E. Sreedharan is best known for piloting the ambitious Konkan Railway project and the Delhi Metro. In this 2013 interview, he spoke about the government support he received and his enviably efficient morning routine.
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00:00If you ask me, what is the secret of my success, I can tell you in one word.
00:04Please.
00:05That is integrity. Integrity is the secret.
00:08Fourth day I get up, then I do the normal routines and then do some pranayama.
00:15Then I read Bhagavatam, Srimad Bhagavatam, for about 45 minutes.
00:19Every day?
00:20Every day. Religiously, whenever I am at headquarters.
00:25I remember when the metro was launched, Business Week had termed it as a miracle of sorts that you had finished, you know, the construction of the metro well in time.
00:36What is that one singular factor that you would say made this happen?
00:41Well, in a project like that you can't say one single thing has contributed the whole thing.
00:46If you ask me, what is the secret of my success, I can tell you in one word.
00:50Please.
00:51That is integrity. Integrity is the secret.
00:55But to make the first phase of the metro completed in time or before time, a variety of factors have contributed to it.
01:04Basically I would say the real good team I had, very competent, professionally very competent team which was behind me, that was the main thing.
01:13The other thing is the type of support I got from the government.
01:18I see.
01:19It is a huge project of this type to execute it in the capital city of the country under the eyes of all the very, very powerful people.
01:28The powers that be.
01:29Yes. You require lot of support.
01:31I had that support from the government of Delhi, I would say, in all matters.
01:35So, that is one main advantage I had.
01:37So, the environment was very conducive to you putting your best foot forward.
01:41I would say that, yes.
01:42Wow! That must have been a major factor.
01:44Yes.
01:45What was a day in your life like when you were working on the metro?
01:49Well, I, normal thing, I used to get up at 4.30.
01:534.30? Who gets up at 4.30?
01:57In Delhi I used to wake up at 4.30. Nowadays I wake up at 4 o'clock in Kerala.
02:02That's the secret of all efficiency, I tell you.
02:064.30 I get up, then I do the normal routines and then do some pranayama.
02:12Then I read Bhagavatam, Srimad Bhagavatam for about 45 minutes.
02:17Every day?
02:18Every day. Religiously, whenever I am at headquarters.
02:22Because when I am on tour or travelling, it's not possible.
02:25Then afterwards we have our, I do some yoga.
02:29My God!
02:30I do yoga about 45 minutes, have my breakfast and leave for the office early.
02:35I am one of the first to leave the office.
02:38The reverse clock is running in your head 24x7, I see.
02:42But I have also heard that you also never carry files at home.
02:46And nobody can call you unless it's an emergency, which is like the best way to do things. Is that right?
02:51Or is that a rumour?
02:52No, it's true. I don't carry work home if I could manage it.
02:57Because I always felt that at home I must have the time privately for myself and my family.
03:02Unless there is an emergency, I don't encourage people to contact me also over phone.
03:07I was reading about you and it said that you've been transferred about 25 times.
03:12And I think the wisdom of the Gita somewhere you said had kept you grounded. Is that correct?
03:18Well, to be precise, in my first 15 years of service on the Indian Railways, I got 25 transfers.
03:24How is that possible?
03:26Somehow it happened like that.
03:28Some of it is, I would say, planned.
03:32Planned for my future career.
03:34Because they wanted me to expose various aspects of railway working.
03:39That is one way.
03:41The other was because I was handily available as a bachelor.
03:44I can be shunted anywhere.
03:46That was another reason perhaps.
03:48So you saw a lot of the country.
03:50Yes. But that really helped me quite a lot.
03:53And it also helped me to evolve a philosophy that one should not take transfers as a punishment.
04:00So you actually converted the punishment into a possibility to understand and explore a little more.
04:07I won't call it a punishment. I would say it's an opportunity given.
04:10What is it about the Gita that inspires you so much that you read the Bhagavatam every single day?
04:15It gives practical tips how to solve the day-to-day problems of life.
04:22And that is what is required.
04:24In any professional life, there are so many problems coming up.
04:28And Gita helps you how to tackle these problems.
04:31That's going to inspire a lot of people out there to go and read the Gita if they haven't really.
04:37I think it is required.
04:38Do you recall anything offhand that you read in the Gita that you still live with today?
04:43There is one sloka in Gita which is very, very appropriate and necessary for every doer, everybody.
05:07So if this was translated from Sanskrit to English, what would it say?
05:12It only means whenever you do a work, you should not be bothered about the fruits of that work.
05:19I mean, you should not expect any gain out of the work for yourself.
05:23Then you should do it in such a way with full dedication and full enthusiasm.
05:29And you should not be dismayed by the good results or the bad results.
05:35A man who views his work in that fashion is a virtuous doer. It means that.
05:40And that's what you embodied for yourself.
05:42That is what I practice.
05:44There was a vigilance controversy that I was reading about where, you know, some junior of yours was implicated where you got caught in the whole thing.
05:52How did you just manage to have such a spotless reputation even when stuff was happening around you?
05:57There was a vigilance inquiry going on against a junior officer.
06:01Then I stepped in and said that you should not inquire against him because he, whatever he has done, he has done it on my instructions.
06:09Oh, it's like that?
06:10Yes. So, if you want to inquire, take up vigilance case, take it against me, not against my subordinate.
06:17That is the stand I took. And they were very happy, yes. They said, yes, we will take up the case against you and took up the case.
06:24Ultimately went to the railway ministry and the member in the railway board.
06:30He went to the whole case and he said that what he has done, what I have done is what he expects from every young engineer in the country, in the railways.
06:40And instead of punishing me, he sent me a commendation letter for the decision I had taken and support the way I supported my subordinate.
06:48That's amazing. I could make a film out of your life, honestly.
06:52No, no, these are simple, small, small things, but it keeps the morale of your staff.
06:58When you are prepared to take the responsibility and not trying to pass on the blame to him, it definitely encourages.
07:07And I'm sure it makes your entire team diehard supporters of whatever you do.
07:12Yes, definitely, in a way, yes.