Seeing the Invisible Order, Faith, People, and the Power of Stories | A conversation with Mr. S M Sawood, Executive Director, Mohtisham
NV Paulose, Chairman, Global TV +91 98441 82044
Some conversations do not move in straight lines. They circle, deepen, return, and quietly reveal a worldview shaped by faith, experience, and deep attentiveness to people. My recent interaction with Mr. Sawood was one such conversation. It was a journey through our belief, media, humanity, and purpose. Thoughts are more or less overlapping and immensely merging with one another.
God Without a Self-image: Understanding the Invisible
Mr. Sawood shared a profound reflection. God has no self-image. God is invisible, beyond form and figure. Yet everything, from the smallest particle to the vast universe, operates in a precise order. This, he says, is not accidental. Human beings struggle to fully understand even one human body, despite hundreds of specialists studying it. How then can we imagine comprehending the entire universe. For Mr. Sawood, this realization brings humility. We are minute, yet seen. Insignificant in scale, yet deeply observed. He draws from the Quran, noting how even the movement of wind, tremors, or darkness occurs only by divine permission. Nothing is random. Everything has intent.
I must have added here; meeting someone like him, even after decades of near connections, is not coincidence. It is God’s plan.
Faith Expressed Through Action
Faith, in Mr. Sawood’s understanding, is not abstract philosophy. It is action. He refers to a prophetic teaching that defines three levels of human responsibility.
- First, stop injustice with your hand if you can.
- Second, speak against it if you lack the power to stop it.
- Third, at the least, feel pain in your heart if you can do neither.
If a person lacks even this inner response, he says, something essential is lost. This moral framework, he believes, applies to all humanity, beyond religion. We are responsible for the betterment of others.
I added parallels to this wisdom with Christian teachings. Serving the least is serving God. Feeding the hungry and helping the vulnerable are not just charity acts, in fact they are spiritual investments.
Inheritance Beyond Wealth
One of the most heart touching moments in the conversation was in the reflection of Mr. Sawood on his father. His father embodied hospitality in a big way. Anyone passing by their home would not leave without being spoken to, welcomed, and fed. This, Mr. Sawood believes, is the true inheritance. Not money, but simplicity, love, and openness toward people. These values, I added diligently here, when practiced sincerely, become foundations that flourish across generations.
Homes as Living Ecosystems
Our conversation deeply involved with people and media. We shared insights relevant to urban life and development. We challenged the idea of homes as mere cost centres. According to the conversation evolved, a home can work for its residents if two qualities exist. Hospitality and housekeeping are the two transforming qualities. When people gather meaningfully and effectively, homes become centres of economic, emotional, and social value. Communities thrive not through structures alone, but through the quality of human interaction within them.
Media, Technology, and Common Sense
A pioneer in digital media, NV Paulose was among the first to bring online broadcasting in India, long before high speed internet existed. When global platforms focused on heavy video content that was not accessible to most users, he applied what he calls Common Sense (CS) Technology. By streaming audio along with low resolution videos and moving photo frames, he made Audio Visual Media easily accessible, affordable, and human cantered. This innovation drew attention from national and international platforms, including NDTV. National dailies wrote special articles about him. Dr. Kalam’s and AB Vajpayee’s voice was first heard in internet in the earlier format of Global TV. A song composed by Dr. Kalam was released by Global TV on 25 July 2007
For NV Paulose, technology is not about sophistication. It is only about usefulness in enhancing the quality of life. Role of media is to connect people and to enhance the quality of their life. This is possible only through Appreciative Inquiry (AI) which is new to the Media platforms in India. With global proliferation of civilizations, the best practices at various places should help generations at every other place to benefit from the Global Connectivity. We should organise story telling at every city in the world. This will transform everything instantly.
Appreciative Inquiry: The Science of Stories
Central to Global TV philosophy is Appreciative Inquiry, the practice of discovering strengths rather than faults. Successful people get inspired when they are asked with the following four simple questions.
- What were the turning points in your life.
- What challenges did you overcome.
- What successes do you cherish.
- What have you learned so far.
No two answers are ever be the same. People often become emotional, reconnecting with forgotten strength and meaning. We have done over a thousand such stories. We are convinced that the civilization advances through storytelling. That is the primary job of the Media. It is also an opportunity to make Media self-sustainable with the people funding to make the shooting, editing and broadcasting possible.
Leadership, Media, and Letting Go of Control
Reflecting on development and leadership, Mr. Sawood observes that progress comes from people and brains, not merely resources. Yet he warns against excessive control. When humans try to predict, dominate, and manage everything, they end up fighting with God. True results, he says, often emerge from the unknown. Paulose acknowledged his belief and explained why he resisted turning media into a purely profit driven business. Media is not a business, he says. It is a responsibility. Revenue may sustain it, but purpose must guide it. Together the world should travel towards the unknown; the divine. There is only one God.
A Life Anchored in People
Through all these experiences, faith, media innovation, education, and community work, one principle remains constant for both Mr. Sawood and Paulose. People are the primary resource to transform the world.
When people are respected, listened to, and allowed to tell their stories, everything else, technology, economy, development, falls into place.
Today’s world is obsessed with speed, control, and visibility. In today’s Roller coaster world, we should be reminded about the invisible order that matters. Stories matter. People matter. And perhaps God does not need a self-image, because the presence of God is reflected everywhere we choose to see in the world with humility and humanity.
