My Inspiration

Written by Shreya Mehra
Leadership Open Elective taught by Jibrael Jos
Nov 2018 at Christ University

My maternal grandfather, Bhushan Lal Vohra, is the pillar of support in my life whom I am glad to have. Since my childhood he’s been a big inspiration to the person I am today. He is a former IPS officer who was as accepting and loving as a friend can get. Even with the huge generation gap that existed between him and I, he surely attempted to bridge the distance.

These actions and virtues of his inspired me into becoming a dynamic and loving person.

He has always taught me to trust my instinct as it is seldom wrong. He has always taught me to hold a progressive rather than modern outlook towards the world which has helped me develop and grow as I stay close to my roots.

He is almost like the problem solver of my life, as he is as approachable as an adult can get and that is another quality I tried to pick up from him. As a child I used to admire his work ethic and openness to change and somewhere down the line, as I appreciated and felt blessed with his presence he ended up leaving a strong mark over my way of life.

The one thing that my nanu taught me and always preaches is the ability of a human being to be kind to others. He always told me that before you judge the other person, put yourself in his shoes and then decide what should be done. He gives the best advice in the world and his advice is always extremely valuable.

A few incidents define who he is to me. One incident took place when I around 10 years old. My grandfather was given the job to seal office floors and homes in Delhi. He did his job by sealing all the illegal offices and homes in and around the so called ‘posh’ areas of South Delhi. People got so agitated that there was stone pelting outside our house early in the morning. I really don’t remember exactly what my grandfather told them but it stopped as soon as he confronted all of these people.

My grandfather teaches me the power if being a leader. He teaches me the power of communication with anyone and everyone. He till date takes public speaking workshops for youngsters like me. He is also a guide for the interviews of aspiring civil servants. He never stops working. I’m extremely proud to have him as my inspiration and have him be my grandfather.