Time Out

Beyond Battlefield & Board Rooms

Brigadier Joe Curian, President- Global Hospitals recounts how he used to steal coconut scrapes and why he does not watch movies! We further unleash the softer side of this tough taskmaster

You can take the man out of the army but you cannot take the army out of the man. So, when you meet the President of Global Hospitals, it is the 'Brigadier' Joe Curian that you encounter first. His candour, management style and towering personality at 61 makes him one of the most respected and admired boss, even though he is considered to be a tough task master. "I have no shame in admitting that I make others sweat it out, but so also is the case with me. I push people to their limits. But after-hours, there is no difference between them and me. Then, I do not even care if I'm called by my first name," he says.

At a time when he was at an all time high in the army, he decided to leave it all and embark upon a new journey and set a benchmark of sorts on a road less traveled. "I was doing very well. I had a great friend circle, plenty of extra-curricular activities and was extremely well positioned. I enjoyed life to the fullest. But at a point, it became so perfect that it became boring. So I quit the army in 1993," he recollects.

This busy body is a golf aficionado, who spends his Sunday playing the sport. He has been playing golf ever since he quit the army. "Earlier, I used to think that golf is an old man's game. I was more involved with other sports like biking, swimming and riding." So, how and when did he fall in love with this game? There's a story behind this as well. "An accident later compelled me to opt for sports like golf," he says. The accident he is talking about was way back in the year 1989. Brig Curian drove his vehicle through a stationery truck. "It was dark in the night and this truck was parked on the wrong lane. So, I wasn't even expecting it there," he reminisces. What fascinates him about golf is its unpredictable nature. "One day it takes you high in the sky and the other day you fall flat like a brick." There's one more thing that Brig Curian does on Sundays. "As I don't take Saturday as a holiday, on Sunday the first half of the day is about playing golf and the second half goes in pleasing the wife who is angry about the fact that I have not spent time with her!" he chuckles.

His family includes his second wife Patricia (55), his real son Curiaq (30) and real daughter Rebekkah (33). Family reunions are a yearly event, either during the New Year or Christmas. This year, the family spent some quality time in Singapore.

As far as his fit demeanor goes, even at 61 he regularly jogs for an hour. His day begins at six in the morning. "I do like working out. It gives me a high. Though I haven't felt Nirvana, but running gives me that kind of feeling."

Brigadier Joe Curian with wife Patricia

When it comes to movies, believe it or not, he claims not having seen a single movie in the past 25 years. He feels it's a 'waste of time.' "Oh no," he pauses, "I just saw a movie at home when my wife's sister got the DVD. I can't recollect the name but it was some shipwreck movie." After we try to recollect names of all 'shipwreck' movies, he asks his wife the name of the movie - "Oh yes, Titanic!" he laughs out loudly. "I would rather watch reality stuff like Discovery and Animal Planet than these reel life stories," he quips. Not surprisingly, the man has not touched any fiction book since two decades! "I just can't read them. There's so much to read about the real world." He generally reads all kinds of management books and some philosophical and self-help books. There are not any favorites in particular, but like many he prefers popular gurus like Steve Covey and Peter Drucker. The most recent author he read was Robin Sharma. "I again cannot recollect the name of the book, but I certainly remember the messages of that book. The way I interpret is that you need to accept the mistakes of your sub-ordinates. If a sub-ordinate succeeds I give him one point but when he fails he gets two points because he must have tried something really difficult," rationalises Brig Curian. We take him down to memory lane to share some funny and some not-so-funny moments.

The Mixed Bag

Your best prize in life so far

The recognition and acceptance I have received amongst my peers and my colleagues brings me immense happiness.

Your first day in school

I particularly don't remember that day, but I do recollect that my father mistakenly walking me up to the second standard division wherein I was trying hard to search for batch mates who were of my age. I was around four-year old at that time.

Your first ambition

To score well and come first in the school finals.

Your first day at work

It was quite expected and routine as I joined the army when I was 19. Everything went exactly as commissioned.

Your first promotion

Promoted from Second Lieutenant to a Lieutenant in 1965. My posting was at Jammu & Kashmir.

The first time you fired somebody

That was when I was a Second Lieutenant and somebody in my unit had misplaced or stolen something. I remember I was furious; though he was quite elderly to me.

The toughest decision you have taken

To quit the army. When life is near to perfect if not fully perfect, it is difficult to give up all. But no regrets whatsoever.

The best memory of your childhood

In Kerala, there is a particular tool to scrape coconut. So, my mother would be scraping the coconuts and I would sit besides her just to steal some of the scraped coconuts!

Your happiest moment

one vivid memory that I have is when I was in junior college way back in 1962. I was very active in sports and would run 5,000 metre, which was not an event of the juniors. So, when there was a competition I was told to either run at a lesser physical distance with the juniors or participate with the senior. To my disbelief, I ran with the senior chaps and came first!

Three things that you cannot do without

Work, wife and golf.

One trait that you would like to change about yourself

I have a very short fuse!

Your first vehicle

It was a scooter of a brand called Lambretta, which I bought in 1967. I rode it for around four to five years.

One parental advice that you remember

My mother used to say— "Always share whatever little you have with others."

Nancy Singh