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Mr. Amrendra Narayan: Perfecting the twin roles! |
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A look at the credentials of Mr. Amarendra Narayan was enough to put us in awe of the persona and a chance to meet him in flesh and blood made us jittery.
Nevertheless, we were looking forward to meet him. We reached his residence and were welcomed warmly by him including his family and friends. Again we were awe-struck but thi s time by the simple and unpretentious attitude and ambience which made us feel at home instantly. Within minutes we had a feeling as if he is known to us for a long time.
Then we started the conversation as the idea was know more about him. To our surprise we found that the unassuming guy sitting in front of us was talking more about us than himself. We had to literally force him to tell something about himself.
Mr. Amraendra Narayan is the Executive Director of the Asia Pacific Telecommunity or APT (www.aptsec.org ). APT is the leading inter governmental organization established by the United Nations Economic and social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
Mr. Narayan has had relatively humble beginnings. He was born on 21st November 1945 in Matukpur village of Bihar state. Education was the first and foremost priority for him and his family and he went on to do his graduation in Electrical Engineering from Bihar College of Engineering, Patna in 1966. Here it would be worth mentioning that he secured 1st rank in the Patna University pre-engineering examination.
In 2001, Mr. Narayan was unanimously elected as the Executive Director of the APT by the member countries of APT and was re-elected to this position in 2004. Before joining the APT, Mr. Narayan served in several senior positions in the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India. He is a fellow of Institution of Engineers, India and a fellow of the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers, India. Mr. Narayan has been recipient of a gold medal for his outstanding contribution in the field of telecommunications.
When asked about the comparison in India and Thailand, he replied that he is proud to be an Indian and Thailand is a pleasant place to live and work. Of course, India is the janmabhumi but Thailand is the karmabhumi for the past sixteen years for him. He observes and is happy to note that people in Thailand are simple, humble, cheerful and well to do. At the same time, he feels that much needs to be done for the common people of India. Although, like others,, he is impressed by the economic growthconsistently being recorded by India and is optimistic that there is still more to come. He should know – he has been associated with the sector which has given the most to India in terms of recent economic growth and if he is convinced we have no reason to ask.
He has been working relentlessly with governments of different countries, telecom service providers, manufactures of communication equipment, research & development organizations and other stake holders active in the field of communication and information technology thus contributing in the qualitative and sustainable growth of telecommunications and ICT services in the Asia Pacific region. And needless to say it is clearly visible. APT is an integral part of the boom we are witnessing today in the ICT sector.
Appreciating Mr. Narayan’s leadership, the ITU has awarded a gold medal to APT. Mr. Narayan has also served in the advisory panels of infoDev the World Bank, ITU Telecom World and Telecom Asia.
But Mr. Narayan is hardly a person who can rest on his past laurels. When asked what is the biggest challenge APT is facing today he replied without a blink “Bridging The Digital Divide” This is the issue which is close to his heart right now and under his leadership APT is working towards narrowing the digital divide. He admits that the situation in Thailand is better than in India.
Take two. Dive a bit deep down and you will find that at the heart of this one of the top South East Asian Executives lies a litterateur. He has already published three books in Hindi, one book in English and there are couple more either being written or under publication. His collection of poems sirf ek lalten jalti hai, Anubhuti, Thodi Barish do have been appreciated a lot in the Hindi literary circles. (see excerpts)
His first English novel Fragrance Beyond Borders is based on the theme of improving India-Pakistan relations and has already received favorable reviews from the likes of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and Shree Atal Bihari Bajpayee. He was instrumental in establishing of Hindi Parishad in Bangkok. In view of his significant contribution to literature, he has also been awarded the title of Sahitya Shree by the Akhil Bhartiya Bhasha Sahitya Sammelan.
Even he is silent when asked how is able to perform both the roles - so different in nature - with impeccable dexterity. Probably, he has this innate desire to connect to India, to connect to the global Indians and to connect them to India in turn, to contribute his bit towards the society and to give back to the society what he has received perhaps even more. All this drives him to work towards the goal he has set for himself.
So, his next project - a book on the history of Indians and Indian culture in Thailand. We are waiting!
Mr. Narayan’ can be reached at
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His book is available at Asia Book Stores and Se-ed Book stores.
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