He helped me to bring home my scooter

Here is the thirty second unforgettable character in my life …

It was in 1978 that I bought my scooter. It was a Vijay Super and grey in color. I had just learned how to ride a two wheeler and went to the outlet in the city at Shalimar point to buy one. The dealer asked me to come the next day to collect the vehicle. I was still with an ‘L’ license and would need someone to ride the scooter back to township, a distance of nearly 15-Km. The next day was Maha Ashtami and my friend and I left for our mission by an ST bus.

However, things were not as simple as I had expected. There were plenty of formalities involved in getting the two-wheeler on the road like installing the accessories, testing the engine, going for a test drive etcetera.
We had thought we could be back by late afternoon but by the time we were ready to take off, it was evening and the roads were crowded. I was pillion riding and my friend was negotiating though the traffic. When we reached the Adgaon naka near Tapovan, he stopped the scooter and got down.
‘Ghose,’ he said, ‘you must now drive.’
I was shocked. I was still a learner holding an ‘L’ license and township was nearly 10-Km away! I lacked the confidence to ride the scooter on the Mumbai-Delhi highway.
‘I am having trouble with insects getting into my eyes,’ my friend explained. ‘I have not brought my goggles. Don’t worry. I will guide you. Just go slowly.’
Well, that is what I did. And – it boosted my confidence to a new level. I remembered the management policy – nothing is impossible. Throw someone into the water and he will trash his hands and feet and learn to swim because of the survival instinct.
I meet him on and off even now on special occasions like the Durga puja and will always remain thankful to him.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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His contribution to Durga Puja will never be forgotten

Here is the thirty first unforgettable character in my life …

Durga Puja is the largest festival of Bengalis wherever they may be and our township was no exception. When it started, those who were involved in it devoted their energies to make it a success from the very first day and managed to create a festive mood for not just the four days but the taste lingered on long after the immersion of the idols in the River Godavari.
The period was in the late seventies and the man responsible was an ex-Navy officer. He possessed a never-say-die attitude that is unique to anyone who has seen service in the armed forces. When the Bengalis decided to hold the first ever Durga Puja in the township, he led from the front and ensured that the festivities left a lasting impression on not only on the Bengali community but also the locals.

The biggest challenge was to organize entertainment packages for the four days. Since necessary funds were raised from donations and subscriptions, the donors expected to get their money’s worth. And - he took a decision to arrange programs of artistes from Mumbai and Pune. The tentative program for the four days were – inauguration, entertainment package by artistes of Mumbai or Pune, a program to the Marathi population, and an evening meant exclusively for local talents.
It was that stage in our lives when television was in its infancy and cable TV was unheard of and people would crowd to venues of entertainment to spend an evening and watch celebrities and renowned singers.
He had managed to bring famous artistes from Mumbai like Hema Malini, Manna Dey, Babla’s orchestra, Tun Tun, Sachin Shankar’s ballet and others to entrain the gatherings.
The idol of Goddess Durga and her retinue would be brought directly from Kolkata by train as would be the dhaki and there would be community lunch consisting of khichudi on all the four days that would be open to everybody, irrespective of caste, creed or religion.
However, all of a sudden, he passed away and others took off from where he left. Even today, he is remembered as the man who made things happen. The word ‘impossible’ was not in his dictionary.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Jharkhand to become plastic free, ban on polybags less than 50 micron thick

Conflict between man and elephants on the rise in Odisha

Gurgaon to get environment friendly electric buses


He was a Chinese and his assistant was a Muslim

He was framed for a crime he did not commit

He was my first boss and be taught me the basics


Clint Eastwood's upcoming film "The 15:17 to Paris"

Work on superhero film "Deadpool 2" begins

'Spider-Man: Homecoming' brings back the teenage crime fighter


Two Americans gored by bulls in the San Fermin bull running festival

At least 15 killed in shootout in Mexico between police and drug gangs

Suicide bomber kills at least 15 in Mosul

He was a boss who knew how to instill confidence in his subordinates

Here is the thirtieth unforgettable character in my life …

He was one of my bosses who made me realize the potential that I had in me. He was instrumental to get me transferred from a department where I had got bored stiff with routine work – I wanted a change and he allowed that to happen. He wanted me to set up a section and I was given a separate room and a team of four persons drawn from other departments. The day I took over charge, the first person to enter my section was the one who had been handling the work in the project group. He was beaming as he informed me that his transfer had materialized and he would be leaving for Bangalore in a couple of days. He also added that he was sending to me all the documents that he was holding. They came in a jeep followed by two steel Godrej almirahs and other furniture that he felt I would require.
I had never handled the procurement of engineering material, neither did I know the norms of provisioning, or the methods of following up with suppliers, and liaising with user departments to keep track of critical items. These were new areas to me and I was appalled at the volume of files and correspondences that he transferred gleefully to my section.

