Wednesday, August 5, 2015

GRATITUDE: Letters from a Grandfather to his Future Generations.

Copyright reserved
for Pix n Text.

August 5, 2015

Dear Family n Friends:

I have now shared with you the story of  37 years of my working life i.e.1951 to 1988. The story saw a lower division temporary clerk in a military office poised to join the board of a public limited company.

The job at the Military office taught me basic office routines. Just as well, it was a military office, for it taught me discipline right in my first job.

Then luck in the shape of pen friend Ramdas Iyer took me to Stanvac-Esso. This was my real life Management School. My business writing came of age. I learned the Fundamentals of Management as well as Best Practices, which I did not see replicated in the decades thereafter.

It meant a huge scope for me to make a difference in my subsequent stints at Crompton n Forbes Group. I succeeded in that task thanks to the support of the Top Managements and their willingness to accept new ideas.

So what I learnt at Esso, I put in practice in my subsequent jobs.

I am grateful to so many people who have been instrumental in nudging my destiny forward and supporting me in my journey.

During these near four decades, I got married; raised a family. So did all my siblings and many of    their children. By a stroke of luck, all of us remained in the Maximum City of Mumbai. We are therefore, today, a large clan closely knit, thanks to the strong family spirit imbibed by three generations. A few of our Gen Next have gone overseas and given a good account of themselves.

In the same four decades, Sukhjit and I lost our grandparents n then parents. She also lost a brother, a sister n a nephew. On our side we have lost two dear Jeejas.

So is life. It gives n it takes.

What remains of my work life is 9 years in Goodlass Nerolac, 6 years with Thakral Bros in Viet Name and 12 years of retirement. Much has happened in these years too. I shall continue to pen the story of these years and share it with you once it is all done.

I shall continue to write to you to share the happenings in our Clan, in the world at large. Do let me know if there is anything you wish to share with ‘Blurred Vision”.

The last couple of years I have become a bit more active in Social media, especially Twitter. I have a few ‘flocks’ of Tweeps that are constantly in touch with each other. I have a fair sprinkling of people from India, Europe and the Americas.
It is an educative medium. The ritual ‘good mornings’ apart, important news come to me in Social media first. Then I look up the web or the newspapers to fill myself up. Jehangir Bisney is one of the first providers of news. He has mentioned lifting of the Maggi Ban, though I have not yet seen it in print.
This exposure to Social Media has led me to take minimal interest in the morning papers.

As most of you know, a sad highlight of my post retirement decade has been my lungs ailment: an asthmatic condition known as Bronchiectasis. I have been prone to serial lung infections and prolonged usage of antibiotics. The moist, pollutant laden air of Mumbai city is an aggravation.

I have been on the look out for a place where I can escape the pollution. I have finally bought an apartment at Lavasa, a hill station in-the-making 220 kms from Mumbai. We plan to spend a week each month over there. Maybe more in winter, when Mumbai air becomes intolerably smoke laden. We should be getting possession during this month. Ideas of fitting out n furnishing the apartment are a major preoccupation. We should have it going in a couple of months. You folks are welcome to join us, the times we are in residence. There are a few pictures below.

Later this month, we are expecting my sister Jasbir to return after a long stay in Melbourne with her son, Mintoo. While she was away, she crossed the landmark 75th birthday. End of this month is Rakhi and that is one occasion when the Clan assembles in one place. We have suggested that this time let it be at our place.  We are so looking forward to a reunion.

That should be enough for now. More later. I will be in touch. 

Au revoir! Phir Milenge!

Photo Gallery

Promotion Picture of Lake City Lavasa



 
Manjari 2 at Ashiana Lavasa Utsav
2nd floor on right is our apartment

More clear



 
Full Moon rises above the Hills of Lavasa

Our first night out at Lavasa

Hills - the view from our Balcony

At a month end get together of residents
Games, Hot coffee n pakoras!

Green Hills opposite

Street of Villas opposite our apartment





Wednesday, July 29, 2015

GRATITUDE: Letters from a Grandfather to his Future Generations. Chapter 27

COPYRIGHT RESERVED
BOTH FOR TEXT N PIX.

Chapter 27

Dear Family n Friends:

I am sitting down to write this while history is being made:
People's President APJ Kalam passed away.

Sad happenings in our parent district of Gurdaspur.
Today was the birth anniversary of the late JRD Tata. He had passed away in the year 1993, the self same year of bomb attacks in Mumbai. Just as well that, today, the Supreme Court has not stayed the hanging of the perpetrator. 
Uncle of our Bhabi, Sweety, has passed away in Burhanpur.

