Homeopathy plays an important role in spondylosis

There is a general feeling that homeopathy is for the poor because the medicines prescribed usually cost next to nothing when compared to allopathic medicines. Moreover, homeopathic medicines do not have any side effects and there are not many restrictions to be followed. In fact, these are ideal for children who love the sweet taste of the medicines in the form of powder or tiny globules.
My association with homeopathy is a long one.
My father used to practice it after his retirement during his stay with me in my quarter in Nashik. Many of my friends and acquaintances would come to him for medicines and he would study their cases and prescribe the medicines.

As for me, I had to go to a homeopath for a typical problem – it was a sort of spondylosis. Due to this, my left arm would become numb while driving the scooter. I had to keep my left arm dangling from time to time to get the blood circulation back.
When I went to the hospital, the physiotherapist suggested that I wear a neck brace. I did and it did give some relief but it was cumbersome and turning my neck was a problem.
I decided to get the opinion of a homeopath and there were two of them nearby. Both were Malayalee – one of them was an elderly gentleman who had retired from the Air Force and had set up practice in one of the quarters allotted by HAL. The other was a young man employed in HAL – but, due to his effective homeopathy treatments, he was given special permission by HAL to carry out practice in his quarter.
The Air Force man would open his clinic in the mornings and the younger one would open his clinic in the evening. Obviously, they had their own set of clients and there was no clash of interests.
I went to the younger one because evening was more convenient for me and, his medication helped me to come out of the shackle of the neck brace. (to be continued …)

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Mainframe computer system and new breed of programmers

The period I am talking of was a transition period in the computer department.
The huge setup of mainframe computers consisted of punching cards, reading the cards and getting them organized in order to provide necessary outputs. It was a long drawn out process and was getting outdated. The rooms where the system was installed was out of bounds to all except those directly involved. The room was air-conditioned and precautions had to be taken to ensure cleanliness of a high order.

However, there was a change of guard in the department and new boys and girls were inducted. They used to be engaged in work of the payroll and finance departments and the system being used was Cobol. They had got tired of doing the same job over and over again.
Therefore, when I discussed my proposal, they understood that they would get an opportunity to be involved in doing some other type of work that would provide some sort of excitement as well as variety.
By that time I had prepared some basic data on a whole lot of aircraft – these were mostly dates of release into service, dates when they came back for repairs or overhaul from the IAF, date when they were delivered back to IAF after the work etcetera.
Along with dates, I had also prepared some other data on the various accidents or incidents that had been reported on those aircraft. In order to do this in a systematic way, I had generated specific Alpha-numeric codes based on the reports held in individual files.
Armed with these inputs, I went to the computer department and discussed it with its boss. He had a vision of the future and welcomed my idea. But – he wanted an authorization from my boss. A matter of protocol.
I had discussed it with my boss already and when I asked him for authorization, he gave it readily with a clause. In the letter he mentioned that – ‘all matter related to computerization must be addressed to only Ghose.’ (to be continued …)


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My links with the Indian Air Force

Going back to my professional life, I have had links with the Indian Air Force and have met many officers in the course of my career. When I had chosen the aviation field, I had dreamt of being associated with some airline and of going to work in the company’s vehicle. I would see the engineers of Indian Airlines and envied them. But, as luck would have it, I got employment in an aircraft manufacturing unit in Kanpur – it was a totally Air force setup with a few civilians like me.

The in-charge of my section was an officer of the rank of Wing Commander and he gave an impression that he owned the factory. He had a daughter and she would drop in on him to surprise him. At the time the girl was about ten or twelve years old and she would roller-skate in the hangar while the workers looked on.
Then there was another officer – he was a Squadron Leader and my boss. I had a tiff with him and resigned from Kanpur because of that. But, the world is round and, in Nashik, he returned to be my boss there also. Of course, considerable time had passed, he had got a promotion and so had I. The bitterness had gone. In fact, we got along wonderfully well.
And then there was another of my bosses – also from Air Force. He was a retired Wing Commander and a Bengali. But – he did not like Bengalis. Anyway, he was boss of Customer Services and, since I was transferred to his department, he had to accept me. And – I had to bring him into my line of thinking through my work. (to be continued …)


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Russians adapt themselves to Indian conditions

The MiG-factory in Nashik had been started in a village called Ojhar. There is an interesting story about the selection of the site. The Defense Minister in the 1965 era was from Maharashtra and, after the Chinese invasion in 1962, a decision had been taken in Delhi to set up the MiG factory in Maharashtra.
Accordingly, a team of senior officers of the Indian Air Force was traveling from Delhi to Mumbai by road to meet the Defense Minister.
Why they opted for a road journey instead of flying is not known but, they stopped at Ojhar for a break and got to talking with the locals. One of them happened to be the owner of huge chunks of land in Ojhar and its surrounding areas and he was willing to make a deal with the government.
That is how the factory came into being and took up manufacture of the MiG-21 fighter aircrafts with the involvement of Russians. If the team had taken a flight, the factory might have been set up somewhere else.
The Russians supplied the materials and the Indian technicians built the flying machines. There was a huge work force drawn from different corners of the country and, within no time, a mini town grew up in Ojhar to house the employees. Provisions were also kept for accommodation for the Russians.
Since Ojhar was situated nearly 15-Km from Nashik, there were buses on Sundays to take people to the city for marketing.
Well – while the Russians mixed freely with us, it was rumored that they were always suspicious and never trusted anyone. It was rumored that every second Russian spied on the other. Moreover, while they would talk in Russian among themselves, many of them could converse in English and, even, in Marathi but would keep that a secret!! Therefore, we had to be careful of what we talked about in their presence. (to be continued …)


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My job interview over a cup of coffee

When I came for interview to Nashik in December 1966, I was offered a cup of coffee at the interview. I had been waiting since morning and, when my turn came, it was 3pm and time for tea. Among other interviewees were people who had retired from the Indian Air Force, the Indian Navy and, of course, from HAL Bangalore. Most of them were older than me and appeared to be knowing someone or the other already employed in Nasik.
I was the only odd man out.
Anyway, the board members sat on the other side of the table and, while the bearer served them tea, one of them asked me what I would like to have. I replied coffee and so it was.
Then, as I sipped the coffee, I waited for their barrage of questions and was surprised when they asked me a few questions not related to any technical subjects.
One question I remember is – ‘Mr Ghose, you are so young, how can you control a group of workers? (I was 22 years old at the time.)
I replied that I had undergone a trainee Supervisor course in HAL Kanpur and had worked also there for a year. Hence, I was confident of my ability.
What I left unsaid was that the workers in Kanpur were much more aggressive and they carried knives with them which they would take out, if annoyed.
Then another member popped the question – Mr Ghose, you have dressed as if you are going to play cricket. Do you know that you would have to dirty your hands?
I looked at him, gave him a sheepish grin and nodded. I was wearing a light colored shirt, white trousers and a black belt.
My coffee cup empty – so were theirs. I braced for more questions that would be more technical in nature. But – no. They had no questions. My interview was over.
The Chairman of the board handed me a slip of paper and smiled.
Thank you Mr Ghose – our office will contact you further. Please go to the cash department and collect your train fare on the way out.
And – that is what I did. I pocketed the money, went to the hotel, packed my suitcase and came to the railway station. The train was at 11.30pm and I had to pay a porter to push me into a compartment through the window. The train halted for only a couple of minutes and I did not have any seat booked hence, getting pushed into a compartment was the only alternative. (to be continued ... )

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