Subramanian P G

Partner S P Raju & Co. Chartered Accountants

I have been a trainer for Corporates for quite aI have while . Dealing with audiences who are well educated and are keen to absorb what is offered makes the job easy. But how about talking to a group of people who lack the skills to understand the way learned people do but are keen to learn? After all every one is eager to learn and grow. Is it not our duty to educate them and talk to them in their language to effectively convey the meaning?

Such an opportunity presented itself last week where I had the good fortune of talking to a group of youngsters both Female & Male , full of energy, enthusiasm and the burning desire to learn & grow. Yes I am talking about the session I conducted to a bunch of youngsters from a small rural village called Kodaganallur in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu.

The session was facilitated by the Youth of Kodaganallur Endeavour (YOKE) Society run by two extremely committed people Mrs. Chitra & Mr.Vasudevan who are real examples of rendering selfless service in uplifting the lives of the people and youngsters in the village and surrounding areas for the past 15 years with remarkable commitment. They wanted me to address the young audience on how to appear for competitive examinations to a group and on Starting entrepreneurial venture to another group.

I have no prior experience of addressing this kind of audience whose exposure is limited to the surroundings where they live. My ability to speak the local language came in handy ( Usage of English does not work here) . This was a challenge since I was required to put and articulate my thoughts and convey it a style best understood by these people. Once I commenced , it was evident that it was not that difficult a task after all. The response from the audience was overwhelming and true to expectations questions started to fly on all the aspects since the bunch was determined to learn and proceed. They just need that spark & push. What was supposed to be a session for 2 hours went all the way for 3 hours and the audience was thirsty for more. Two things stand out here. First, The commitment of the couple who have taken upon themselves to transform the lives of the locals and have been working tirelessly to bring about the change . Second, the commitment displayed by the bunch of youngsters to learn. I for one, learnt something new and a different perspective of talking to an audience of a different kind. I am glad that I could contribute my small effort in giving back to society. I am deeply indebted to Mrs. Chitra & Mr. Vasudevan for considering as worthy of doing the session.

Looking forward to more such engaging sessions.