How Adversity Changed My Life’s Purpose and Mission — Interview with Malini Rajendran
How do you bounce back after life major changing adversities in your life?
After several start-ups, in 2012 Malini Rajendran embarked on a spiritual quest which led to the development of many unique meditation techniques. But a series of life-changing events that happened simultaneously over a period of three months (a broken back, blindness and cancer), completely changed Malini’s life’s purpose and mission (see full bio here).
Mental Wealth For Entrepreneurs Podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Show notes
Katerina: Hi, Malini. I’m so glad to have you on the show because you are one of the ladies that have so much experience and learning behind and could you just tell me because you are a Fulbright scholar at the Cornell University School of Hotel Management, and you got Bachelor in Botany, and you got a Masters in Psychology and so many more degrees. How did you manage to get all these degrees? Could you just tell us about the importance of learning because you are a life long learner right?
Malini: Yeah I’m a permanent student. I’ve spent about 40 years of my life as a teacher, but I think I’m more of a student and less as a teacher. But, but you know what, I sort of feel my, my academic and professional journey has been all over the place. I’ve often been told, you know, I’m a jack of all trades, master of none. My parents are always very clear that I should master something but it just wasn’t me. I was just interested in everything that was going on around. I’ve probably haven’t done a too good a job in any of them but I got them all done, you know, that was, I guess, each one of us has made a little differently. But, but my… you must understand one thing that I graduated in 1971. I took my first Masters in 1991.
Katerina: Wow.
Malini: Yeah, you know, so it took me 20 years to realise I wasn’t educated enough. And, and, and it was a subject of, I was always fascinated with. So I did my Master’s in Psychology, but that was a time in my life when something very funny happened. I’m academically not very clever I mean I’m not very interested in in the academic part of education. I love the concept to be educated… And I’m not good at it and I have an awful handwriting and my mother would always say, I pity the guy who has to, you know, check your answer sheets, because I don’t know if he’s even going to be able to make out a word of what you’ve written. So, um, the thing was that, you know, when I, when I graduated, I, you know, we didn’t have the kind of grades that you nowadays get.
Do you know nowadays in India get in 90s and hundreds. I mean if you got a 50 or 60 you were considered brilliant and my time. And the marking was also very very strict, you know…
Katerina: Yeah, great inflation it’s called…
Malini: Yes, greatly inflated scores if you ask me, as a teacher, now I realised that you know the kids really don’t remember anything and they ask me How do you remember something you studied in sixth standard. I said well because we were taught that way, we were taught not to get marks but talk to learn the subject. So, so when I sort of decided that I wanted to change my job, I realise graduation has no value in India. If you want to want to go job, and just being a teacher and working in an airline. At that time I was working at the Airports … as a housekeeper. I was in charge of Delhi airport which is one of the country’s busiest airports. I was in charge of housekeeping there.
And I just needed to change, and I don’t know some, there’s something funny in my life, every seven to 10 years I do a change, and I change from one industry to a completely unrelated industry, and every seven to 10 years, I go and study, a completely new subject. So I did my Master’s in Psychology in 1991-92. Then 10 years later I did, I did my certification in Environmental Law. And then 10 years later I did a certification. I did my master’s again in Spirituality and Value Education.
I mean you know so it’s, it’s just all over the place. But now I realised that you know all of us are born with a certain plan, which we don’t realise but there is a larger plan of which we are a part. I do believe a lot in destiny. I believe that there are no coincidences, you are at a certain place to meet a certain person, you see yourself… get a certain idea at the given time, not a second before not a second later. So, I’ve, I’ve just gone with the flow Katerina. I’ve never sort of been one… but you know basically because I wasn’t very smart so I didn’t think I had the brains to question things.
So if I was, I got the, you know, a direction or urge to do something or I was told to do something, I just did it. I mean, it wasn’t that smart to double guess or think it. So, basically, that’s, that’s one of the reasons why I’ve been able to go through so many different industries. And also, I do have this habit of doing more than two jobs at the same time. So, when I was working at the airport, I was also a newsreader and broadcasting in the radio station, which was a night-time job you know because I nobody wanted to do the night news, and night shifts, so I would do the night shifts.