Pray to God to grant peace to the souls of the departed.
Also pray to God to spare the Nation more agony at the hands of Terrorists. 

..........................................................................................................................

Let us get back to the Eureka Forbes Story.

In 1987 Akhil Marfatia, President of EFL,  introduced his former colleague from J&J,  Suresh Goklaney to be hired as his deputy.  Suresh was a personable young man and came thru as an upright Manager. We had no hesitation in supporting his recruitment as VP Sales n Marketing. More of this later in this chapter. 

In the post Khandwala era, the educational conferences had given way to Group Conferences, hosted by different companies, by turn. At these Conferences, heads of various Group Companies or heads of Major Divisions made presentations on the state of their business and strategies. These were interesting venues for senior Managers of different companies to interact with each other and to get the larger picture of the Group’s businesses.

By virtue of my long standing in the Human Resource n Industrial Relations field in Bombay. I was elected Chairman of the Human Resource Committee of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce n Industry. This was a gathering of HR/IR practitioners of the Member companies. Some of them were IR luminaries in their own right. This continued right thru my early years in GNP. However with my ultimate elevation as Managing Director of GNP, I was nominated member of the General Committee of BCCI and relinquished my role in the HR Sub Committee. Somewhere along the way, I had also relinquished my association with the Indo Swedish Business Sub Committee.

As years went by the company was out of its difficult days and was on a steady growth trend. I sensed that, and there was no need of some one like me to do hand holding.

I was, therefore, in a receptive frame of mind when the proposal for my joining the Board of Goodlass Nerolac Paints resurfaced in 1988.

At this juncture, I might as well wrap up the Forbes story before I pick up the threads of my time in GNP.

Around 1992, Forbes Forbes Campbell and Gokak Patel Volkart were merged to form: Gokak Patel Volkart Limited.

In the years 1990-92, all was not well between the Top Team of EFL. As a result, the Vice President was seconded to the Lense Division. In course of time, it appeared that the President’s management of the Company left a lot to be desired. The company was in a big mess on all counts. I don’t quite know why it happened. The net result was that the President had to leave Eureka Forbes in 1993.  

Suresh Goklaney, was summoned back to Eureka Forbes to steer the company. I was drafted into an Emergency care-taking Committee along with couple of Forbes Directors to resolve the difficulties and enable Suresh Goklaney to operate the Company.
He was appointed President and the company got back to even keel. The Company has done well under his management. He was appointed Managing Director couple of years later.

As for Akhil Marfatia,  early 1995, I ran into him on a flight. He was managing a company marketing Pagers. Those were the days of infancy of Mobile Phones; but pagers were the precursors. I was the Convener of the Indian Paint Conference 1995 and was keen to have a device to keep communications with all the volunteers. Hiring Mobile phones seemed very cost prohibitive. So we worked out a deal with Akhil to provide Pagers to all the volunteers. That worked well.

The next that I heard of Akhil was via a newspaper notice that he had passed away. The notice said that he was on the Board of another Company, albeit as an outside director. Thru that company, I got his family’s contacts and condoled with his son, by his second marriage. RIP.

Years went by.  Mr. Madan retired as Managing Director in 1997, the same year that I retired from GNP.  His position was taken by Mr. Mehra  from Tata Steel.

Forbes did not figure in the strategic plan of Ratan Tata for the Tata Group. In line with that,  Tatas and Forbes had divested their holding in GNP in favour of Kansai of Japan. So did the UK shareholders.

Tata’s ultimately divested the Forbes Group to the Shapoorjee Pallonjee Mistry Group in 2000. They undid the merger of Forbes and Gokak in 2008.

The new Management seemed to appreciate Suresh’s stewardship and elevated him to Vice Chairman and Managing Director.

That just about sums up the Eureka Forbes and Forbes Group story.  They had been kind to me.  In the post Khandwala era, my career trajectory changed, in hindsight, for the better

So, my dear Family, whatever happens, do keep faith and remember that:

whatever happens, happens for the good.

Back to my work life:

Some time in 1988 Devoo again mooted the idea of my joining the Board of GNP. He was looking to me to provide 4-5 years of stewardship as Managing Director after his n Bal Gokhale’s retirement.

I believe that Dilip Madan had joined forces with Devoo to ‘sell’ my candidature to the UK directors. The latter were familiar with me through  my visits to them in the UK. Also we had had repeated interaction  on the role conflict between the MD and Dy MD in years gone by.

One thing led to another, and the idea of my joining the GNP Board took shape. Based on my credentials in HR n Industrial Relations, it was proposed that I join as head of Manufacturing n HR. It was just as well that things panned out this way since I could make signal contribution in an area critical to GN’s future success. .  

