Bonphool: Chapter 5 – M. V. Rao, the Mentor
Every successful hive begins with one bee finding the right direction.
In my search for that direction, I found the much-needed sunshine during one of
my morning walks with Deviprasad. As we discussed my idea of developing a
sustainable honey value chain for the Maulis, I sought his advice on creating
an institutional structure that could bring them together. Devi smiled and
said, “There is one wonderful senior officer whose passion is mentoring youth
for enterprises. He is deeply committed to the empowerment of SHGs. Main tumhe
usse milwata hoon.”
The next day morning Devi said, “Sir, Subah at 10.30 milne ke liye time
diya hai. Chalo we go together”.
Devi and I reached the office of the Additional Chief Secretary,
Panchayats and Rural Development Department, on time and waited outside his chamber. A
tall gentleman in a crisp white shirt tucked neatly into dark trousers, with
neatly side-parted hair gently brushing his forehead and rectangular
spectacles, walked towards his chamber. Seeing us waiting outside, he smiled
warmly and said, “Please come in”. Shri. M. V. Rao had a simple and unassuming
appearance.
Devi introduced me. Rao Sir calmly shook my hand. His handshake was soft
yet reassuring. There was warmth in his voice as he invited us to sit. He
instantly made us comfortable by saying “I feel so good, today I am starting
the day with two young and bright officers.” Then he asked “in what way I can
help you?”
I explained my idea of developing a sustainable honey value chain for
the Sundarbans. He listened patiently without interrupting me and said “very
good idea.” When I sought his help for materializing the idea, he smiled and
said, "Ho jayega, we are there to help you, aur
kya chahiye batao.” Until then, my idea had existed only in black and
white. With those reassuring words, it suddenly found colour and a clear path
forward.
"Power never altered his humility."
Though he occupied one of the highest administrative position in the
state, he would simply say, “I do nothing in office; it is people like you who
do miracles in field.” It was impossible to leave his room feeling discouraged.
No matter how complex the challenge, he would smile and say,
“Ho jayega. Don’t repeat; it will be done. Give more ideas to work and
help people.”
As I was about to leave after our first meeting, Rao Sir called out,
“Santhosh, keep coming here. Whenever you have a problem, do tell me. I am
always there.”
That meeting became the ray of sunshine that helped Bonphool bloom.
He had an extraordinary ability to recognise ideas worth nurturing and
never hesitated to invest his time in young officers who wanted to work for
people.
Every week Rao sir would simply make a phone call, “Santhosh, if you are
free, drop in at my office on your way back home.” Sometimes I went with
problem, sometimes only with ideas and sometimes neither. I never returned
without clarity. Those one-hour conversations with him became a classroom on
rural livelihoods and entrepreneurship. He rarely spoke about office files. He
discussed about institutions, people’s behavior, building rural livelihoods
through business and why every social initiative must eventually stand on its
own feet. Along with generous doses of Gyan (knowledge), he would often insist
that I taste the delicious snacks prepared by his wife.
Every new idea eventually reaches a point where vision alone is not
enough; it needs an institution to carry it forward. Bonphool had reached that
stage. I was searching for the right structure to organize the Maulis when Rao
Sir, without a moment’s hesitation said, “Make four Cooperatives.” He
immediately rang Deepak Haldar, District Registrar of Cooperative Societies and
asked him to help me out in forming co-operative at the earliest. When I asked
for more details on its functioning, he said “don’t worry, sab ho
jayega; we are here to support you, now let us concentrate on
discussing ideas”.
Deepak Haldar, a grounded field officer, took up the task of cooperative
formation with remarkable speed. He travelled across the Sundarbans, met the
villagers, explained the concept of cooperatives, completed the documentation
and within just fifteen days, all four cooperatives were registered and ready
to begin their journey.
Figure 5.1: Deepak Haldar, District Registrar of Cooperative Societies, handing over the cooperative registration certificate to a village representative in the presence of Range Officer Biplab. The formation of four cooperatives provided Bonphool with its first institutional foundation.