And, and even in my education, you know, I applied I applied for my MBA… I applied for my Bachelor in Education and I applied for my Psychology, thinking that you know kids nowadays are getting 95, and I got 52 and who’s going to give me an admission and the funny thing was I got admission and all the three courses. So I was like, Oh my go, what I’m going to do… but fortunately, a lot of papers were very common between psychology and education… there were six papers that were very very very very common you know like learning, learning techniques learning psychology, cognitive theory and all that was almost similar.
So I just said Okay, the big one was nine months so I finished that the Master’s in Psychology was two years, so I finished that, and the MBA, I had to jump halfway, I’m not halfway through... There were 13 papers and I am hopeless at maths, I, you know, even now, to this day, doesn’t make …. for me, so I couldn’t handle the business accounts, the business mathematics, the you know the all the stuff that needed maths part of it. So I said okay I mean I wasn’t getting these degrees to get a job, I was getting these degrees basically I realised that I was kind of under educated and I didn’t know much about anything. So I said, well, just let me expand my horizons and so I really wasn’t upset but but you know I must let you tell you that when I took… appeared for my Master’s I was already married.
And I, I was pregnant with my daughter, and there’s a 13 year age difference between my first and my second, and I had a lot of resistance from family as to, you know, and I was in a government job and I just sort of … I said no no I’m done. I… I guess all have this… The day you can do a job blindfolded … behind your back, there’s no learning curve… there’s no challenge. I call it quits. I mean, I mean there’s… I can’t just get up and go and be a cookie cutter. I mean if there’s no challenge in the job. So I left, and this was a government job and government jobs aren’t easy to come by in India. And can you imagine here I was…
I was I was pregnant and I left the job and I did my Masters, I caught a lot of flack from family. I had to face a lot of, you know, why do you want to do this, are you sure and it was a bit of a battle, but on the other side, and my mother’s family and my father’s family, especially my mother’s family. We have the average age is 90 so when I say I’m 64 they look at me and say excuse me we are 90, so don’t talk about your age. But I come from a family of people who have been constantly joining courses… programmes. I have an uncle who took up flying at the age of 70.
So, so my doing another course at this age was really nothing new, and then my grandfather was great support, and he said, nothing doing. If the money is the problem to pay for the course I’ll pay for it, but there is no limit to, there is no age limit to education and there is no age limit to experience, you just have to take it, you have to do it. It doesn’t matter if you don’t get the job at the end of knowledge you will never be sort of measured in terms of how much... what is the return on investment on. You know, a lot of people when they do engineering, when we do medicine in India, parents actually calculate. I pay so much for this degree, my child will get the job which will give you much in return and they make choices for children based on the ROI which is really sad but it is what happens in India. A large part of the country. A lot of families do that. It’s all over the place Katrina.
Katerina: But it’s fascinating because you’ve done so much learning in the in the past, and the typical sort of path for many entrepreneurs is that a lot of them kind of choose entrepreneurship because they are not academically strong enough. They are maybe dyslexic and they’re doing so badly at school and then they choose to become entrepreneurs and they never really think about nine to five job or going into academia and trying to get educated. Whilst you’re a serial entrepreneur, but you’ve done …. for the sake of learning right?
Malini: Yeah, but you know, I became an entrepreneur by default. Because you… I don’t know if you understand how the system works in India. You know, we still, we still to a large extent follow the old caste system… the traditional communities. And most businesses in India are run by people who come from the business class… you know the business caste. It’s a community of people who for generations have been businessmen, and they only know business. They don’t understand education, they don’t understand, you know, so, you know, it was historically created to have a more efficient society where people were chosen as per their skill sets, but somewhere down the line, it became a tool for manipulation and preserving power.
So you have the … who were originally the teachers and the priests who were the literate community who were most of them were either priests, or teachers and I come from that community so teaching and education is a given in my community. Nobody … about it, but you have the business class which … community where education is not important, those people those children most women aren’t really, you know, for an entrepreneurial sort of environment … Those kids are born thinking doing business from day one, you know, you will see a five year old and a six year old negotiating over chocolate or a coffee or an ice cream.
