So, Revathi, you are in your alma mater, the home of BITS Pilani. So when you came to this campus, and now you are visiting, what is the major difference you find between your last visit and this visit — that time as a student, now as a CEO of Flex?
I would say, you know, the heart and soul of the campus feels the same. It's beautiful to see that the clock tower, the mandir, the architecture of the buildings — all of that still has the history that I was used to. But there's also a lot of new additions, like the new buildings, a new workshop. You know, so I like the fact that the oldest preserves the things I loved and I enjoyed, but we have kept it up with the times with new contemporary ways of having classrooms and collaborative meeting rooms and all of that. But it's an emotional journey back, because obviously, you know, I remember Pilani from coming 40 years ago, and it's a long time since then. So from 1986 to now is a long time, but I love that the heart and soul feels the same.
Okay. Wonderful. When you saw the auditorium today evening — what was your first impression during your school, your college days here? What was that goosebump feeling you got?
See, what I remember about the auditorium was those amazing music nights — you know, full of friends, the energy, the vibe of the sound and the lights, and just the time of being with your friends and having a good time. And then to be here today, for me, is a surreal moment: being a speaker and seeing the auditorium with the way it's, you know, set up. It feels very different to be back and then be a speaker, from 40 ago being a place where I enjoyed with my friends. I never imagined a moment like this.
The inspirational part is the amount of work people put into it.
Exactly. Even things like a music night — you know, they were here for studying, but people volunteered for sound, they volunteered for lights. I have so many friends who put their heart and soul into an amazing music night so we could all have a good time. And that is one of the beautiful things I learned about Pilani: it was not just about academia. Everything was done with a lot of passion. So I think that's very inspirational.
Okay. So when you came to BITS Pilani, you said that you were the only student of mechanical engineering. All right — what was the driving point in your mind which made you take up mechanical engineering?
Yeah. You know, in those days there wasn't a way to do research on the things you wanted to do. My knowledge of mechanical engineering was that it would be very hands-on — I would get to work with things and make things. I knew that I didn't want to be a chemical engineer because my dad was one, and I didn't want to aspire to be like him, because he was amazing. And so I chose something that I thought would be hands-on. And I didn't know more than that about it, so that's why I chose mechanical engineering.
When you think about it as a mechanical engineer, are you able to connect with your current working position at Flex? In what way are you able to correlate the education you got here? How much useful was it when you really moved towards career progression?
You know, I wish I could say that I was a hardworking student who learned a lot from my studies and all of that, but, you know, I learned from many things — like even working in the workshop, which was very hard work. Even if I didn't understand the technicalities of it, it is work that is very relevant to what I do today: being in an industrial environment, in a manufacturing environment, it's all about that.
But I think the relevance of my job today and Pilani is that leadership is all about the psychology of the human being. How do you understand people? How do you work with people from different walks of life? And Pilani gave me that. It was a melting pot of people from many states, with different backgrounds — learning to live with them, appreciate them, enjoy them, I would say gave me the leadership journey I have today.
All right. What is one of the qualities about her which you really feel has not changed at all?
So, the thing that helps her both in her personal life and professional life is her ability to prioritize. She knows clearly what's important, what's not, and that allows her to focus on the few things that need to get done. She just goes after it with a lot of tenacity and a lot of focus, and then she just works on it, works on it, and gets it done. So that's a quality that's admirable both as a parent, as a wife — sometimes painfully — and then as a professional. So, you know, the ability to prioritize and then go get it done. I think that's something that I've seen right from the beginning.
I mean, if he says so, it must be right. So I don't think anybody knows me better than him.
No, no, it's fine. During your — see this togetherness. What is one of the qualities which has not changed?
So J is very consistent — when he was 26 years old and when he is 55 years old, he is the same human being all the time. So I know when I met him that he was way mature beyond his time, and that is one thing that has kept us grounded through all these 30 years and all our crazy life that we have led.
Wow. Thank you. Thank you so much. Do you agree? What do you think about what she said?
That's the nicest thing she said.
Okay. Wonderful. I'm very happy to hear that. But I am carrying two key words from both of you. One is about you — it's consistency — and about her I'm taking tenacity. All right. Those two key words, correct, defining J and Revathi. Wonderful.
Okay. When you looked at the clock tower this time, what was the first kind of thought that came into your mind?
First is so many memories in and around this clock tower, right? Whether it was classes or hanging out with friends, all of that. Now, seeing my picture there is throwing me off a little bit, because I never expected that. But just the fact that it has retained everything — this was like the core of the university, you know, the clock tower; everything revolved around it. And I still feel like it is the core of what has held BITS Pilani together, what has made it good, and now amazing with the campus expansion that has happened. So I feel a great deal of pride every time I see a picture with this clock tower. I feel like, oh, I was part of that. Right. So there's so much pride in watching this.
No, I think — I always say the clock tower, I treat it as an eye of the campus, watching every BITS student moving around from one place to another place. Somebody is going for breakfast, running. Somebody's running for the quiz. Somebody's running for the exam. Somebody's running to meet maybe his girlfriend, or the girl is running to meet her boyfriend. And then I look at the clock and I just say, ah, wow, all these people are going to go and leave me someday; they will come back like Revathi.
Yes, it has probably got more stories than we all know about.
Absolutely. Absolutely. So what is actually one of the very important qualities in BITS which connects them together?
I would say maybe because we lived in a desert all by ourselves with nothing else around us. We didn't have a city to go to; we had nothing to do but be with each other for four years, whether it is in Meera Bhawan or outside. I would say it creates a support system that is like none other. Right. So my family describes the BITSian community as a cult. You know, they keep saying BITSians are a cult — wherever you go, they are around you. That means they are there to support you; they are part of the journey. And if I think about the last 40 years since I came to Pilani, all my ups and downs in my life, there has always been a BITS story along with it.
And so I think that support system is very unique. I don't know what creates that. J will say the same about his college — he'll say the BITS community is just unique. And I think it's the support system: the fact that we were around each other for four years, and 40 years later we're still best of friends. That is really hard to create, right? So I think I don't find that to be common in most other colleges.
Absolutely. So I always use this Bollywood dialogue to everyone. I think J will know — there is a Deewar movie, and in that there is a conversation between two brothers below the bridge. And the elder brother is telling him that he has a bungalow, and the police inspector younger brother says, 'That's right.' So as a BITS director I always say to the alumni, that is true. What a beautiful connection, I think. If somebody says, 'I have alumni' — and I think this is about the spirit of a BITSian. I always keep telling about it, that BITSians are very, very different.
Well said. I think I love that connection.
All right. So now I'll talk to J about it. Okay. There is a beautiful song in a Hindi Bollywood movie.
