Whom do we owe the most for what we become as adults? Parents? Family? Teacher?
The answer is likely to be all of them. Yet technically speaking our prerequisite skills at the workplace are taught largely by our teachers. Without them, we would be nowhere today.
With a similar thought in the back of his mind, a bank CEO who always remembered his former teacher while taking each successful step in his life paid his gratitude in a very handsome manner.
V. Vaidyanathan, the IDFC First Bank MD and CEO transferred one lakh equity shares worth around Rs.30 lakh to his former math teacher, Gurdial Saroop Saini. He did the same to appreciate Saini for helping him at an early stage of his life by funding him to travel for an interview.
“When he (Vaidyanathan) got the admission into BITS, he did not have the money to travel there to appear for the interview and complete the counseling formalities. Mr. Gurdial Saini, his then maths teacher lent him Rs.500 to travel for the interview. Vaidya studied at BITS, Mesra, and did well in his professional life,” reads a viral Facebook post that details the entire back story.
The CEO had tried to find the teacher for several years until a colleague of his connected the two.
“Vaidya searched for him to repay but Mr.Saini had moved jobs. Many years later, with the help of a former colleague, he got to know that Mr.Saini is in Agra, called him up, and expressed his gratitude for the timely help,” the post adds.
The bank made a regulatory filing to stock exchanges earlier this month mentioning the transfer.
The MD & CEO of IDFC First bank is V.Vaidyanathan. I have met Vaidya a few times when he was at ICICI and found him to…
Posted by Peri Maheshwer on Tuesday, October 6, 2020
Netizens have praised Vaidyanathan’s gesture towards his teacher.
A Facebook user said, “Extraordinary! Such a redeeming story, this day, this age!“.
Another added, “Wow…..true expression of gratitude.”
A third user wrote, “This is called real Guru Shishya relationship which is very very rare to see in these times.”
Likewise, a user wrote, “Not many students get such teachers at time to help them. And not many students after achieving heights remain humble.”
Vaidyanathan’s act of gratitude is worth admiring for he never forgot that timely help.