You know it’s that… it’s something that they invite organically and if, and those children who come from those families when they get into academics, do very well because they have the basic brains. But, but they get into academics with the the approach that what is the return on investment than spending in terms of time and money. Then we did have a class which was supposed to be the warrior class which no longer exists because you know we have now the modern Army, Navy and the Air Force, where anybody and everybody who meets those parameters selection criteria and parameters just get in. And then of course we have the, the, you know what was at that time, all the service class, which did all this, all the janitorial services which did all the support services.
I … for a period of time… what has happened is that you landed up inheriting those skill sets, for no fault of yours. So a lot of people who are born in my community who come from my community who actually have fantastic entrepreneurial skills have to really fight an uphill battle, understanding what business is about understanding the dynamics of business, understanding the kind of mindset you need the kind of attitude, you need, you know, where you come from a class where academics education… where you are. I mean I don’t like to call it … considered the superior class because you were the … who control the control the future of the masses. I am speaking historically. So, we inherently, you know, it’s not done in a very obvious manner, but it’s a very subtle kind of an organic attitude … that you know this is beneath us. And you know, we don’t know these kind of things.
And that was one of the biggest challenges I faced when I started becoming an entrepreneur. I became an entrepreneur, totally by default because I have these brilliant ideas, which nobody wanted to touch…. I’ll do it myself. And, and I can tell you I’m still learning. I, you know, unfortunately, entrepreneurs success is measured by how much money you make, and how successful you are financially. On that score I’ll say that I haven’t made any money. In fact, I was very fortunate. I had a nine to five job that paid very well, and I used almost all the money that I got as a salary in running my business which was the dumbest thing to do.
I mean, no sensible business family person would ever use their own funds to run a business, but then I had this drilled into me that you never take a loan you never take funding from outside and you know this was… imputed into me. The other thing, a challenge that as an entrepreneur I face Katrina was in India women aren’t seen in business, period.
Katerina: Yeah.
Malini: If you are in business, you’re either a secretary, or you’re an assistant, you don’t own a business, it’s just not done. And very often when I even to this day when I go to make presentations and people look at me and like where is your boss, you know.
Katerina: Okay.
Malini: it’s really really really really very, very, very challenging. So, and I got into an area which was… where no woman would have ever gotten to. I started… my first business was when I did my Master’s, it was called Good Foundations and I developed educational material for learners, not for teachers — for learners, you know, education… often people think teachers need because… were learning materials, teachers could use now and they were designed for age groups of seven to 14, and they didn’t need an… even if you were challenged in any way, even if you were mentally retarded. If you couldn’t see… by a system of cards that were used a lot of skills between that age group.
And I tried selling you know, and selling them and I couldn’t so I’m very good at production, it’s like music. If you tell me something has to be made, I instantly know what are the steps to be taken to produce something, and I’m very quick at producing and making these…
Katerina: Where did you get this skill from?
Malini: It’s like music, Katerina… it’s just an embedded talent.
Katerina: You were born like this?
Malini: I was born like this because I love making things. If something has to be made and someone says, you know, can we get this done, I would be the first one of the block and get it done. You know, it’s like, to do maths, some people can sing… It’s like music or maths. I just have that talent in me and so a lot of people ask me so where did you do your engineering… you know when I filed for my patents and stuff like that… “Are you an engineering graduate?” I said No, I’m just a common sense graduate. It needs common sense to build a machine. So, so I have machines that I have designed and, you know, there’s one thing to design something. There’s another is another skill set that to actually make it … you know to physically make it. I am able to do that transition very easily. So I just jump into manufacturing stuff. And then I realised “Oh my God, I’ve got a room full of stuff and I haven’t got a clue how to market it.” I still… marketing is my biggest challenge.
So any entrepreneur I tell them… you know my father would jokingly tell me any monkey can make any, you know, any monkey can make anything. It takes a genius to sell it, and I would sort of you know tell my father oh daddy… and now I realise I’m at the short end of the stick. I realise it does take genius, to sell something. And if you can’t sell it — there’s no point having a room full of stock manufactured and really what you need to learn is to sell it. So, so that’s even a digital product, you will have to learn how to market it. And that’s my biggest challenge so I would tell any entrepreneur before you get into production, get some good marketing… good marketing skills..
