L&P Automotive India recently celebrated Ayudha Pooja, a Hindu festival that is celebrated during the tenth day of the bright half of the moon’s cycle, or Shardiya Navratri. Translated to “worship of instruments,” the event honors the tools and equipment integral to our professions and our daily lives.
The principal goddesses worshiped during the celebration are Saraswati (the Goddess of wisdom, arts and literature), Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth) and Parvati (the divine mother). Their teams clean, decorate, and worship the branch’s tools to destroy negative energy and to bring wealth and prosperity.
“We spray holy water, decorate, and pray to the Gods to bring good things to our factory,” said Rajeswari Subramani, Manager of Human Resources. “We always ask them for strong profits, good benefits, and for the safety of all our employees and their families.”
The following images show the care and attention they gave to creating a meaningful event for their employees.
Rangoli patterns are created indoors using brightly materials such as colored sand, stones, flower petals, food, and colored rocks. Important Hindu symbols are also displayed, such as the Ganesh which represents the wisdom and understanding that one must possess to attain perfection in life.
Tools and equipment are cleaned and polished with great care. They are then smeared with turmeric and sandalwood paste and are adorned with flowers, fruits and other decorations.
Elaborate displays of fruits, sweets, and fragrant oil lamps are arranged throughout the facility as offerings to the Gods.
Rangoli – colorful artistic patterns created on the floor – decorate the entrances to L&P’s facility. When created outdoors, they are made using colored rice flower, which serves as a humanitarian offering of food to ants and other small insects. The building is also decorated with colorful lights during the festival.
Entrances to the building are decorated and fragrant sticks are burned as they pray for increased wealth and prosperity for L&P employees. A priest also visited the facility to perform a Pooja, or traditional Hindu prayer ceremony.
Supervisor Essentials is a training program geared specifically toward our frontline supervisors at manufacturing locations. “Frontline supervisors have a tremendous amount of influence on the culture of L&P,” says Stephanie Elliott, Learning & Development Program Manager. “It’s essential that we help equip them with the skills to be great leaders of people.”
In response to this request, we launched a pilot program launched last fall, with a total of 65 participants completing a trial of the training in Missouri and Texas. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive as participants found the training to be relevant and impactful. One participant shared, “I learned how to look at both sides of an issue when working with my team, as well as how to be fair in my decision-making.”