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 I
was fortunate to find a great friend in Col L.J.S.Gill, very early in
my brief army service with 2 PARA (Special Forces). His sincerity and
personal integrity are unmatched. Leadership is a matter of habit with
him. Inspite of Col LJS Gill being in a field where bull fights are a
part of the daily menu, I have never known him to bandy words around
thoughtlessly and maliciously, nor have I ever seen him indulge in a
casual exercise of sensitive and responsible executive powers and
duties. Even in the most trying periods, he has the sagacity to look
beyond the wall and come up with innovative solutions - they are like
extraordinary answers to a sincere prayer. His fantastic ability to
read the tea leaves gives him a head-start with his team of players,
knowing quite clearly what to expect of whom. And when its time to
relax over a drink (though he seldom has more than one) he has the
ease and élan of a master storyteller. Its such a pleasure to be in
his company and get infected with instant optimism.
The various experiences of life where you meet the
good, the bad and the ugly are a kaleidoscope of learning. Its always
been a matter of pride for me to boast of my association with Lalli,
as he is known amongst friends. He has seldom faltered in his
relentless commitments. In the 35 incredible years of friendship, I’ve
come to appreciate him as a man of many facets. A man of courage,
integrity, magnanimity and most of all resilience, a virtue that
defines character. His resolute sense of self-efficacy has met the
inevitable obstacles and inequities of life with aplomb. His is a
robust success story that has endured and risen through a labyrinth of
challenges.
Commissioned into the Indian Army in 1971, his
tryst with the forces began with a dramatic and gallant entry. It was
war and the need of the hour demanded one and all to abandon fear and
summon strength. The rush of adrenaline teamed with hedonistic
patriotic fervour drove many a soldier to do what was necessary to be
done, just that some of these choices get etched in history for being
braver than the rest. He parachute jumped in the middle of a raging
battlefield without any previous training what so ever! Adversity does
introduce us to our true mettle and as a close friend I have seen
abundance of his strength of character in extremely challenging times.
This set the benchmark for what lay ahead. He steadily found his way
to worthy merits, from being an instructor at the IMA, to serving at
the MO directorate, to commanding 2 PARA, the one he was commissioned
to, thereafter being an instructor at the Staff College and further
being selected to be a Defence Attache. These were days of glory but
this calm was ushering a wind of change. A desire to seek new horizons
and a curiosity of what lay beyond the realms of the uniform now
motivated him to set afoot in the civil world, a space he knew little
about.
Therein
began another chapter in his life. The initial few years were a
struggle to let go and rid off the stereotypes he carried from his
regimental past. The world across the barbed military fence is a
battleground in its own accord and it put up all the hostility it
could muster to its new insurgent. But when a man makes overcoming
difficulty his foremost business, not much can keep him from success.
Success did come and in plenty. He soon was absorbed in the corporate
world, handling some pivotal portfolio’s for ESSAR steel and shipping.
But in conformity with his original nature, he remained constructively
dissatisfied and moved on to head a mineral water giant where he was
the Lead Country Representative for India on Asia Bottle water
Association (ABWA), Jakarta and also served a tenure as the Vice
President on the Executive Council, ABWA. He also represented India on
the UNEP, POPS Conference, Stockholm Convention, at Geneva. He is
presently Managing Director of ESPARMA which is one of the global
assets of Wockhardt, based in Germany. Here, he is looking after
operations in Germany, entire eastern Europe including Baltic
republics, CIS including Russia, Ukraine and central Asia engulfing
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as well as the entire internal governance
issues in India. He today commands an undisputed place in the power
corridors of the corporate world, a place earned by acute vision, grit
and hard work.
The services are notoriously rumoured to inculcate
and imbibe such an immalleable and regimental character trait to all
those that served it, so much so that the civil world seems a snaring
opponent. We have often time heard of episodes where gentleman
officers have felt that the civil chaos can never be fertile ground
for them to find footing and acceptance. But the truth is, we are an
absolute embodiment of all the ingredients that make for success in
services or civil life. The challenge herein lies in finding the drive
and conviction and thereafter chasing it with undeterred obsession. I
know of no more encouraging fact than the ability of a man to elevate
his life through conscious endeavour. Such transitions are reminders
of the fact that one can succeed, no matter the challenge. Success is
not a result of spontaneous combustion, you must set yourself on fire,
and my friend, Col L.J.S Gill remains ablaze.
The author has studied
philosophy at Harvard and is the Director & Principal of Dalhousie
Public School
Survived 26/11
Terror Attacks
Gurpreet Gill (Col Lali Gill’s daughter) and her
husband Daniel were the occupants of room no.640 at the Taj Mahal
Hotel & Towers on that fateful night of 26 Novemeber 2008.
Fortunately, Gurpreet and Daniel escaped certain death by a whisker.
Friends of Greek tycoon Andreas Liveras, who was also on the 6th floor
and was killed in the terrorist action. They all were to attend a
party on Liveras’s yacht docked off the Gateway that Wednesday night.
Gurpreet and her hubby left the hotel at 9.25 pm. The killings began
at 9.30. She was unwell that night and almost did not go for Liveras’s
party. But Daniel persuaded her to attend it for a little while. Their
Greek host urged them to go ahead and take the first boat to his
yacht; he wanted to catch a quick bite of chicken curry at the Masala
Kraft restaurant in the hotel and was to follow in the second boat. By
the time they reached the yacht, all hell had broken out in the Taj.
She sat in the yacht in a party dress and watched the mayhem happen
like a Bollywood film until 11 am the next morning. Gurpreet and
Daniel saw their room going up in flames.
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