More of ‘why’… later.

Photo Gallery follows:
Please excuse any caption errors.
Do please point out the errors.

                                      .....oooooOOOOOooooo.....
Respect
Respect another Visionary

Khandwala - Memories of what could have been

Dilip Madan - Friend n supporter all along

Devoo n Indu Kothari
Friend and Patron

with FA Mehta
a checkered period in history of Forbes


A Group Conference

Akhil Marfatia n Suresh Goklaney
in their days together

 
Suresh Goklaney
ExecutiveVice Chairman N Managing Director,
Eureka Forbes.







Wednesday, July 22, 2015

GRATITUDE: Letters from a Grandfather to his future generations. Chapter 26

COPYRIGHT RESERVED
BOTH FOR TEXT N PIX.

Chapter 26

Dear Family and Friends:

Breaking: I have had a fortnight long break; I am back!
The break was originally occasioned by my falling sick again to my endemic ailment of  lung infection.  I had not recovered yet and had to embark on a trip to Chennai and Pondicherry aka Puducherry.

Therefore, it was with some trepidation that we undertook the long -planned trip. Yet the Gods be thanked, I got stronger by the day and have returned with the episode almost over. Fingers crossed; for I have been in mended state of health often in the last 4-5 months, only for another episode to ensue.

In Chennai we were put up with our old friends Manu and Krithi. Our stint in Vietnam gave us, apart from worldly gains, a clutch of great friends. Their having spent several years in Mumbai, further strengthened our friendship with the Krithivasans.  They moved to Chennai few years ago.

We attended the marriage of Srinath, son of Bhama and VS Vasan, our old colleague n family friends of 40 years. I was rather fragile the night of the Reception; so much so that one of their nephews, Srikant, had to serve us dinner while we sat in a corner. The next morning was a lot better. Mr. M Singh of Facit showed up and led me to a bunch of old Facit colleagues:  Bala, Chandrashekhar and Walker whom we had met the previous night. I was able to move around and make a few pictures of the proceedings.

The next day, escorted by Krithvasans, we moved on to Puducherry. Krthi revels in driving his Fortuner. We had a halt at Mahabalipuram Temples. I did not have the energy to walk in the sun; but the trio set out. Thence we drove to Puducherry.  We had a decent lunch at an old French Style Hotel DuPruc. We checked into Club Mahindra’s Puducherry resort late afternoon.  We were a little taken aback at how far the resort was from the town. I was given to understand that the resort was a Hotel in the city…. I forget who gave me the understanding.. Grrr..

By a benign coincidence, Manu Krithivasan has her parents in the area and they were at-home in Puducherry. No wonder, Krthi is so familiar with the town. Reminded me of the summer of 2012, when Avtar n Sylvia put us up near a lake in South Austria and his mother in law’s house was available to them nearby.

This one is a pretty Beach resort laid out in low rise fashion amidst a lot of foliage. The room was in sparse style; with the walls and floor left untiled. The bare look. But comfy it was.  The dining experience is Gourmet + Gourmand. Having signed in for a ‘breakfast n dinner’ package, we must be pardoned if we went all out; rather tucked it all in.  Good food, good service. A surprise, the Chef rolled out a trolley with a huge veg hamburger and gave away slices to who ever wanted : on the house even for a la cart customers.

That was some Tuesday!

Come Wednesday, after breakfast, Krithivasans picked us up and we went for darshan of the tallest Navagrah in the World. There is Lord Ganesha staring at Lord Shani and keeping Him in Check. The other ‘Planet-Gods’ sit on their thrones, in all their glory, not looking at each other.  Fortunately photography was allowed.

We then trooped over to Auroville. This is a green heaven on earth created by  Auroville, over the last 5 decades. Zillions of trees planted by them provide a cool n lush cover to what was a barren plateau before 1968. We had a simple vegetarian lunch at the Cafetera. We were then driven in a bus to the viewing point for a look at Matrimandir: the round, gold enveloped, sphere, which serves as a Meditation Center. Vast grounds around the Sphere  are  being landscaped. The whole vista reminded me of the Bahai Lotus Temple in Delhi: A pristine structure standing in the midst of acres n acres of landscape.

We went back to Temple Darshan: This time Maruti Temple, Lord Hanuman’s. Alas, no photos were allowed and we had to be content with a tiny picture that we bought at the counter. Manu located a better picture on Internet.

Tea was called at a ‘French’ style bakery n tea shop. We had an excellent cup of tea, albeit dip dip, but beautifully served and savoured.