The Maulis from each cooperative were ready to procure the apiary boxes.
The initial plan was to give apiary boxes free of cost to all Maulis. When
funds didn’t arrive in time and have to wait for one more year to make this
happen, I was disheartened and in one of the meetings expressed it to Rao Sir.
He said “kyu chinta karte ho? Hum hain na.”
Rao Sir immediately saw a solution where I saw only a problem. He called
Samit Neogi Deputy General Manager of State Cooperative Bank and Said, “Neogi, the cooperatives
in Sundarbans are ready. Please speak to them and see how the bank can support
their endeavour.”
The very thought of a bank loan made me nervous. Like many Indians, I
associated loans with debt rather than opportunity. I asked him “sir, instead
of a bank loan, it’s better if you arrange some government funding to them.”
He laughed and convincingly told
me “with free funds they will not own the initiative.”
“The loan will make them work hard
and succeed. See, all our SHG women—they
take loans every year and repay them. You know, I worked as a banker before
joining the Indian Administrative Service. Bankers can help people build lives
through loans. Look around you—every successful enterprise, big or small, grows
with the support of bank finance. Why should our Maulis be any different?”
Within two weeks, Samit Neogi and his team worked closely with the
villagers. A business plan was prepared, the loan was sanctioned, and the first
set of apiary boxes reached the Maulis. Looking back, Rao Sir was right.
Because the investment was their own responsibility, every beekeepers worked
with commitment. The hives flourished, and so did the harvest.
Figure 5.2: Samit Neogi from the West Bengal State Cooperative Bank handing over the loan sanction documents to Pralay of the Kultali Cooperative. The decision to finance the initiative through bank credit, rather than grants, instilled ownership and accountability among the beekeepers.
Producing honey was only half the journey. Selling it was an entirely
different challenge. None of the bee collectors had ever been to a business
school, yet we expected them to become entrepreneurs after a week's training
programme. The beekeepers had honey in their hands but no buyers.
Rao sir kept track of how we were progressing. He gave us the contacts
of many buyers. Yet buyers were few, and the honey continued to
accumulate. But the bee keepers also need to take care of their families.
Without sales, every passing day increased my anxiety because it was I who
had persuaded them to take the loan and begin beekeeping.
One day, looking at my worried face, Rao sir smiled.
“Santhosh, you should always be Santhosha (means ‘happy’ in kannada),
don’t worry they will get the first work order for honey procurement, Ho
Jayega.” As always, he immediately asked West Bengal Comprehensive Area
Development Corporation to procure some honey from all three cooperatives. It
was a big relief.
Figure 5.3: M. V. Rao announcing the marketing of Bonphool's Sundarban honey through the Rural Development Department's retail wing. The first institutional procurement became a turning point for the young enterprise.
He handed me some homemade murukku prepared by his wife and said, “Lo,
murukku khao. Be Santhosha. Kal Saturday mere office aana. We have invited some
SHG women who are doing well. We will interact and learn from them.”
Saturdays in his office were unlike government meetings. They were open
classrooms where successful SHG women and farmers shared their experiences,
learnt from one another, and left with practical solutions to their problems.
Rao Sir did much more than help establish cooperatives. He nurtured Bonphool
at every stage—guiding its institutional foundation, connecting it with
finance, finding its first buyers and encouraging its marketing. Like the
sunshine that helps a flower bloom, he quietly nurtured Bonphool through every
stage of its journey. He became Bonphool's strongest ambassador, promoting it
on Twitter and connecting us with people who believed in the initiative. Little
did I know then that his mentorship would continue shaping not only Bonphool,
but also my own journey in public service.
Looking back, Bonphool was never built by one individual. It grew because every time I encountered a roadblock, there was someone quietly removing one obstacle after another before I lost hope. M. V. Rao never asked for recognition. He simply kept saying, "Ho jayega." Years later, when I look at Bonphool, I realize that behind every successful social enterprise stands not only an idea, but also a mentor who believes in it before anyone else does.
(To be continued…)
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