HR Talks with Madhuranti

If The Office is a crash course in corporate nonsense, then Panchayat is a full-fledged diploma in HR—with bonus credits in jugaad, people politics, and managing tantrums without a raise. Set in the gloriously chaotic lanes of Phulera, where Wi-Fi is rare but workplace drama is in HD, Panchayat serves up a hot, spicy platter of HR lessons disguised as everyday village madness. Forget glass cabins and coffee machines—here, it’s chulhas, cow dung, and committees that inculcate within you how to really deal with people. Between Vikas's emotional meltdowns and Prahlad’s passive-aggressive wisdom, you’ll figure out more insight on human behavior than most leadership books combined. Honestly, if MBA courses had a Phulera semester, attrition rates would drop and empathy would spike. So grab your notepad (or a steel plate, whatever’s closer), and let’s decode what every HR pro can learn from Lathi-wielding Gram Pradhans to late-night water tank musings. Warning: This post contains s...

— A Human Resource Perspective in the Age of Algorithms I sat at my desk this morning, sipping lukewarm coffee from my favorite mug — the one that affirms “World’s Best HR (According to Me).” As I scrolled past yet another article titled “AI Will Replace 80% of HR Jobs,” I paused. Not out of trepidation, but out of inquisitiveness. Would AI really replace me? Or just borrow my mug while I enjoy a wellness webinar? Let’s chat about it. 🤖 The Rise of the Bots in the Breakroom Let’s not pretend AI hasn’t made its striking entrance. From parsing resumes in milliseconds to nudging candidates via automated emails at 3 a.m., AI has certainly become that new intern who never sleeps and never forgets. It screens faster, learns patterns, and never complains about Monday blues. But here’s the catch — it also doesn’t feel . It doesn’t understand why Mr. A broke down during his exit interview. It doesn’t sense when a team’s morale is low even if their Objectives and key results (OKRs) s...

— Lessons from the Other Side of the Coffee Mug ☕ Hey there, soon-to-be intern! If you’ve recently bagged an internship and are doing a happy dance in your room (probably after printing out the offer letter to show your dog), congratulations! 🎉 You’re about to enter a phase that’s exciting, confusing, awkward, hilarious — and possibly the biggest reality check of your life. Let me introduce myself — I’m a full-time HR professional now, but not too long ago, I was that intern awkwardly nodding at everything, pretending I understood what "resource mapping" meant, while secretly Googling it in the washroom. And today, I want to spill some freshly brewed truth — not just about internships, but about growing up professionally without losing your soul in the process. So grab your chai (or coffee), and let’s dive into some real talk. ☕ 🌱 1. Yes, You’re “Just” an Intern — and That’s a Superpower You’ll hear it in the halls, in the emails, sometimes even in the tone of som...

In the delicate ballet of modern workspaces, a quiet revolution is pirouetting onto center stage. It is not a revolution marked by the clatter of machines taking over, but by the elegant intertwining of mind and machine—where algorithms breathe beside agendas, dashboards flicker next to dreams, and AI finds its place in the sacred chamber of Human Resources. Yes, we are evolving—but more importantly, we are reimagining. From recruitment to retention, performance to purpose—AI is no longer knocking on HR’s door; it’s sitting at the table. But as we welcome this new guest, we are compelled to ask a question that strikes at the very soul of our profession: Can we embrace AI’s brilliance without dimming our human essence? Can empathy coexist with efficiency? Can a machine read between the lines of a trembling voice in an interview or understand the quiet courage of an employee navigating burnout? Are we sculpting tools that serve our people—or systems that slowly unshape them? Will ...