PERSPECTIVE

SRIRAM RAGHAVENDRAN story of crisis, courage, and the clarity that gave him a solution in a life and death situation shares a personal

- SRIRAM RAGHAVENDRAN

My career took me to work in a paper mill in Africa for a year. The factory was in the middle of a dense forest, 750 kms from Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania. The facility was self-sufficient, providing food and accommodation, and there was no need to step outside the premises. In fact, we were advised not to venture into the forest since it was full of wild beasts and considered dangerous. We all took this as a dictum and rarely ventured out; even when we did, we would never lose sight of the factory gate and return as quickly as possible.

One evening, a friend and I were taking a stroll that took us to the factory gate. We walked outside and came to a small stream. Usually, we would have turned around and walked back, so perhaps it was the engaging conversation or the confidence in each other’s company that made us cross the stream without thinking. We walked a little on the other side of the stream, but when we looked back we realized we could no longer see the factory gate. It was the moment when alarm bells started to ring.