.  I requested him if I can open my laptop to present something related to this matter of subject. Upon his confirmation, I started switching ON the laptop, meantime he went out to meet another visitor in the reception. I had opened the relevant file and started consuming a tea served to me. He was back after ten minutes, I started presenting a slide, which has had a case study of BESCOM’s transformers and cables provided to residential apartment for last two decades and its status by then.  He was impressed as I could observe with various questions thrown on to me! I could clarify his most of the queries during the one to one interaction.

The meeting was over, and I packed my kit and travelled back to office. Few days later, He has selected me as a peer review consultant.

During the workshops and various meetings at Karle Infra projects, I could see his vocabulary strength of magnetizing the audience in the meeting. My journey of learning better has started immensely, while listening to him in the meetings. He speaks on every subject of the globe, with statistics and with his logics applied.

Few years later, I met him in different workplace where we had already worked for few projects in Bangalore. Our interaction continued on MEP topics either over the phone and occasionally in his office as well.

One fine day, I got a call from him, and he told me that he got a new client and they have already finalized MEP consultants for their commercial projects, but he intervened the client to create an opportunity for us to showcase our capabilities. He also told me that the client is from the highly esteemed background with a busy schedule hence only 60 minutes has been allocated for us to present our knowledge session with them. He also told me that it is upto us to put up our case.

As per his advice, we reached builder’s office 15 minutes earlier, and to our surprise, client has already present in the meeting room. We got formally introduced to the them and it was strictly stated by Sri.Mallana that we need to complete our session within an hour. We started our presentation with introduction of our company, our experience of similar projects done in past and little later, the presentation become interactive session with Q&A and shifted to discussion mode. The second surprise of the day, client (an esteemed name in the state government) has started explaining city management, water management etc., and we were listening to him like a students because of vast knowledge and experience he had during his government service. The session, which was supposed to end in an hour, extended beyond lunch hour!

After three days, we are told that our company has been selected as a MEP consultant for their projects. Even today, our association is going stronger, especially our personal relationship with him. We are being treated as a family member (never as a consultant) by our esteemed client till today.  We could have not achieved this without an opportunity created by Sri.Mallanna.

He is a man to follow, if you are in search of any inspiration towards professional career and life. Every meeting with him-feeds me full of learning, every interaction with him-grooms me with new ideas, whenever I remember him-my energy levels goes high. After attending several meetings with him in the past, the charm of listening to him never faded. His selection of words, submitting his honest & highly weighed opinions to the team, bring instant positive energy in the room for sure.

Ramesh G