Katerina: Yeah get some marketing skills because you you’ have to be able to sell it… because you’ve been involved in… you’ve been involved in integrated toilet project for rural areas, and you were also creating lighting for rural areas as well. So a lot of projects with a social impact…
Malini: You see you know why I started Roshni in 2008 was… way back in 1982 the Government of India had something called literacy scheme called “Each one teach one.” And it was a scheme where they reached out to all educated adults to take people you know your servants, your drivers, your maidens to take them and to teach them literacy and to teach… basically to get literacy off the blocks. So as usual I was one of those who would be the first one to jump into these types of schemes. So what happened was that the man… and they said that he would give you the local government resources like you’re in the government school building for you to hold your classes because we all lived in small homes, you can hold a class in your house.
And the funny thing was most of the people were free in the evenings you know not everybody had to go for work in the morning, or they went out in the daytime. And in the evening when we would go to the school, we couldn’t have our classes because there’d be no electricity, there would be no light. And at that point of time, you know I realised that in India there are… you know, we have something like six lakh villages at 600,000 villages. None of them are electrified. And I sort of analysed the technology wasn’t available in 1982 to actually have off site, be centralised… any form of lighting… the concept just wasn’t there. It’s only in 2000 that you know you had LED and solar panels and all these things sort of… . So somehow, um, again it was a question of timing, I think 2008 was a year when I was meant to do this work. So then I set up the foundation and I went and visited a village.
I have a friend who runs a woman self-help group in a very remote village in India. It’s considered the final frontier, you know, the last the last mile frontier of under development. So, under development so when I went there and I started looking at started looking at okay so let’s put the light, the women cornered me and they told me a couple of things they said… a) please give us light that we can use because you know if you understand how the Indian village cultural system is, if you put a light in the, in a public area that men will sit under it and play cards and have their smoke sessions, which means that we will still be functioning without light.
In villages, there is still a lot of the caste system you know, women are still under the way, you don’t have to be Islamic to be under the was in Indian culture also as concept of the …, and the women sort of don’t come out when the men are sitting. And I looked at the houses, and that’s when I realised that this concept of putting a light on a pole or putting a light in a mall will not … something nearby, that … can take with them. And law and behold, the boys the youngsters cornered me and they said, you know, you’re making us a device can you make something that can charge our mobile phones.
And he says no you know we have to drive a we have to cycle, at least for … hours to the town or the nearest main Village. This was really a remote the domain village and paid 10 rupees for every time we charge the phone, and by the time we come back because of the tower sequencing the charge goes. So can you give us something to charge the phone… that was something really out of, you know, it… me between the eyes. So I came back and then I designed a very ugly looking very rudimentary very hardcore light, which I called a light in a bag, and, and then I realised I ran out of money so then I started reaching out to friends to for donations and people gave solutions and I was able to manufacture.
Again, manufacturing was easy part for me. So I made about 100 of these lights and I took them and I gave them to the villagers… NGO, but then again what happened was that died natural because I ran out of funds, and then the the government changed, and you know I mean I want to share with you something very unique. If you’re, you know people who are looking for stats and data about India. You, this was this was an eye opener to me in… As for you know in Indian data that we have, I was trying to look at. Okay, I was… when I was looking for funding, the finding guys say tell us what the size of your market is and you know how big is this going to be. So I suddenly looking at the data and I looked at okay we have villages how many villages are electrified. And I found that the village that I have been to where there was absolutely no light was marked as electrified, and I sort of, you know, researched and I found that if, if there is an electric pole installed in a village that village is ticked off the boxes electrifying. The fact that there is no supply electric supply to that pole, and the fact that that poll is only one and if there are 100 houses there is no electricity, going to hundred houses, so it’s ticked off as electrified and forgotten.
