Wednesday, January 28, 2015
GRATITUDE - Chapter 4... Supplement to Photo Gallery
GRATITUDE - Tribute to those who helped me in my career n life. Chapter 4
Chapter 4.
Sir Winston Churchill
Chiang Kai Shek
Berlin Wall… with colorful graffiti on West Berlin side
Grim part of the Wall.. children on West, barbed wire on East
Steve Jobs
)%2B%2BRefinery.jpg)
Modern Look of the (now HPCL) Refinery
Mama ji’s Famiy at our wedding Reception. Pirthipal is the gent on right and Jeet the 2nd gent from left. In the middle is my Bhayya Ji my paternal grandfather. )
2nd from rt Ashok Ravat, 3rd from left Mohan Paralkar n other friends from Shiva ji Park at our wedding reception in 1961.
Ramdas Iyer
The late Prithipal Singh Ahluwalia
The late Madan Kamra
Please see Photo Gallery below.
1955 in World
History
1955…it was a historic year when International events set
the foundation for the geo political architecture of the World community for the
next half century.
Winston Churchill Hero of WWII and British Prime Minister resigned that year. He
died ten years later.
In China, Communist
forces had by then consolidated their hold over Mainland China and Chiang Kai Shek was confined to Formosa aka Taiwan. China had
already annexed Tibet and emerged as a Major World Power. It was to be some
decades before China became an Economic
Powerhouse.
Russia spearheaded
the formation of the Warsaw Pact and start of Cold War. West Germany became a
sovereign state. In some years Berlin
Wall came up to symbolize the Iron Curtain.
If that was not enough, USA began sending aid to Viet Nam.
And the one who was to change the work-life style
of this decade, Steve Jobs, was born in 1955.
Likewise 1955 in my History
Similarly 1955 was a historic year for me n my family too.
My first job with Stanvac Refnery set
the foundation for my future career. I learnt the fundamentals of Personnel Management n General Management in
a Best Practices environment where merit ruled.
This was to equip me for the eventful and rewarding future that lay in
store for me. But then I am going ahead of my story.
During the time I was working in Poona, I had taken to ‘Pen
Friendship” and had several pen friends with whom I corresponded. Those days letter
writing was the only mode of communication between distant friends and
relatives. Pen Friendship was a prominent hobby. It enabled people to make
friends with people not related to them and located far away. Newspapers
carried classified advertisements from people seeking pen pals. Thankfully the
Indian Postal system was at its most efficient and we could depend on letters
being delivered promptly. Almost half century later, Internet, Facebook n other
social media killed the art of letter writing.
However, on googling for ‘penfriend” I find that the Hobby
survives. In the Photo Gallery there is a screen shot of the results that came
up.
Ramdas Iyer in Mumbai had been my
Pen Friend for a couple of years before we met in person.
Ramdas lived near Shivaji Park in Bombay. He worked at
Stanvac Bombay Refinery. Post nationalization of private oil companies, it is
now known as Hindustan Petroleum Refinery.
I had applied for a
job as Steno-typist with Maharashtra State Transport Corporation and was called
for test n interview at Bombay. Papa ji had a distant Mama, Narinder Singh who lived in Matunga with his sons Pirthipal n Jeet n daughter Surinder. Papa ji
suggested that I should stay with them.
I had let Ramdas know of my plans to be in Bombay. It was a
Saturday morning and Ramdas came to
visit me. We sat in the Terrace flat’s veranda exchanging notes. We had ‘met’
for the first time ever. Among other things, we talked about what he was doing.
He mentioned that he was working for the Stanvac Refinery in Chembur. I asked
him if there was any scope for me. He mentioned that one Mr. Kamra was handling
the recruitment. Just at that moment Pirthipal Singh, happened to pass by and
heard the name Kamra. He stopped and asked: is that Madan Kamra? Ramu confirmed. Pirthi Chacha said: We know
Kamra family very well. Let us go n meet them at Kalina tomorrow. It is Sunday
and he is bound to be home.
That Sunday morning Chacha ji and I made our way to Kalina
home of the Kamras and met Madan n other family members. Madan sort of
interviewed me informally. Among other things he was keen to know if I knew
typing and Hindi language. Of course I new typing v well; and had Hindi as a
subject in last two years of High school post the partition. He asked me to
meet him at his office on Monday.
Once in the office, he interviewed me formally and also
presented me to his boss Mr. B.M. Sitlani. My typing and Hindi skills were
emphasized repeatedly. After all that, he offered me a ’temporary’ job for 3 months on a salary of
Rs. 220 p.m. This was double of what I was getting. But, uff, Temporary again. Here I have a ‘government’
job. Dilemma. I telegraphed my father n got a prompt reply “I am a gambler…
risk not, gain not…take it”.
Oil Company jobs were prized in those days; when most people
would scoff at private sector jobs. Everybody wanted a ‘permanent’ government
job.
I joined duties on 5 September 1955 and was the last
temporary employee to be confirmed next year. Thereafter the company enforced
an embargo on new recruitment and released all temporaries. That was the start
of my career in Bombay. It laid the foundation of my progress at the Refinery
and thereafter at the Esso Headquarters.
