I recently spent a week at Zainabad. It is a very important week in my calendar because I spend it with some of my closest colleagues from Sumedhas conducting the ERI for the IIM students. What makes the stay special is the way Dhanraj Mallik who runs the Eco Resort where we stay looks after us. At every opportunity he will enquire about how our stay is, and how the food is. He will persist with questions till he finds that small action from his side that will make a difference! His face will light up when he digs deep and finds it. But, I give him only a 9.9.

Just a few days before getting into Zainabad, I stayed at a small conference centre in Delhi. The young man who runs this centre was very keen to impress upon us how keen he was to serve us. “I am your friend for 3 days” he said and repeated a few times through his welcome speech. Then came the coup-de-grace.

“My room number is 26 and I will be there after 12 PM. You can knock me up any time” he insisted. When one of the participants said “Why after 12 PM?” He promptly said, “I know most of you will be asleep by then, but, feel free to knock me up if you need to!!”

Surely our young friend deserves a ten!

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