The Dependables

The Dependables SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

Individualism is a great concept, but even Ayn Rand's theory did not negate the importance of mentorship. In The Fountainhead, the stubborn Howard Roark for whom feelings are bourgeois comes of age only once he meets his mentor Henry Cameron.

The 2007 movie Mona Lisa Smile shows how one person can empower another's life by simply giving them perspective, but nothing encapsulates the power of mentorship more than these simple lines by Jerry Siegel for his protege and colleague Joe Shuster-"All that I have, all that I've learned, everything I feel.. all this, and more, I bequeath you.

You will carry me inside you, all the days of your life. You will make my strength your own, and see my life through your eyes, as your life will be seen through mine." Such is the power of mentorship. Life is proof that we are always influenced by people who lead by example. They don't necessarily have to be successful or in your field of work, but the one thing that all mentors have in common is their ability to nurture talent and focus on the positive attributes of a person.

This month three women, Sagarika Bose, VP, NASSCOM Foundation; Shailja Dutt, Founder and Managing Director of Stellar Search; and Atika Malik, Senior VP and Executive Planning Director, JWT talk about people who have inspired them to become the professionals they are.

Sagarika Bose, 32, VP, NASSCOM Foundation
For 32-year-old Bose, a mentor is a person who drives an individual towards giving everything their best by taking time out to connect to a person and seeing what makes them work without being arrogant about it. She does not attribute these qualities to one person as she feels she has been fortunate enough to be have three such people in her life. "Strangely enough, they have all been women," she laughs.

Bose met her first mentor while she was still a student at the Delhi University, Hema Raghavan, Director, Centum U, an MBA institute, was her principal at Gargi College and was the reason why Bose developed an interest in the field of development. "She had a great vision for the subject and initiated various clubs for social development. She encouraged me to volunteer for it." It took a year of volunteering and another year on the field to convince Bose that she had found her calling.

In the professional field, the first time she came across someone who changed the way she looked at things was when she met Renu Singh, Director, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Spastic Society of Northern India. "She saw potential and nurtured it, eventually helping me figure out my key skills," says Bose.