It is a long story and I shall get to it by and by.
All through the years I have remembered the role that Mamaji’s family, Ramdas n Madan Kamra played
in my career and in my life. They set me on a course that was to take me very far.
For years Mama ji’s
family were our closest relatives in
Bombay. Pirthi’s Family migrated to Canada. Forever during our visits to North
America we would make it a point to hop over to Toronto to be with their
daughters. Pirthi Chacha and his wife are no more. Tragically their son too is no
more. Jeet Chacha died early; his wife
survived long n passed away a few years ago.
I had kept in touch with Madan till he passed away a few
years ago. Even now we are in touch with his wife Shoba. We remained colleagues
in Esso till both of us left for other pastures. Yet we remained in touch and
were each other’s well wishers.
Ramu n I kept in touch all through these decades and
participate in each other’s good times n bad. I am in eternal debt of gratitude
to Madan n Ramu.
Ramdas now lives very close to our house in Bandra. And we meet on occasions along with our two other long time common
friends Mohan Paralkar and Ashok Ravat.
PHOTO GALLERY for Chapter 4
Stanvac Building. In course of time the company was renamed Esso n then nationalized into Hindustan Petroleum.
Ramdas Iyer at our wedding
R to L Ramdas, Ashok Ravat Mohan Paralkar n Krishnamurthy
elder sone of Ramdas
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
GRATITUDE - Tribute..... Chapter 3 Pictorial Supplement
Sappers at Parade
Memorial
Sappers at Fort Ghazni
Gen MacArthur
Mrs. Eleanour Roosevelt
President Franklin D Roosevelt
Nana Patekar
Nitesh Kumar
Awara
GRATITUDE - Tribute to those who helped me in my career n life
Chapter 3
The Times of Early 1950s … some historical background
Corp of Sappers.
My first job in 1951was with the Bombay Sappers, in those days
called the Bombay Engineer Group. The other notable group in the same Corps was the Bengal
Sappers.
In modern day language, Sappers are the Engineers and
logistical front end of the War Machine.
They will clear the path of the
marching armies, clear the battle front of mines, lay their own mines, build
bridges, lay explosives to force open enemies strong holds to allow the
infantry to march in battle. (note 1)
1951 in History
India
The year 1951, when I got my first job, was a turning point not only for me and my
family but also an eventful year for India and world wide.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru headed the first Cabinet after the
first General Elections held in Republic
of India . That year he was on the cover of Time Magazine. The same year he
launched the First Five Year Plan. We have just seen the dismantling of the
Institution that he set great store on: Planning
Commission. (note 2) We Indians have
great expectations from the current Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Mody and his creation:- the successor Institution NITI Aayog.
International
That was the year, 1951, North Korean Offensive crossed the 38th
parallel. President Harry Truman sacked
Gen Douglas MacArthur for criticizing
the President’s conduct of the Korean War. (note 3) )
It was the same year that the US Congress passed the 22nd
Amendment limiting a President to two terms.
Earlier President Franklin D Roosevelt had served three Terms due to Declaration of
WW II during his 2nd Term. His collaboration with Winston Churchill and
Joseph Stalin won the war and rid the world of Fascism…. hopefully for all time
to come.
Remember the movie: The Longest Day?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMbDNmQlLEc
And what was to touch
our lives more intimately, that year CBS introduced color TV… Though most
Indian families had to wait for two decades to get their first B@W TV.
Bollywood
Great Bollywood actor, Nana Patekar was born in 1951. So
also Nitish Kumar who was destined to be the CM of Bihar State.
As I would pedal my new Eastern Star Bicycle the 4 km from our home in Sholapur Bazar,
Poona Camp to office in Kirkee, I would hum the tunes from Barsat, Andaz, Awara, Baazi and other famous and popular movies of that era. Forever in my life, when
faced with hard times, the song from Baazi was to be my guiding light… Tadbeer
se bigdi hui taqdeer bana le…..
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3ikMQQfja4
or Awara Hoon
The earlier year, on
a visit to papa ji in Bombay, I entered the first Air-con movie hall to watch
Hum log: Liberty in Dhobi Talao. Later Papa ji moved back to Pune.
Life is full of
coincidences: when we finally
moved to Bombay, our first home was a short distance from RK Studios and the
Raj Kapoor residence in Chembur.
Bombay? Well that is the next story…
Notes:
Thursday, January 15, 2015
GRATITUTDE - A tribute to those who helped me in my career and Life.
GRATITUDE….
Preamble:
As I have entered my 80th year, I think it is
time to record my gratitude to all the people who have been instrumental in my
career/life progression. And I don’t propose an Oscar Acceptance starting with
my dear parents, grandparents, brothers,
sisters, sons n grandsons; in laws n out laws and a few v v old friends.
Although they all made signal contribution and those of them who are still
around, represent the most solid social foundation on which I rest in my
fragile old age.
Chapter 1
Col PS Bhagat VC
PVSM Commandant, Bombay Engineers Group Poona. (aka Bombay Sappers).
