Major Shiva Kiran – Life As It Is

Guided by divine will, Major Shiva Kiran lived a life of a variety of experiences. It takes a lot of courage to live like that. Let things happen and not worry about the outcome is something everyone should do, but not many can. Interestingly, Shiva has tons of this courage. Taking us back in time to his life journey, Shiva spoke of many incidents that gave his life its current shape.

Childhood With Passion For Cricket

Shiva Kiran’s spent his early childhood in Hyderabad. The best days, he recalls, are those spent in school. He still remembers some fantastic teachers who left a lasting impact on Shiva Kiran. Mrs. Ahmed-Neena School, KG, Smt Prasuna reddy- Shakarji Memorial school, Sister Reni- Carmel Convent, Bihar, IIMC- Prof Sudhakar are a few among them. Those days were filled with love and affection from parents and grandparents and an undying passion for cricket. The present Imax area was then the mint compound and was where they would play. Their team was called Jolly Youngsters. 

Major Kiran’s love for the game was such that he aimed to play for the nation someday. Nothing could dilute his interest in cricket, but there were a lot of lessons of life learned. As his father worked at the Survey of India, Major Kiran’s way of life took him to Bihar. He enjoyed a great school life at a convent in Bihar. At school, Major Kiran was the favorite of his teachers. He had an assured prize in most subjects and activities, and moral science was always among them.

Owing to his job, Shiva’s father kept moving from one city to another. During his 10th grade, when his father was again transferred to another city, Shiva moved back to Hyderabad. Shiva’s love for cricket compelled him to join a course, which would allow him to focus more on the game. Among all the games, Shiva Kiran enjoys chess too. He draws an analogy to life. Just like the game requires sacrifices, life does too. Planning can help, but a lot of situations are out of your control.

The Writer In Shiva Kiran

With this thought in mind, Shiva took up B.Com Honors. He hoped to be able to focus more on the game this way. Parallel to his passion for Cricket, Shiva nurtured his interest in writing. He frequently wrote for the school magazine and received appreciation for the same. Some of his articles were also published in Deccan Chronicle (a local newspaper). Finally, Major Kiran got an opportunity to play cricket in the University Team. However, he soon realized that managing cricket and studies was difficult, especially in the second and third college years. Things were not going as planned. Here too, the spontaneous way of life hadn’t left Major Kiran’s side.

Exploring Careers

Being a person of an independent nature, Major Shiva Kiran knew he would be working for himself once he got out of college. So, he established an advertising agency. It was an outdoor advertising agency that came into existence in 1986 with an initial investment from his grandfather. Although the start was good, there were many financial glitches. By nature, Major Kiran would give his 100% to everything he took up. 

Divine Will Brought Shiva To Army

As destiny had planned, Shiva Kiran had been giving several exams. One among them was the Combined Defence Service Exam. With limited choices, a career in the services looked to be a good option. It was the first turning point in his life. Unlike the others there who had come to secure a place in defense, Shiva’s approach was very normal and natural. He always left it to the divine will to make things happen.

Out of the 67 people who appeared for an interview in Allahabad, only three were selected. He opted for a short service at Officers’ Training Academy, which permitted him to leave if he wished to.

At 21, Shiva discovered a new way of life. Before joining the Army, Shiva was driven by self-motivation. He would only do things if he felt like it and not because of a compulsion. It was not going to work at the Army training. Shiva had to work by the clock.

In August 1989, Shiva Kiran was given his first posting at Pathankot – a city in Punjab. His first responsibility came within a month of his service. Shiva was to take a convoy of trucks loaded with soldiers and supplies from Pathankot to Ladakh. At that age, the responsibility gave him great pride. Shiva explains that to be wearing the uniform and serving the country was an extraordinary feeling. He took responsibility for convoys for the next two years, going to and from Pathankot.

Additionally, the Army brought back Cricket into Shiva’s life. He was selected to represent the army team in the inter-services. While the writing always stayed with him. He’d participate in the regiment matches and enjoy playing cricket.

Somehow the Army routine seemed to be in sync with the way he thought. It took him to different places and gave him varied experiences. His next posting took him from Bareilly to Dehradun. Although posted in Dehradun, Shiva Kiran was operating from Rajasthan.

In going from one place to another, Shiva experienced the discipline in Army life -the unifying spirit of the uniform, the regimental spirit, the camaraderie and bonhomie amongst the officers. Every activity there was guided by a prescribed standard operating procedure. Everything was prescribed, be it something as simple as laying a tent or something complex like firing a gun and going from one place to another and from one role to another, revealed things about his personality.

Shiva learned that he was good at getting things done rather than doing things himself. Even as a Major, Shiva was very connected to the jawans. He was always there for them for all their concerns – be it sanctioning their leaves or solving issues related to salary. 

Having served the Indian Army as a Major for some time, his love for Hyderabad and entrepreneurial spirit brought him back to civilian life.  

Mapping – Exploring new avenues

The next step in life was never a concern for Shiva Kiran. He always wondered where he was on the map and what are the things that surrounded him. Shiva tried to get a map vision of himself and his surroundings. Here, Shiva draws another analogy to life. Just like you locate yourself and your surroundings on a map, you must know your situation in life. Knowing the self and surroundings makes life better.

