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OTHER
SIDE OF THE

RORRIM When VR Ferose, MD, SAP Labs India was blindsided by fate as his
only son was diagnosed to be on the autism spectrum, he used that
life-altering moment to kickstart an inclusive movement that has
metamorphosed into a force to be reckoned with
WORDS SUDHA MENON

F
EROSE AND HIS WIFE DEEPALI,
(his college sweetheart from
his engineering days), were
crushed, but only temporarily.
Within just a couple of years
of Vivaans birth, Ferose had used his own
experience with raising their son to kick-off
a path-breaking Autism At Work project
at SAP India, employing people on the
autism spectrum to leverage their unique
skills at performing repetitive tasks with
astonishing consistency, to improve the
companys productivity. The results were so
encouraging that SAP has now committed
that by 2020, one per cent of its workforce
globally will be people from the autism
spectrum. The entire movement is now part
of a Harvard Case Study.
DREAM ON
Circa 2012, this tech wiz who was
selected as a World Economic Forums
Young Global Leader for his passion and
commitment to social causes, also founded
the India Inclusion Summit in Bangalore
to celebrate the achievements of people
with disability who have surmounted huge
challenges to live the life of their dreams.
Not even he imagined then that the summit,
funded largely by him and donations from
friends and family, would take on a life of its
own and draw support from policy makers,
influencers and thought leaders including
former and late president Dr APJ Abdul
Kalam.
Last year, a 1,000 guests, mostly People
With Disability (PWD) and their families,
arrived at the venue not just for a joyous
celebration but to seek inspiration, comfort
and knowledge from each other, so that
they can make life more meaningful for the
disabled family member. Among those who
have spoken at the IIS past summits are
journalist-turned-politician Arun Shourie,
former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, former
Supreme Court chief justice Santosh Hegde,
singer Shankar Mahadevan, Kollywood
superstar Ramesh Arvind, US-based
thought leader and advisor to Barack
Obama, Nipun Mehta and differently-abled
sporting stars Malathy Holla, Deepa Malik
and Girisha.
Five years after its launch, the summit
has also expanded its scope and today
offers the IIS fellowship to a handful of

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social entrepreneurs whose work will
positively impact the lives of PWD. One
such IIS fellow is Kalyani Khona, the
30-something founder of Inclov, the world's
first matchmaking app, focusing on people
with disabilities through online and offline
platforms. When he heard Khona was on
the verge of shutting shop because venture
capitalists did not consider her target
audience viable enough for them to bet their
money on, Ferose made a few telephone
calls to his friends in the VC world. Suffice
to say, his calls helped her garner around a
million dollars in venture funding and put
Inclov amongst the ranks of some of the
most promising social enterprises in India.
With just two months to go before IIS
2017 kicks off, Ferose, now based in the San
Francisco Bay area, steering Globalisation
Below: There is nothing you cannot do, if you
believe in yourself and work towards your
goal. Ferose's best moments are captured in
the company of his differently-abled friends
who look to him for inspiration while he's
addressing audiences across the world
Services for SAP, is neck-deep in planning
of the event, which is almost completely
executed by a set of volunteers who have
worked with him during his Bangalore
days and have been influenced by his
commitment to the cause. For instance
Khona, now a much-celebrated social
entrepreneur, is a champion for the cause
of inclusion and takes time off annually to
curate the IIS fellowship, select and mentor
the IIS fellows and handhold them through
the year they develop and bring their idea
to life.
The idea behind the fellowship is to
amplify the stories of these entrepreneurs
who never get any support because nobody
believes that supporting the disability sector
will make them any money. They simply
dont see PWD as people who have the same
needs, consume the same things and aspire
for the same things like the rest of us!
In between overseeing his teams located
in 40 countries and travelling some 150
days every year, Ferose says his idea is to
change the narrative that success can only
be measured by money, status and fame.
There needs to be another metric which
is focussed on a greater purpose. I want to
say that we need to lead ourselves before we
lead others. I want to tell the people who
come to my class that a greater purpose,
the joy of giving and happiness could be
the new yardstick of success as opposed to
millions in the bank.
MOVING ON
His own leadership style is evident in the
way he runs ISS other than strategising
and occasionally being the face of the
event, he is completely hands-off and could
"My dream is to
not be happier doing it because he sees make India an
how empowered his team of volunteers
is without his constant supervision. I inclusive place
where people with
am fearful of the Founder Syndrome that
makes a leader so obsessive and insecure
that he refuses to hand over charge to
anyone. My dream is to have ISS thrive
disability enjoy the
and not crumble if I were to not be there
someday. It is important for the collective
same acceptance
to come together for a larger mission. It and dignity that
cannot be a single persons dream if it has
other Indians do"
to become a movement.

A TRYST WITH HISTORY Ferose believes, Technology has

The 43-year-old is also a book enthusiast
who will go great lengths to procure rare
books. His 3,000-odd collection includes
signed copies of books of 15 former
presidents, nobel laureates, sportsmen
and thinkers.
His most treasured books are a copy of
Rabindranath Tagores Letters to a Friend
(1929) in a beautiful gold-tooled, blue
leather binding with Tagores inscription:
To Mahatmaji and signed by the Bengali
author and poet. Gandhis Songs from
Prison (1934) with the inscription For Dear
Gurudev and signed by him makes these
two books an envy of every bibliophile.
I love that each of these signed copies
have a personal story that is even more
interesting than the story within the book.
Not that he has read every book that he
has bought. I will be a happy man if I get
to even read 20 per cent of my collection
of books. Books have no expiry date and
someone, somewhere, will enjoy reading
my collection someday.
infinite potential to transform the lives
of people with disability and the onus is
on us to make that happen as fast as we
can. Technology has the ability to build
communities, engagement and scale.
On November 11, 2017, on the eve of the
summit in Bangalore, a group of 78 people,
thought leaders, influencers, policy makers
and friends of PWD will meet for a 'Friend
Raising Dinner' that will focus on forging
deeper engagement and conversation
on the topic of inclusion, inspired by
Gandhiji's Dandi March, 78 people
prepared (internally) for 15 years before the
historic march.
My dream is to make India an inclusive
place where people with disability enjoy
the same acceptance and dignity that other
Indians do and if I am able to contribute
even a little bit to this inclusive society, I
will consider my life well-lived, Ferose
signs off.
In the immortal words of Mr Spock:
Live long and prosper.

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