In a talk earlier during the day related to Skill Development Programs and its relevance today (this article is a transcript of my address for that session), I’ve been pondering about a point made by a colleague on why a particular program launched recently aren’t seeing much interest. It feels like a bit of a contradiction—the industry is clearly booming, yet the programs has lesser takers. The reality on the ground is just more layered than it looks. Building a solid training program requires a real understanding of the grind and a willingness to get your hands dirty on the shop floor. My own perspective comes from years of being on the board of our family consultancy, where we implement advanced production systems and manage high-tech assembly lines for global EV brands. Even as someone who studied at a premier technical institute and now employs about twenty of its alumni, I can see that what the market actually needs has shifted.
Gone are those days, when we used to measure an engineering firm’s strength by the number of drafting tables on its floor. Today, that same power sits in the hands of a few experts with the right software. This isn’t just a change in tools—it’s a total shift in the Indian industrial landscape. From my time managing high-tech lines for global tech product manufacturing brands, I’ve seen firsthand that while the old drawing halls have emptied out, the shop floor has become the new brain of the factory. To stay relevant, our skill programs must stop training for the crowded offices of the past and start preparing for the automated future.
Gone are these scenes of a design floor
The dip in interest for traditional design isn’t because the industry is slowing down; it’s because the job itself has changed. In the past, a specialist spent years mastering manual calculations and intricate technical details. Today, powerful software and machine (and AI) driven simulations do the heavy lifting. These tools can now automatically correct designs for manufacturability, which means companies don’t need a massive team of junior designers anymore. Most businesses would rather hire one expert lead who can command these high-end tools than train five people from scratch to do things the old way.
Design Floor today and Off Manufacturing Shops
Beyond that, the real skills gap has moved from the drawing board straight to the production floor. There is a huge demand right now for specialists who can run smart factories. As machines get more sophisticated, they can actually fix minor design flaws on their own while they operate. This shift moves the priority from just creating a part to optimizing the entire production process. We are also seeing a trend where parts are made locally, but the complex high-end designs are often centralized in global hubs or elite specialized labs that then outsource the basic work to smaller shops.
Process Experts > Traditional Designer
Finally, new technologies like 3D printing and hybrid manufacturing have completely rewritten the rulebook. Back in those days, we focused on the limits of traditional manufacturing, but today’s world is about integrating additive manufacturing and robotics. Younger engineers are naturally drawn to these glamorous fields and tend to see traditional design as a legacy skill from the past. If we want to get people to sign up, we have to pivot our curriculum toward these high-tech, automated roles that actually reflect how the modern world works.
There is a specific kind of electricity that fills the air when the Pandits from the Art of Living Gurukul begin to chant. Having been part of hundreds of Art of Living Rudra Puja & Satsangs, Trust me when I say this, It isn’t just sound; it is a tectonic shift in the room’s vibration. Conducted generally in the presence of a Swamiji/Sadhvi of Art of Living, the Rudra Puja is less of a ritual and more of a cosmic cleansing. Participating in this sacred ceremony, followed by a soulful Satsang led by our team (the cherry on top), proved to be an experience of sublime elevation that words struggle to fully capture.
With Swami Virupaksha ji of Art of Living
The heart of the Puja lies in the Sri Rudram, a Vedic hymn with two distinct movements that mirror the rhythm of life itself. In the phase of Namakam, the repetitive salutations recognize the Divine in everything—from the beautiful to the fierce—serving as a profound exercise in non-duality. This is seamlessly followed by Chamakam, where the chant shifts to a list of prayers for human needs, acknowledging that spiritual liberation requires a body and world in harmony.
With Sadhvi Nityabodha ji of Art of Living
As the resonance of the mantras peaks, the Abhisheka begins. The most mesmerizing element is the Dhaara, a continuous, unbroken stream of water and milk poured over the Shiva Linga. This flow represents the movement of consciousness, reminding us that our awareness should remain centered and steady amidst the chaos of daily life. Offerings of honey for sweetness, curd for prosperity, and sandalwood for mental clarity are layered into the ceremony, each adding a biological and spiritual resonance to the atmosphere.
Swami Paramanand of Art of Living performing Panchamrita Abhisheka
The Puja follows a precise energetic map, starting with the Sankalpa, where we drop our intentions into the field of consciousness. Through the Mahanyasam, the Pandits effectively turn their bodies into vessels for the Divine vibration. The entire process culminates in the Arati, the final offering where the external light serves as a powerful reminder of the light within.
Alankara Post Rudram
Alankara
Aarti
Vaibhav ji Performing Aarti
Beyond the spiritual masterpiece of the ritual, the impact on the human nervous system is scientifically profound. The mathematical precision of the Sanskrit syllables acts as a sonic scrub for the mind. These specific Vedic accents create a resonance in the cranial cavity that synchronizes the brain hemispheres, leading to a state where you are awake but in a relaxed, meditative, or restful condition. It is a state of flow where daily mental chatter—the Vruttis—is shattered, replaced by a deep, centered stillness.
It reaches a crescendo as we transitioned from the ancient rigor of the Gurukul chants into the Satsang. If the Puja was the deep-cleaning of a vessel, the Satsang was filling that vessel with nectar. The silence earned during the meditation exploded into music, locking in the elevated state we had cultivated. We didn’t just sing; we integrated the peace we had found.
Post Rudra Puja Satsang
This journey from the depths of Vedic silence to the peaks of collective celebration left us in a state of sublime elevation—a peak of consciousness that stays with you long after the last bell has rung.
