The Value of Relationships

Last Saturday, I attended the wedding reception of the son of a dear friend of mine.

Yunus Siddiqui – or Yunusbhai – as everyone knows him, had joined Mid Day immediately after college, I believe. And in this day and age of changing organisations, he has remained in the Mid Day Group throughout the past 25-odd years. He handles Inquilab, and was also responsible for Mid Day Classifieds.

Over the past two decades and a half, I don’t think anyone has ever seen Yunusbhai angry or agitated. Even when he was right, he always worked towards making his client and agency partners satisfied. Over time, if there’s one thing he has built, it is strong relationships with people. People who have grown to like him, respect him and trust him.

Anyone who does not believe in the value of building relationships should have been present at the wedding of his son.

I do not know whether to call it his son’s wedding or a Mid Day/Inquilab re-union. Anyone who had worked with Yunusbhai – even for a short while – was there. Be it Abhijit Pradhan or Gaurish Pathare or Satish Menon or Bikash Bannerjee, or the countless others like me, people made it a point to be present and bless the couple. And some people had received just a phone call from Yunusbhai, no more.

Or should we call it a Classifieds agency party? Name the agency, and the person was there. And they had travelled long distances to reach Mazagaon, like Piyush had come all the way from Mulund, Monty had come from Ghatkopar and Samadbhai had braved the Andheri-Kurla Link Road traffic. It definitely wasn’t the food that brought them there.

It wasn’t just ex-colleagues and agency partners. It definitely speaks about the man if his MD, Mr. Tarique Ansari, or Mr. Niranjan Hiranandani and other such senior people make it a point to come for the wedding and stay for a long time.

And lest one thinks it was only about guests, what was interesting was that the hosts for the evening were not only members of Yunusbhai’s family, but many of his friends were standing at each table, receiving guests, taking care of them, ensuring everyone had dinner etc. so that Yunusbhai could be free with the bride and groom. Not that you would expect that from Yunusbhai. He was everywhere – greeting his guests, on stage with the newly-weds, ensuring people were eating and relaxed...

Attending the wedding just reiterated my belief in the power of relationships – not business relationships – but relationships built and nurtured over time. The power of kind words, of making people feel special, of ensuring a win-win scenario for everyone concerned. Values which are embedded in Yunusbhai.

No wonder everyone was just drawn to Mazagaon last Saturday, braving the weekend evening traffic, the small lanes, the dug-up roads, the knowledge that they would not get parking space and may have to walk up a long distance. People’s presence or absence would not have made an iota of difference – the wedding reception would have taken place irrespective. But so many of us did. Does that in itself say anything?

Lastly, Yunusbhai again showed that little glimpse of how much he values his relationships. Within a couple of days, we had a little message in our phones, thanking us for attending his son’s wedding and blessing the newlyweds, and how much it meant to him.

Thank you Yunusbhai. It was your love that drove us all there. May Allah bless your son and daughter-in-law, and may He continue to shower grace on your family. Aameen.