Pradeep Chakravarthy
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Pradeep Chakravarthy is a behaviorist who applies Indian models to modify behavior. He has authored several books, including Leadership Shastra, which examines past rulers to extract leadership and cultural lessons. He has also written Thanjavur – a Cultural History (2010) and A Road Less Travelled – A Historian’s Guide to lesser-known temples in Tamil Nadu (2012).
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In our conversation, we speak about how Kings and Queens were groomed for their roles, how they thought about expansion and consolidation at various times, Jahanara’s political savviness, Decline of the Mughal Empire and the role of the Corporate Office and more.
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From the Podcast
Pradeep speaks about how potential rulers were encouraged to patronize the arts and the humanities. He refers to the Hitopadesha and Rayavachakam (written by Krishna Deva Raya) and the wisdom contained in them.
Pradeep speaks about how some of the kings assembled the right council of advisors around them to help them through complex situations. He refers to Malik Ambar, Ahilyabai, Serfoji and Aurangzeb in how they thought about getting advice from experts.
Pradeep speaks about how kings thought about expansion and consolidation at various points in their reign. It is a little akin to how entrepreneurs think about going after scale and putting processes in place and getting the house in order.
Pradeep speaks about how some of the greatest rulers had the habit of keeping a journal and touches upon some of the benefits of journaling.
Pradeep speaks about Jahanara Begum who was Shah Jahan’s daughter. Pradeep speaks about how, despite not holding an official title, she had significant influence in the Mughal Kingdom.
Pradeep speaks about Serfoji and how he could have chosen a comfortable life but he decided to go ahead and commit his time and energy to various causes that led to the thriving of Thanjavur in those times.
Pradeep speaks about Srimanta Sankardev who was a 15th-16th century polymath from Assam. He was a saint-scholar, poet, playwright, dancer, actor, musician, artist social-religious reformer and a figure of importance in the cultural and religious history of Assam, India. Pradeep speaks about how Sankardev used various forms of content to bring people together and for people to build trust with him.
Pradeep speaks about the parallels between how a kingdom expands and the dynamic between the Corporate Office and the various branches. He speaks about the criticality of having a connect with the various corners of the business.