With Pandits Subbaraya ji and Ganapati ji trained in Art of Living Gurukul – Their amazingly coordinated and perfect Chants makes our day
Satsangis in a Rudra Puja and Satsang
PS: You don’t need to understand the Sanskrit to benefit. The Puja is often described as a musical surgery, the sounds do the work on your nervous system whether you know the meaning or not.
I with my wife (also an Ex-NTTFian) were enjoying our chat after our dinner in my Sister-in-law’s place, two years ago exactly at the same time this tribute gets published, when we received the news that felt impossible to believe. I vividly remember the dreaded call from my then Colleague Sudharshan – shocking moment when everything around me became unbelievably standstill. That was a sharp, sudden blow that didn’t just report an irreparable, irreplaceable loss; it stopped my time in its tracks.
Two Years and Too Different World Now
It was unbelievable because I had spent ~3 hours with him earlier in the afternoon. Dead tired that I was due to an overnight travel, I checked with him if our meeting was online (he generally insists on use of technology to refrain from avoidable travel), but for some prophetic reason, he wanted that to be in person. I had another meeting early that morning in Electronic City, after finishing which I rushed to Peenya with a driver as I was too tired to drive myself.
It was unbelievable because he emphasized on taking care of health, getting adequate rest, so that you can contribute more to NTTF. He was particular that overnight driving are avoidable risk, not just physically but also to the health. Request client to bear with you for a few hours instead of risking life and limb (the words he chose).
It was unbelievable because he told, “Suresh! Covid taught me to express positive feedback and hand out praise right away and postpone criticisms and he wanted to compliment me for two Government orders bagged on a single day. I was driving back from Chennai when he called me to come over to Peenya next day by 11am and he insisted that it has be in person. Did he foresee what was coming later that evening? With benefit of hindsight, had this meeting been postponed or I had not been able to make it, this would have never happened ever again – Unbelievable, isn’t it?
It was unbelievable because we also clicked a Photograph together (don’t know why, maybe the only one in his office – I have chosen not to share this personal treasure and saving it for me and me alone). Though as a Principal of NEC and with him working out of this campus more often in the past. I have a lot of pictures with him, but looking back this one turned out to be very very special. Thanks Ms Freeda for capturing it for me.
It was unbelievable simply because…. IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE!!!!
A flurry of phonecalls while driving to Vikram Hospital (Manipal Hospital Millers Road) and it was just a collective sense of denial, a hope that it was all some terrible mistake, because the person we lost seemed far too full of life to ever truly be gone.
That shock has since settled into a quiet, enduring ache, but today is about more than just remembering the day the music stopped or the lights went out. It is a day to celebrate the immense space he occupied while he was here. He lived with a kind of intensity and purpose that most people only dream of, leaving behind a trail of inspiration that hasn’t faded even slightly in his absence.
While the world is a bit quieter without his voice, his influence is still everywhere I look. We see it in the work of those he mentored, in the stories people still share with tears and laughter, and in the way his name still commands a certain kind of respect and warmth. He had a rare gift for making people feel seen and understood, even those who only knew him from a distance. While meeting bureaucrats and other educationists and the glowing tributes they had for him and their description of the impact he has made on the society at large, I now realise how blessed many of us were to have directly associated with him.
He was no flawless deity or paragon of impossible virtue. Like any man, he carried his own share of human frailties, yet his immense contributions consistently eclipsed those shortcomings. He possessed a rare, almost prophetic foresight that remains startling in its accuracy even today. For fifty-seven years—a staggering tenure in an era where mere months are often considered a milestone—he served as the bedrock of the institution he built. He steered the organization through its most turbulent troughs and triumphant peaks, along with a few trusted lieutenants, but he shielded the rest of the organisation from hardships while keeping the engine running. Again, for those with a jaundiced eyes, a lot of flaws can be picked and he blamed for it, but can do it only standing on the platform he built, not from something they were incapable of building themselves.
Though he officially joined in 1967, he functioned as a living repository for every moment of the NTTF journey since 1959. His door remained perpetually open. Whether a colleague arrived to vent grievances or sought genuine mentorship, he listened. Those who entered with an open mind left enriched by his deep understanding of the philosophy and DNA that defined the organization. To sit with him was to receive an education in the “why” behind every epic decision, gaining insight into a history that became synonymous with the man, an Institution by himself.
Beneath the outward facade of a micro-managing taskmaster lay his most significant flaw, an incredibly humane heart. This spirit of empathy trickled down to every level of the hierarchy, embodying the Gita’s wisdom that the world follows the standards set by a leader. His philanthropic impact was a saga in itself, reaching the polio-affected, the hearing and speech impaired, tribal communities, and the underprivileged. He led by doing, and while many later shirked responsibility by blaming his “dictatorial” nature for undesired outcomes, the truth was often a matter of individual courage.
In my own first week during my 1st tenure here, I challenged a major equipment order he had already approved. After an initial, shock-induced outburst, he actually listened, recognized the logic, and pivoted the entire investment. It was a testament to the fact that he respected reason and spine; if others chose to pass the buck rather than engage with him, that was a reflection of their own flaw, not his inability to evolve.
It is two years now since he decided to move on. The pain of that initial news has been replaced by a deep sense of gratitude. We were lucky to exist in the same era as someone who moved through life with such grace and impact. Today, we don’t just mourn a death; we honor a legacy that continues to grow, proving that even though he was taken far too soon in my 2nd tenure, the mark he left on me was permanent. He was the perfect example of someone who, “Lived Life to its Fullest!!!”
Koti Koti Pranams, Mahodaya Dr. Reguraj N. Your impact is immeasurable, and your legacy will continue to inspire generations.! You are once in a Yuga figure. Guru, Mentor, Critic and most importantly a FRIEND dearly missed (taking big liberty with the label here). You are irreplaceable.