While his father worked in the Survey of India, he always expressed an interest in applying to map for the country’s development. So, in 1997, when Shiva Kiran was back in town, he took up the responsibility of educating people about the usage of maps through his company. He named it Map World.

Shiva started using maps for almost everything under the sun. By now, he was using maps to locate supermarkets or ATMs during elections and other day-to-day things. Shiva directed his efforts towards mapping with great passion and dedication. He took this to the next level when he associated with companies like GeoMap Systems Pvt. Ltd. The company is involved in activities related to power distribution, irrigation, etc., using maps.

Mapping got the Major an opportunity to associate with a popular chain of departmental stores called Food World. Shiva and his team would use mapping to help Food World identify their customers and understand their user-ship throughout the city. Gradually, it became a nationwide thing, and Shiva traveled to different cities for the Food World project, mapping almost 150 locations. He was the first one to bring Geographic Information Systems into the private sector.

Transforming The Election

In recent years, Shiva Kiran took mapping to the next level. He introduced mapping usage for election purposes. He joined a local politician to help him understand various voting patterns through mapping. The mapping threw light on the progress of development within the community. The road repair requirement, street light availability, etc., came to light.

Their recent innovation is the development of the VAADA app. VAADA stands for Voter Accessibility App for the Differently Abled. The app identified the disabled voters in a locality so that the GHMC could pick them up to take them to the polling booths. The location was traced after a differently-abled voter filled a voice-activated form detailing the address.

His love for academics pushed Shiva to pursue his MBA, even while he was in service. His efforts got him a degree from IGNOU. The Major also completed a Ph.D. in Development Studies in 2015. With this, Shiva was looking forward to improving his academic relevance to the kind of work.

Stepping Into Solid Waste Management

The time during 1998-99 brought the second turning point in Shiva’s life. He began to pay more attention to the state of the environment in the area where he lived (Begumpet). Shiva noticed a lack of cleanliness in his surroundings. He was not among the people who would go around complaining about things. He was among those who attempted to bring about the change they wished to see.

Therefore, Shiva Kiran spoke to the Municipal Corporation and collected solid waste from every doorstep. However, his efforts didn’t stop here. He spent his time thinking about what happens to the waste after disposal and the state of rag pickers. To find answers, he met the rag pickers who came to collect the waste in his area.

In the year 2000, Shiva Kiran drove into a dump yard and made a film. He had a message for the people who are blissfully unaware of the chaos caused by the solid waste that we generate. Shiva was moved after watching the rag pickers struggle to segregate the solid waste generated. In 2005, he got an opportunity to do something when the former Chief Minister, Chandra Babu Naidu, called for the privatization of sanitation. Shiva took the responsibility to make things better in his area as a contractor.

He continued to work in the area of solid waste management by starting an NGO. He promoted the idea of decentralized solid waste management. Through the NGO, he established around 50-60 solid waste management units, which were sustainable. In this process, he developed a great rapport with the hard-working rag pickers. He and his team gave the rag pickers masks and gloves and took care of their safety.

Before he knew it, Shiva became a reliable friend. They could walk up to him any time and express their concerns. Shiva Kiran’s area today has a team that picks up garbage that has been there since 2002. For the last 20 years, everyone in that area has been supporting each other like a family.

An Initiative For A Better Society

Then came the Clean India campaign in 2007- an initiative by Shiva Kiran and his team to take solid waste management to a national level. Clean India is a platform that invites people to speak about their contribution and research in solid waste management. They even gave away Green Leaf Awards to recognize the efforts of people from grass root to the level of the commissioner.

The event was well celebrated, with volunteers coming to support from popular colleges in the city. Shiva’s efforts were recognized and appreciated by celebrities like Mrs. Amala Akkineni. It was a tremendous boost of confidence for him and his team. Clean India and Green Leaf Awards went on in this way for seven years until the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan became famous in 2014.

Still Connected To Community Development

For the last four or five years, Shiva Kiran has been working with the urban local bodies to create awareness about solid waste management. He was also associated with the Administrative Staff College of India, where he trained people on the Geographic Information System and mapping along with solid waste management. Shiva Kiran was instrumental in forming the Federation of Resident Welfare Associations at Hyderabad and the national level to remain connected with the community. 

Another angle of his service to society is his association with Numaish at Nampally in Hyderabad. He and his family are members of the Exhibition Society. This society runs 18 educational institutions. During his initial years of the seven-year association, Shiva focused on Swachh Numaish. Members of the society would try to educate the 20, 00,000 visitors about cleanliness.

Even today, Shiva Kiran has not lost his love for writing. He regularly contributes to a popular newspaper called Telangana Today. He also has a blog called Hyderabaat, where he shares his thoughts and opinions on Hyderabad.

Shiva Kiran’s spiritual connection was enhanced by the Vipassana meditation method. Be its environmental consciousness, a tremendous contribution to the community, or simply accepting life as it happens – we have a lot to learn from Major Shiva Kiran!

Like us on FB, if you find our content interesting: https://www.facebook.com/hatkestoryofficial/

Do you have an interesting incident or experience to share with the world? Write to us, and together we can discuss how to weave your story and present it to the world. Would you mind sending us your story?