Dr.Neena Gayatri
Necessity is the mother of invention, goes the adage related to the Greek philosopher Plato, and to me the adage also means, “Necessity is also the mother of evolution”.— Neena Gayatri
Constantly evolving is Neena’s ‘mantra’ to merit. As a child born to two simple, innocent but forward- looking people belonging to the Nilgiris District, she has been arrayed to the dictums of truth, trust, service, simplicity, courage, aim and empathy; not only by her dear parents but also by her alma mater St. Hilda’s School, Ooty. “When I mean my alma mater, I also mean my dearest Head Mistress Ms. Devidason, all the godly teachers to whom I am a par and all my schoolmates too”, says Neena.
Neena inherited virtues from her parents; especially from the father who was a man of principles and ethics, whose spirit of values dwells in her spirit till date. She wants to impart those values and virtues to her lovely little daughter. This smart child stands true to the saying, “Like mother, like child,”. This little wonder has great passion for martial arts; with no second thought the dedicated mummy enthused her into ‘Taekwondo’ as her foremost course of education, apart from her regular academic line of studies.
It was in school, where Neena was taught the poem of Lord Tennyson’s “Ulysses,” wherein originated the words “To Strive, To Seek, To Find and To Yield”. These plain phrases with the inherited virtues have, from the very start got etched into her soul and spirit. With her vision set; Neena’s every other step that followed, has also been filled to the brim with utmost ‘decisiveness’ and ‘determination’. Coupled with strong ‘willpower’ and the thirst for ‘knowledge’ led her on to a journey of accomplishment. These assets of humane virtues now see her as the COO of ACEnovation Pte Ltd, a Singapore based company.
Neena’s credentials is one never exhausting list. Her strong values and never-die spirit must have probably whispered loudly into her ears to “go on” and ‘on’. She has since, evolved and effectuated her abilities as an educational administrator, public relations exponent and corporate
trainer with over two decades of experience in teaching, especially in the area of Management.
Clubbed with this credence, ‘knowledge’ once acquired would never go in vain, especially when shared. This is no untruth; in fact, knowledge when shared magically multiplies! The more you impart, the more you learn and gain. The words of Buddha, he had said aeons ago, “There is no wealth like knowledge and no poverty like ignorance”.
At 28, she was appointed to head the Department of Business Administration at MOP Vaishnav College for Women, Chennai. Being down to earth and a people’s person, she headed the Industry Institution Interaction Cell key positions at both Stella Maris College and SRM Easwari. Thereafter, Neena took charge as the Dean of the Gojan Group of Educational Institutions at Chennai.
Neena’s constant ‘evolution’ towards growth and development, has also helped her earn many renowned accolades. She has been conferred the winner of the MMA’s Young Manager Award, and the Outstanding Woman Manager award. She has authored two management books and a third book is on the way.
An idle mind stagnates and stagnation is unhealthy, hence to appraise herself she has pursued and successfully completed a course on Entrepreneurship conducted by IIM-Bangalore, University of Colombia, London School of Economics and NEN, USA. The responsibility of having been a member of the Board of Studies, University of Madras, has further added a new dimension to her career as the UNOM, which is the mother of all the oldest Universities of southern India. She is also on the Board of Studies at Stella Maris College.
This recognition is indeed a reassuring pat on her back, which actually turned on the booster propeller to cruise further on her ambitious journey towards ‘excellence’, the ultimate destination. The word ‘empathy’ and its connotation has become her second nature, and this divine virtue was driven deep into her by none other than Noble Laurette Mother Teresa. It’s needless to say, that Neena cherishes service of any and every kind; for she is a blessed recipient of personal letters from the Mother Herself, for her keenness towards social service. Along the way Neena has never failed to show ‘appreciation’ and ‘recognition’ to people who deserve.
This has seen her donning many roles as the Secretary of an NGO -SOURCE in the awareness creation, intervention and prevention of AIDS in its many seminars, exhibitions and marathon conducted in Chennai and The Nilgiris. She is also instrumental in setting up the IGNOU open university centre at the Puzhal Central Prison, where she had trained the inmates and police
personnel of the jail on Stress Management and Life Skills. She is ever ready to step into other’s shoes when the need arises, reflecting the divinity in her. Her concern for the elderly has seen her go on Board for Women Safety at the MIOT Hospitals, Chennai and the Advisory Committee of the Dignity Foundation of India, Chennai Chapter.
Her childhood days were even more interesting. One could easily identify the ‘spirit of Neena’ from her school days. Neena was once told, you are not a runner and you cannot make it in front of other athletes. She was so angry and flustered; she took it up as a challenge and decided to train on her own in her hilly village to prove them all wrong. With pure determination, courage and perseverance she beat the odds and became the champion. Thereafter, nothing could hold Neena down; from the school competition to inter house sports, inter school sports meet held at MRC and at Wellington as well she was the talk of the town. She has won many gold medals in both individual and team events. This is no ordinary feat because one has to compete with participants from more than twenty odd English-Speaking Schools of Nilgiris; where athletic competitions are not easy to win.
Even now, on this day, she stands high on a victor’s position as a Member of the Chennai District Taekwondo Association and also the President of the Handball Academy of Tamil Nadu. It’s no surprise to see recently appointed as the Tamil Nadu State, Spokesperson for Veterans India Family; a group led by our ex- servicemen! Calling Neena a ‘veteran artist’ and a ‘multi-talented’ personality is an understatement. Her written articles for national and International Journals are worthwhile reads. You can see her flair for writing when you read her freelance articles that appear in the National Daily “The Hindu”. She has also authored three books; two on Management and one on Taekwondo. Her people skills and her art of networking have triggered her to take up key roles in the Indo American Association, Madras Management Association, Indian Society for Training and Development, HR Sangam, ASSOCHAM, CII, SIICI, FICCI, ICACT and so on to name a few and indeed many! It is no mean matter that a small-town girl has made it this far despite of all the odds stacked against her in a male dominated society. She is an ordinary lady with extra-ordinary love and will power.