We wound up the Wednesday, with a drive around the ‘French quarter” and along the Beach. I made a few pictures. The sun hid behind the clouds. Though the streets looked dark, the hidden Sun was comforting and picturesque in itself.

It had been a long day, and I particularly was glad to call it quits.

I had asked for the next day to be the day for R&R, but the ladies had conspired to visit a Ganesh Temple later that afternoon.

Thursday morning dawned cool n cloudy. Sukhjit and I ventured out to the beach. It is considered unsafe for water sports. So much so that Security keeps a register of who goes to the beach and when do they return. We had a nice long walk along the water line and made a few selfies and pictures of  the surf breaking on the beach. Bright clouds n Sea but a hidden Sun were a pretty sight.

We had a simple lunch served in our room. I figured that if Sukhjit was going out, so might I. In any case some rest during the day had done me good.

We set out late afternoon for darshan of the Temple of Lord Ganesha in the middle of the town. Unfortunately no photography was allowed here too. The temple style reminded us of the temple in Ho Chi Minh City that we would visit each Sunday during our sojourn there. A few rupees led us to a special darshan; though there wasn’t any crowd at all.

Thence we went on to Aurobindo Ashtram and the grave-site of Aurobindo and the Mother. It was neat, serene and a quiet atmosphere prevailed.  A longish grave under a large tree in the courtyard of the Ashram housed both of them. The calm meditative atmosphere invited me to sit down for a few minutes, in quiet solitude.

And the same craving for Tea; the same Tea house.  Manu was keen on locating the Baker’s Street, which we did a day earlier. Today we found out their opening time (7 am !) and marked for the next day’s breakfast.

We had invited the Krithivasans to join us for dinner at the resort and they had very kindly joined in. It was a great meal and we parted late at night.

Krthi picked us up on Friday morning after check out.  Sukhjit and I had had a light breakfast in the rooms. That did not stop us from a light repast at the Bakers’ Street. My search for Macroons came to fruition at that place. I picked up a few for Vicky and myself. We shared a couple of them at the breakfast table too.

Then the brisk journey to Chennai. Lunch halt at a Dhaba and home!

We had encountered some rain in Puducherry. It caught up with us in Chennai too. Despite that we went over to Vasan’s home to spend a little quality time with the family. We picked up some sweets at Shree Mithai. Shuba was a bit under the weather. Her daughter Shonita regaled us with some Tamil (wedding?) songs. Pleasant surprise that. despite being born n brought up in the USA, her Tamil singing was rather pure, devoid of any accent.

We said our good byes, after a drink and drove back home.

Next morning, Jet was on time and we got home in good shape. Better than what I had left in. 

That was a nice trip! One destination from madam’s bucket list scratched off. Sri Lanka and Spain remain….

God willing…

We are grateful to Manu n Krithi for having gone to such length to enable this trip. Their energy and hospitality is amazing. We were fortunate to be at the receiving end. I must mention: they have set up a lovely home in Chennai packed with many beautiful artifacts. God Bless You both.

We are also grateful to the extended Vasan Family for the love n affection they bestow upon us. Also to the Facit alumni for the respect they show us at this remote.

Aha.. so the break did not really end last week…

I promise: back to business next week…

                                                         .....oooooOOOOOooooo.....

Photo Gallery follows.
Please forgive any caption errors.
Do please point out any errors.



Friendzone: Birthday boy Rajah with Krithi

The Patriarch. Rajah's father.
an Inspiration!



Bhama n Vasan
With old n dear friend Ambuja Jayaraman
Selfie at the Wedding

The wedding
l-r Vasan, Ishwarya, Srinath, Bhama




Shuba n Ravi with daughters Shonita n Sanjukta
Music runs in the family
RAVI on Violin - right
Shonita sings at Mama's wedding

Facit Alumni
 M.Singh (standing) n l-r Walker, Krishnamurthy n  Chandrashekhar
Bala behind the Camera

Mahabalipuram

Selfie!
Only Lord Ganesha can look Lord Shani in the eye

Lord Shani

Matrimandir at Auroville

The tourists

Chameleon at Auroville Grounds
Tiny Tribute to the Flora n Fauna
Huge Big Banyan - a partial view
There is more to it on all sides
Large Tribute to Fauna n Flora

Partial Top view of the same Banyan Tree

Lord Maruti, Jai Hanuman
Morning walk

They tried to get the Eternally Bachelor Ganesha to get married
Bapu at the Beach Road at Puducherry






Outside Aurobindo Ashram

Pre Departure from Mahindra Resort

Souvenirs from the Ashram