After a colourless one year in N Wadia College, Papa ji was
looking for a career for me. He put me up for selection as an Apprentice in
IAF. Thanks to his efforts, I got selected; but had a problem with the medical
examination. The Doctor found that I had
Varicocele. The Doc asked me to get operated and join the batch which was due
in couple of weeks. Unfortunately (V fortunately as it turned out to be) for
me, the surgery at Sassoon Hospital went septic and I was in the Hospital long
enough to miss the batch. Papa ji’s finances were not in a position to bear my
unemployment for 6 months, when the next batch was to be formed.
So Papa ji went looking for a something else.
He was a supplier of sports goods to the Military. Hence his
approach to the IAF; where he had gifted Bibi ji’s precious shawl in order to
get me a chance. That had gone in vain.
Then he approached Col PS Bhagat VC PVSM who was then the
Commandant of the Bombay Engineer Group (aka Bombay Sappers) in Kirkee Poona.
The good Colonel got me a position as (temporary) Lower Division Clerk i.e.
Civilian in lieu of Combatant n the
Record Office.
The Military doctor who ‘medically checked’ me, must have been impressed by my lanky almost 6
foot frame and recorded that my apparent age was 19. That cleared me for employment in a Govt office.
Bit of stretching the truth, but for a good cause.
I got the job on a princely salary of Rs.105 on 23 July 1951
at the age of 16 yrs 4 mos.. I learnt the basics of office routines, improved
my typing and drafting skills under the watchful eyes of the ‘unformed’ NCOs n
later JCOs who were my supervisors. The job was in the Non Effective Section of
the Record Office which dealt with problems and issues of the ex servicemen. In
a way that was my real induction in to the profession of Employee Relations.
The job lasted me a little over five years till I joined the
Stanvac Bombay Refinery in Bombay on September 5, 1955.
Thereby hangs another tale.
……………………………………………………………………………………………..
GRATITUDE – A Tribute
Tribute to many who helped in my development
in Early Years.
My first assignment in the Record Office was in the Dispatch
Section. Our task was to dispatch correspondence to the Ex servicemen. We wrote
the addresses on the envelopes and stuck postage stamps on them. I learnt names
of obscure towns all over the country. Of course at that time Trichinapoly had
not become Tiruchirapalli. The boss of the Dispatch Section was Havaldar
Pillai. He was a balding bespectacled middle aged soldier: kind hearted but a
task master. At some stage I expressed a desire to learn Tamil language. He got
me a primer n a note-book and made a beginning; calling out the alphabets and
writing them one at a time. My undoing was the pronouncement. I could not say
Tamil as he wanted… The L sound would not yield space to ZH sound that was needed.
He announced that I have to eat a pound of salt each day, if I were to learn
Tamil. The matter rested there.
There was a bit of let down when the office did not pay my salary for the 8 days of July and told
me that it will be paid with August salary. Little did the Babu know how
precious those 25 odd rupees were to my family. Thankfully the canteen contractor gave us credit; so I could
feast on his spicey Missal and piping hot Poori and Patal Bhaji. Idli Dosa had not yet overtake these Poona
snacks. Bless your soul wherever you are.
There was a Civilian Clerk named M Vijay Kumar. He was much better
educated than Im His MA to my FY Science. We became good friends. We spent many
an evening together and he taught me
finer points of the English language and inculcated in me the love for
reading. So also the love for late shows of
Hollywood movies at the Liberty Cinema (note 1) in Poona Camp area. Five
anna class.
In some ways associating with him gave me the idea of advancing my
formal education. I gave up hope of ever getting back to college. In course of
time I took the Intermediate Arts Exam of the Punjab University as External
Student. I stayed with my Mama ji in Ludhiana for over a month for this purpose.
I basked in the love of my Mami ji.
I passed in ‘higher’ 2nd class!
Also to improve my earning capacity, Papa ji had got me admitted to Pitman’s Institute on
Centre Street in Camp. For a fee of Rs. 3 p.m. I learnt Qwerty typing. This is
one skill that remains relevant in to this age of computers n smart phones.
Soon I took to learning Shorthand. With Papa ji giving me dictation practice at
home in the light of a kerosene lantern, I got some proficiency in it. Soon the
good Principal Mr. Basant appointed me Shorthand Instructor and I could supplement
my income. The Institute has survived and has diversified its offering. (note
2) )
Back at the office I would volunteer to type the letters drafted by
other NCOs in the Section. I was proud to add my initials to their’s;- XYZ/RBS.
Armed with additional skills of Stenography, I started looking
around for better jobs. Interviews at College of Military Engineering and at
the Virus Research Institute did not bear fruit. Next came up a call for Test
n Interview from Maharashtra State Road
Transport Corp at Bombay…
State Transport? That is another story…. Another day..
In a spirit of GRATITUDE, I pay heartfelt tribute to the kind
Havaldar Saheb, my friend Vijakumar and Principal Basant for the encouragement
n help they gave me and the anonymous canteen contractor for nourishing my
body.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes:
1. https://www.here.com/india/pune/cinema/liberty-cinema--356tek93- 2a721d9b173c49d49869ba974de19a35?map=18.51893,73.88734,16,normal&x=ep
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)