India is his inspiration

India is his inspiration
The Hindu

Bob Hoekstra, the busy CEO of Phillips, has written another book which takes off from our own Cauvery

Just look at what India is. The backwaters of Kerala are so beautiful. But so is the vibrancy of Kolkata bob hoekstra


Bob Hoekstra is inspired by the many Indias that India is. He may be a technical person heading operations of one of the finest electronic companies, Phillips, in India. But in the six years he has been here, he has developed curiosity not only about how companies here perform every quarter, but how people live their lives everyday and what makes the country tick despite massive imbalances. What is that spirit? That endurance? That conviction to get on with life the next day, cook, clean, read and keep alive a culture, weathering drought and rain? And where in all this do people have the capacity to make and unmake governments and keep a democracy alive and kicking? The fascination and the urge to grasp the underlying spirit and curiosity drives Bob to the far corners of the country. His writings are a result of that drive.

Bob may not be a novelist, historian or sociologist, but he sure has a humorous way of putting down things. Bob's second book on India written along with Soumen Chakraborty's graphic sketches, Our India: Nature Governs at the Cauvery River and Other Indian Experiences released here captures his observations of life and times from places as diverse as Kochi, Mysore, Goa, Jamshedpur and Shimla and the Himalayas in Uttaranchal, rather entertainingly. The book also has his observations on India's elections, NGOs and community work, the tradition of sculptures, infrastructure woes in Bangalore, globalisation, Indian food, religion and art. His first book was The Exemplary Family of Bangalore and Other Short Stories.

Why the specific reference to the Cauvery in his new book? "I've been to the Cauvery many times. I've camped and lived there. I find the areas around the Cauvery very beautiful. I know it so well that I decided to write about life around the river. This book though is inspired by my cycling to Ramanagaram and the beauty of the boulders there. There is so much more beauty to this country. This book is about the many Indias. My first book was inspired by information technology, but that is a reduced experience of India."


"Just look at what India is. The backwaters of Kerala are so beautiful but so is the vibrancy of Kolkata and serenity of the Himalayas. I went on shooting pictures of every place I visited. My friend Soumen suggested I write. Writing I thought would be memory for me. Then there was also the Dutch Radio. They asked me to contribute to them regularly on Indian life. It was a good idea to tell people there what this country is like. My grandchildren who visit me every year get to know what India is!"

Soumen who travelled to the Himalayas with Bob has been into sketching, sculpting and paintings for many years. He is the man who has made the sculptures at the Phillips Millennium building in Bangalore, which is how he got to know Bob. "He was happy with my sculptures. He asked me if I could sketch for his writings. Our journey began from there. This time we travelled together in the Himalayas across a route that is 5,000 years old. I've taken him along a route that he won't forget all his life. I could do this because I've done a lot of walking in the North, particularly along the Ganges. It is great pleasure to be with him because he is very disciplined. I should thank him because he is such a big man and yet comes to my place. He has been helpful and warm."

Soumen, who has a degree in fine arts, has been in Bangalore for 25 years and hopes to continue with his sketching and sculpting. This man, who even has an art group, says he and Bob have never planned a book. "They just happen. I am lucky we are working together. I will be happy to work on more projects like this."