September 2024 – Insights from the Indian festival season

 

It may seem to be punctuated by discrete celebrations, but the Indian festival season is more likely to be a never-ending relay race of joyous events that are typically characterized with tradition, culture, and religious fervor. Not just individual families, but entire communities are involved in a seamless manner.

Such festivities certainly offer several useful insights for entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Let’s look at a few of these.

Family Bonding: Festivals in India such as Holi, Raksha Bandhan and Eid often involve family reunions, where people come together from far and wide to celebrate. The emphasis on family and community values often acts as a reinforcing glue.

The use of corporate events such as foundation day or project milestones and work anniversaries need to place emphasis on the core values of the business. These can also be a reinforcing glue for the team.

Resilience and New Beginnings: The festival of Navratri, for instance, is celebrated with great enthusiasm, and represents the triumph of good over evil. It emphasizes the need for resilience in the face of adversity and encourages embracing new beginnings with an open mind.

Success in business ventures is also dependent on these two traits in entrepreneurs. While good forward planning helps, an adverse environment cannot always be accurately predicted. Setbacks – be they small hurdles or debilitating ones – can only be overcome with focused action that is energized by a resilient mindset.

Embracing new ideas is another trait in business leaders, that is a precursor for success.

Mindfulness: Participating in religious and cultural festivals such as Navratri and Durga Puja, often requires a sense of cultivated mindfulness. It involves being fully present in the moment, immersing oneself in the rituals, and appreciating the beauty of the celebration. This practice of mindfulness, as many Indians will assert, is essential for stress reduction and overall well-being during the intense period of the festival celebrations.

Effective business leaders and entrepreneurs need to master the art of mindfulness. This will ensure that the “pulls” and the “pushes” from various stakeholders do not jeopardize the operations and there is an overall appreciation and satisfaction of the progress being made towards the visionary objectives.

Time Management: Indian festivals often follow specific schedules and rituals, emphasizing the importance of time management. The punctuality and precision required for festival preparations – for instance the preparations and the performance of Midnight Mass during Christmas where the service involves carols, a short sermon and the celebration of the Holy Communion (the blessing and sharing of bread and wine) – illustrate the need for, and the benefits of, effective time management.

Gratitude: Many Indian festivals, revolve around the concept of gratitude. For example, the harvest festivals such as Pongal, Lohri, Makar Sankranti, are events where farmers express their gratitude to nature. It is a celebratory reminder to everybody, to appreciate the abundance in their lives and find contentment in what they have achieved.

Good entrepreneurs always demonstrate their deep appreciation of the support that they receive from their customers, partners, suppliers and employees. They periodically showcase their gratitude through appreciatory letters, gifts and rewards.

Discipline and Purity: Festivals like Paryushana and Ramadan are occasions where people observe strict fasting perform various purifying acts. These practices require discipline and self-control.

Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders need to realize the value of delayed gratification and patience - these are essential for sustainable growth. Also important is the concept of purity – in a business these are relatable to quality, ethics and compliance.

Philanthropy: On the auspicious day of Gurupurab or Guru Nanak Jayanthi, the Sikhs offer prayer to their first Guru, cook food and offer it to all those who are needy. Guru ka Langar is another tradition where gurudwaras serve food to all regardless of social status, gender of faith.

Corporate philanthropy is a means by which entrepreneurs can earn the long-lasting goodwill of the social communities in which they operate. CSR initiatives are increasingly contributing to solving intractable social challenges.