So people still do not have a life after sundown in the villages, you know, that, that is, is the is the hard fact. And, and then what happened was this particular village I visited again three years later, and I found that you know the government has come up with this very big scheme saying oh we have electrified villages. And when I went to the village asked for a pole he said yeah the pole is but not in man’s house, you know, again it’s that hierarchy politics that works there. So the poll just went to the head men’s house, and the Department said oh he’s giving you electricity inside the house, so we don’t need to give you any more electricity. So, so that just… but Roshni foundation is, is, is sort of dormant, because I’m one person handling everything.
Although I’ve often been told you have to hire people but then to hire people you need to make money, and I’m really not very good handling people, I would rather make and do things with my hands on the other side of business, which is, which is so very essential. And then, 2016. This was 2008, mind you, so 2008-2009. I did the Roshni foundation work, then 2016 when the when the Modi government came up with this Swachh Bharat, you know, where they were going across the country pan India to stop open defecation. And then there are no toilets, there is, there is no proper facilities, anywhere, in these villages.
So they came up with the scheme. And again, I was very fortunate. I had some NGOs contact me and say listen we know we know here you do work in this. Can you look at it, so I actually taught about nine village 910 villages, because I said, I am not willing to sit in a city penthouse and work out a module. I need to be in the field to really understand what the, you know, most of the schemes that don’t work in environment are because they are done by people in suits sitting in air conditioned offices. You need to be out there in the field to really understand what the real challenges are, what, what, what is the problem that they are facing. And, and come up with a solution for their problem, not what you think is the right solution, you know. So I went to these villages and then I realised that there were many issues. So I came back, and the whole thing was how do you get the women to use the bathrooms, you know. And what was the reason why women would not adapt to using the bathrooms. So that’s how I came up with the integrated toilet project where the women would actually, you know, have it was a full system where in the villages, they all were growing their own food, and you know plants and crops so I said this is nutrition nutritive water that comes out if it’s properly processed. So, it’s a very integrated project but again.
Most of my work, Katrina has some have come up against roadblocks for the most bizarre reasons. I mean it defies logic, and sometimes I’ve often wondered as to why, why am I asked to do this stuff if it’s not meant to go forward. But I still do it. I don’t question. One of those really dumb or, you know, obstinate entrepreneurs who doesn’t get it right. I will still continue and keeping at it.
Katerina: So it didn’t make you rich in the process right being involved in these projects… doing all this work for this remote villages, it didn’t make you rich?
Malini: No, it didn’t. It didn’t. You see, because of the funding. Nobody was willing to pay for the concept, you know, everybody. Most of the people who wanted me to build the toilets in the villages, said no we don’t want an integrated concept we just want you to build four walls and a hole in the ground. And I said no, it will not work, people will not adopt a hole in the ground. They are already going out to the field which is already a hole in the ground. The only thing you are giving them is four walls, which is not, which is not what what the situation requires. So they said no, we don’t want you to give them an integrated treatment plant, we don’t want you to… I said where would that stuff go? You know, in remote villages if you see the topography of the villages, I said you will be creating a health problem because you’ll be creating cesspools outside the house. You have to look at the whole condition and there are no leaks… and there is no Reverend to which they can just sort of you know push the stuff off… which is again not the right thing to do.
So I said you have to have this... And the other thing is the reason why they will maintain and keep the toilet is because it’s generating revenue for them, you know it’s growing their, their household crops and green whatever they want to grow and they can create new revenue out of it. I mean I sat for a month with these villagers, understanding that entire dynamics of it before I came up with this solution. But mainstream just wanted a quick fix, they wanted, you know, photo shoot sessions, and they just wanted to get it off the check checklist that village, village, village, village, you know, has been… toilet has been provided. I’m not willing to compromise on doing the right thing. Maybe that’s one reason why I’m not successful entrepreneur. I am not willing to play the rules of the game by what they laid down.
Because you need to do the right thing. It’s a tough journey if you take the hard moral high road, but I don’t know any road to take Katerina.
Read the full interview here.
Originally published at Katerina.Thomas.com
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About the Author:
I help entrepreneurs to build their emotional and business resilience. Throughout my professional life, I helped hundreds of entrepreneurs to launch their businesses following their passion.
