Nikhil Benegal

About: Nikhil has over 33 years’ experience in global multinationals in leadership and management development and in operational roles. He has been a successful leader and manager developer for over 25 years in FMCG, Manufacturing, Agronomic, and other industries – both in the capacity of corporate roles and briefly as a consultant. His corporate career of 33 years was in two large MNCs – Hindustan Unilever and Coats PLC. Today, as a Master Certified Coach from International Coaching Federation, and as a certified systemic team coaching practitioner and emotional counsellor, he spends his time with Executive and Leadership coaching and leadership behaviour assessments, apart from pro bono work focused on life coaching and other similar attempts to contribute. He lives in Bengaluru with his wife Indira, a Montessori and Nirmalaniketan trained teacher. He has two daughters who are immersed in their respective careers – Akshata who is an advocate in the High Court and Supreeta, a digital marketeer of organic products.

BOOK

Description:

Ramesh Benegal, recipient of the Maha Vir Chakra, was born in Burma and was seventeen when the Japanese captured British-occupied Burma. He tells his extraordinary, first-person story of his career with the Indian National Army in Burma and Japan in the years from 1941 to 1945.

A series of chances lead the young Ramesh to enroll for the selection of cadets to be sent to Japan for military training at the initiative of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose. We follow his journeys on land, sea, and air as the young voice narrates in sharp and often visceral detail the experience of travelling from Burma to Thailand, Singapore and Japan. The years are long and hard alternate between deprivation and plenty and between disaster and hope – before the turning point of the War changes everything What opens up before us is not only a war memoir but the transformation of a boy as he steeps himself in the cultures of food, behavior, customs and the ethnic aspirations of the countries he finds himself in.

In many an instance Ramesh finds himself a recipient, willing or unwilling, of the ups and downs of the cataclysmic events that occurred day-by-day sometimes, and as a storm after a seemingly secure lull at other times. These experiences formed deep impressions in young Ramesh and built a personality of resilience, focus on what was possible, hard and diligent effort with calm courage, and an attitude of never losing hope even in the direst of circumstances. A great sense of humor and a deep desire to stay connected and form relationships and friendships flowered along with a gourmet’s passion of a well-made dish. The origins of each of these traits can be traced to the narrative that makes the book.