Book: The Untiring Indian

 Shashi K. Gulati, The Untiring Indian : Lifestory of Mr. N. D. Gulhati: A Visionary Water Resources Engineer, New Delhi: MacMillan Publishers India, 2011

“A developing nation such as India is built by the untiring effort of thousands, rather, hundreds of thousands of its citizens. Sometimes circumstances demand that everyone work in concert, as Indians did under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi in their quest for independence from colonial rule. Most other times, however, it is groups of various sizes or just individuals who work untiringly in their respective sphere of activity. In a large, diverse and growing country like India, there are many spheres of activity that need nurturing to build the nation. Nation building does require that we work with national development as the prime objective. It calls for us to sacrifice, to shun smaller, self-serving goals and to focus on larger causes. It demands that we work with integrity, commitment and a genuine concern for others. Those that do are, or ought to be, our national heroes. It is they who should be our youth’s ‘role models’. Role models play a very significant role in modeling our lives.The shape that a nation takes is determined by the role models it chooses. Each of us needs to select our role model(s) with care, thought and due deliberation, and not just get stuck with those that are thrust at us day in and day out by a relentless, omnipresent media.India has produced many worthy statesmen, civil servants, entrepreneurs, industrialists, traders, teachers, philosophers, journalists, artists, entertainers, sportspersons, managers, lawyers, doctors, scientists and engineers. In their life times, their indomitable spirit and sustained diligence became an example for many around them to emulate. They are the worthy role models whose lives need to be documented so that in posterity, they continue to inspire.In this story of The Untiring Indian, readers, especially those involved in engineering a vibrant future for India – engineers, civil servants, diplomats, managers, teachers, entrepreneurs – will find a most worthy role model in Mr. N.D. Gulhati, a technocrat nonpareil.”

About the Author:

“Shashi K.Gulhati the youngest child of Mr. N.D. Gulhati, graduated from MIT and returned to India to join the faculty of IIT Delhi (IITD) from where he retired seven years ago after serving for 40 years – 28 as Professor. He served as Head of Civil Engineering, as Dean of Students, as a member of IITD’s Board of Governors. A highly regarded professional, he served as a member of AICTE and President of the Indian Geotechnical Society. On leave from IITD, he served as the CEO of Educational Consultants India Ltd. (EdCIL)– a Government of India enterprise and transformed it into an efficient, professional, service oriented organization. EdCIL’s turnover increased multi-fold during his 5-year term. He has worked internationally as an engineer, an academician and also as an educational consultant. Currently, he consults and enjoys writing on issues in Education – his book on The IITs Slumping or Soaring, Macmillan 2007 has been highly acclaimed.”

Contents:

“Part 1: Rising Scion of the Family • Lalaji and Bebeji • The Diary

Part 2: The Dependable Patriarch • Bringing up Kunti and the Kids • Kunti’s Ninjan • Boundless intellectual horizon • Do the right thing • Keep the mouth shut and eyes and ears open • Delighted and foresighted • Vacations are not for work • You Can Do It • Friend In Need • Gem Indeed

Part 3: Creatively Constructive • Brick by Brick • International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage • Indian Geotechnical Society • Sunder Nagar Association • The Gulhati Trust • Short Sentences and as Many as Needed • The ABC of good conduct • The Profile of an engineer • Corruption in India

Part 4: An Engineer Par Excellence • Throughput and Output • Negotiating with Pakistan and Others • A functional approach • The negotiators • On his fingertips • The fine points • A view worthy of respect • Happy to go back • No axe to grind • The press, the politician and the public • Treaty of five decades – Not a dispute • More Throughput and Output • Utilizing A very Valuable National Resource • Democracy in inaction • Bureaucracy in haphazard action • Nipping in the bud”

 

---

---