The Project Manager's Life: Leadership
Thanks go to Atul Abhyankar for brining this very famous sher to my attention. Perhaps this sher by Majrooh Sultanpuri is so popular and frequently quoted (and misquoted) because it addresses a personality trait that people in general admire, leadership. This sher, however, seems to address a specific type of leadership. It is the leadership that is innate or charismatic rather than that which is merely declared.
I set out all alone toward my destination, but
People came along and it became a caravan
Majrooh Sultanpuri
मैं अकेला ही चला था जानिब-ए-मंज़िल मगर
लोग साथ आते गये और कारवां बनता गया
मजरूह सुल्तानपुरी
میں اکیلا ہی چلا تھا جانبِ منزل مگر
لوگ ساتھ آتے گۓ اور کارواں بنتا گیا
مجروح سلطان پوری
The most successful project managers are really project leaders. They set out on their project missions and quickly form a project team that has a common “destination.” They are also successful in obtaining the following and trust of client personnel over whom they exercise no direct control. They know what they have to do, how to go about doing it, and steadfastly lead the way. They start alone and quickly form a caravan of followers.
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A word about the shaayar (poet):
Majrooh Sultanpuri (1919-2000), whose real name was Asrar Hasan Khan, was an eminent poet and film lyricist. Some critics view him as one of the greatest Urdu poets since Faiz Ahmed Faiz. His takhallus (pen name), majrooh, means wounded or smitten. During a career spanning 55 years, he wrote lyrics for about 350 films.
For audio recitations by Majrooh check the following site:
http://www.urdulife.com/mushaira/urdu/poet_index.cgi?msp_majrooh_sultanpuri
posted by Faanuus | 11:22 PM
3 Comments:
Thank you Bill. That of course is an extremely famous sher and does seem to reasonably apply to a lot of things in life (including project management). To me though, there is also an element of faith here, leadership through faith in one’s vision and an ability to convince others not necessarily through speeches and dictates but through ones actions.
The shaayar here is focused on his manzil (leadership vision) and has started on his journey, with possibly nothing but faith on his side. Of note here is the fact that its possibly impossible to cross the desert (reach the manzil) without a caravan (the leader can't achieve anything on his own). However this sort of commitment to the vision is possibly what influences others to join in and contribute (build the caravan which will ensure that the journey is indeed successful).
Kaustubh Mule
Kaustubh,
What a sharp interpretation! I especially like your comments on the need to have a "caravan" in order to reach a destination that would be unattainable were on to try to reach it on his own.
Bill
So glad to see the appreciation for Majrooh. He is often not taken seriously because of his success in the popular lyrics industry. I earlier translated a ghazal by him...
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