After I had settled down and was engrossed in trying to make sense out of the papers that I was in possession of, my boss phoned me and asked me to come over to his office. He offered me a cup of tea and, as we sipped the tea, he asked probing questions. Finally, he handed me a report and said that the report has to go to the Corporate office every month and would I check the correctness of the data?
I was shocked – as it is I was floundering and it would take me time to even think of vetting important information. My boss understood and asked bluntly – when can you vet this?
And I replied frankly – please give me at least six months.
Anything else? he asked.
I would like a personal computer, I replied.
Accordingly, he gave me a PC – it was one of the primitive models with two drives – you had to insert a floppy in one drive for booting and use the second drive for the floppy to store data and to generate reports.
True to his word, he gave me the six months – once I was confident, he gave the fresh report to me and I sat late into the night for vetting. It took me a couple of days since I had to get his clarifications on some discrepancies.
Finally, my version was ready. He signed it and sent it to Corporate office and told me – henceforth you will be responsible for this activity every month.
He was my Boss for the final period of my service and he taught me to be self-reliant. He would assign apparently impossible tasks to me and I would innovate to come up with solutions. It was a part of the growing up experience for me.
He has now retired as a Director at the Corporate level and, is an example of how delegation of work can build confidence in the subordinate as well as ease one’s own headaches.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Jharkhand to become plastic free, ban on polybags less than 50 micron thick

Conflict between man and elephants on the rise in Odisha

Gurgaon to get environment friendly electric buses


He was a Chinese and his assistant was a Muslim

He was framed for a crime he did not commit

He was my first boss and be taught me the basics


Clint Eastwood's upcoming film "The 15:17 to Paris"

Work on superhero film "Deadpool 2" begins

'Spider-Man: Homecoming' brings back the teenage crime fighter


Two Americans gored by bulls in the San Fermin bull running festival

At least 15 killed in shootout in Mexico between police and drug gangs

Suicide bomber kills at least 15 in Mosul

He was an out and out Bohemian

Here is the twenty ninth unforgettable character in my life …

There is hardly anyone who has not met at least one Bohemian in his lifetime. This Bohemian friend of mine was a freelancer – he had a small screen printing outfit and would go around collecting orders for visiting cards or marriage cards or labels. He was sincere to his profession but he had a drawback. He had never learnt cycling, therefore he could not ride any scooter and had to use his feet. When the distances were large, he would hire an auto rickshaw.

Since our city had an abundance of small scale industries, he was never short of orders. He faced problems when he bagged large orders – at that time he would recruit temporary hands, mostly girls. Their relationships were always master-servant types, nothing closer than that.
Our paths crossed when we decided to print Bengali books and magazines from Nashik through computers. He arranged for the Bengali fonts through his contact and also the facilities of data entry. We used to meet in his room – it was always in a mess. We would suggest that he get married and settle down to a regular life but he would laugh it all off.
He did have a try tried at writing stories but the results were not that great – he wanted to be a rebel and would insist on his special style of spelling. It was a style that no one accepted in those days but is gradually coming into vogue today!
Anyway, when circumstances forced our magazine, our paths parted – our meetings became less frequent and, one day, we came to know that he had finally got married. Only – she was a divorcee with a kid. She used to help him in his freelancing business and had trouble with her husband. They would fight and, finally, she took the extreme step of separation. My friend gladly accepted her.
We met after a long time during one of the Durga pujas – both he and his wife had come to the puja pandal. He had purchased a brand new car and had a driver – he has not yet learnt driving the car.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Jharkhand to become plastic free, ban on polybags less than 50 micron thick

Conflict between man and elephants on the rise in Odisha

Gurgaon to get environment friendly electric buses


He was a Chinese and his assistant was a Muslim

He was framed for a crime he did not commit

He was my first boss and be taught me the basics


Clint Eastwood's upcoming film "The 15:17 to Paris"

Work on superhero film "Deadpool 2" begins

'Spider-Man: Homecoming' brings back the teenage crime fighter


Two Americans gored by bulls in the San Fermin bull running festival

At least 15 killed in shootout in Mexico between police and drug gangs

Suicide bomber kills at least 15 in Mosul