If only I had become a doctor

When young, I was fascinated by the aeroplane. Our house was not too far from the airport and some of our neighbors who stayed in our area worked in the airlines. I would see them go for duty in their company buses and longed to be like them. I did choose the aircraft industry but as luck would have it, I went into the aircraft-manufacturing stream. I was in my early 20s, got an appointment in Kanpur and from there moved to Nashik. I have been in Nashik for more than half a century and my son chose to join the IT industry. Today, I sigh and wonder if only I had become a doctor, my life might have been different. This is because today I realize that the medical profession is loaded with money. I hope my friends who are in this profession would agree with me.

Medical profession is a noble one because it is all about healing people and saving lives. Sanjay Dutt proved it in the 2003 Bollywood movie Munnabhai MBBS. It was a blockbuster and one cannot forget the message of Dr. Asthana (Boman Irani). It was that personal feelings should not influence the decisions of the Doctor. However, in the scenario of 2022, one observes that specialization has played havoc with this noble profession. I read somewhere that there are dentists who specialize in the upper set of teeth leaving the lower set for others. A time could come when there could be separate opticians for the right eye and the left or the right arm and the left or the right leg and the left. If only I had opted for this profession in my youth, today I might have been rolling in money. All I would require would be a degree, a suitable location to set up my clinic and contacts among other doctors. That way I could refer my patients to others more knowledgeable than me.

Sipping tea and munching biscuits of unknown pedigree on the way to Korwa

This was the occasion when one of the senior officers wanted to visit HAL Lucknow and HAL Korwa to get acquainted with the working methods. And, he wanted me to accompany him because of the personal relationship that I had developed with the senior officers in the sister divisions.
Of course, I will always remain grateful to my Bengali boss who had rated me ‘below average’ in my ACR which deprived me of a promotion. But, because of his rating and my subsequent transfer, I got an opportunity to develop a few qualities that I never knew lay dormant within me. The qualities of being confident, interacting with people of different types at different levels.
I firmly believe that whatever happens in ones life is always for his good and he should accept it. Initially, it may not improve the feel good factor but, in due course, it will prove beneficial.
Anyway, since the officer was in a senior position, I need not worry about transportation. A car picked me up from my quarter, he was already seated in the car. We traveled by road to Mumbai Guest house where we stayed for the night. In the morning, we went to the airport and took the flight to Lucknow – it was an Indian Airlines flight via New Delhi.
We stayed at Lucknow for one day and next morning we left by a car for Korwa. It was a distance of around 140-Km. I had traveled on this stretch earlier by HAL bus and had seen that there are no eating joints worth its name on the route. The only place is Rae Bareilly which is about half way.

I had, therefore, suggested to my companion that we could take breakfast in the Guest House and then leave for Korwa but, he decided to leave by 6am hoping that we could take in some snacks on the way but that was not to be. The complete stretch of road was devoid of any settlement – there were only miles of land with huge mango trees. Fortunately, we saw a tiny tea shop – the owner was just opening the door and, seeing a car stop and us getting out, he hurriedly lit the oven and made some tea for us. We took it gladly along with some biscuits of unknown pedigree.
In those days, there was no mobile phone but, anticipating our arrival, the people at Korwa had kept breakfast ready. And, the first thing we did on arrival was to sit down for breakfast. It was heavenly – bread, butter, omelet and strong coffee. (to be continued …) (Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Indian Airlines flight from Kolkata to Tezpur

Air Force Station Tezpur was a remote location and had been created to provide an eye in the skies for the eastern regions of India. All journeys to Tezpur were by air and, in the year 1982, the only available airline was the Indian Airlines. It operated a Fokker F-27 daily and I had to go to the offices of the airlines in Central Avenue to book my seat.

As luck would have it, I had to wait only one day to get confirmed seat on the flight which took off early in the morning at around six. In those days, the check-in was simple because there we no terrorists to guard against.
When I got down from the aircraft, I was wondering how to find my way to the Air Force base when a gentleman approached me. He introduced himself and I was delighted to learn that he was a Bengali and the Service Engineer of HAL Koraput. He had come to know that I would be arriving and used to make a visit to the airport to receive me!!
He had come by scooter and I rode behind him to the Air Force Mess. He knew that I was supposed to take over the Service Engineer inventory of Nashik from the earlier incumbent who I had left behind at Bareilly.
He had promised that he would join me in Tezpur – but, he did not turn up even by 31si December. Hence, I made a list of all documents, drawings etcetera available and got it signed by the HAL Koraput engineer.
I had stayed at Tezpur for three days and, finally, boarded the return flight to Kolkata and from there to Nashik. (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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The Founder’s Day celebrations in ATTI

It took us another day to get a couple of more ads and, since the payments had been made by checks, we deposited those with our office and got separate checks issued to pay the printers. Simultaneously I had to generate enough reading material to cover 16 pages – for this I requested our teachers and instructors to write some articles and I myself compiled a few interesting aviation news from magazines.
On the appointed day, I was ready with my bunch of souvenirs – it was a novelty for the guests who began to arrive as evening fell. I was worried because Clive House was an old dilapidated building of the17th century and the wooden floorboards on the staircase reverberated as the guests climbed to the first floor.
They were important people attached to the aviation industry in Kolkata and were employed in the Indian Airlines or the Kolkata Airport or the other small airlines – they came because of the influence that our Principal wielded in the close knit community. As usual, there were a couple of speeches and the unveiling of the souvenir. Then followed a break for tea and snacks and the last item on the program was a movie. In between I took some photographs in my box camera using flash bulbs of the guests enjoying the snacks. The movie was an English movie of 1958 titled ‘I accuse’.
In the course of the program, I tried to impress a couple of the guests and exploit the opportunity that presented itself to my advantage but I was no match in front of my Delhi friend. He had a way with people, thanks to his upbringing in a metro like Delhi where even the girls were known to take the initiative. (to be continued …)

I go ad-hunting for ATTI Founder’s Day souvenir

The Founder’s day of ATTI was celebrated in first week of February and, in my 2nd year, I hatched a plan to do something new. My idea was based on the concept of collecting donations from big business houses to finance the Durga Puja in our neighborhood. In those days, it was a new concept and used to pay rich dividends. Members who collected more donations were held in high esteem by the puja committee and got special privileges.
When I broached the subject to our Principal, he initially laughed it away but I was insistent. I returned the next day with a copy of the souvenir of our Durga Puja and he went through it. I explained to him that he need not spend a single rupee from the Institute because the donations would cover the expenses of printing and the souvenirs would be distributed free.
That caught the interest of our Principal and he agreed.
So, I drew up a contract form for requesting donations from advertisers and, decided upon the amount that would be charged for ads in different locations like cover page, back cover, inside covers, inside full page inside half page and quarter page strips. Then I got some copies of the contract form cyclostyled and obtained the signature of our Principal on the forms.
Armed with this authority, I roped in a classmate who hailed from Delhi – he was smart like all Delhi boys. Moreover, he also was the nephew of an Engineer in India Airlines and had assurance that he would get employed there once he completes the ATTI diploma.
Every one envied him but my interest to have him accompany me was because he had a charming way about him and could convince others - that was important for our souvenir. (to be continued…)

Depression grips me because my future appeared bleak

Within a few days of joining ATTI and starting to go to Moitra & Co at the airport for practical classes, I began to suffer from depression. The future began to look bleak because the number of opportunities for regular employment in the profession was very restricted. From discussions it became clear that unless one had suitable contacts, one could not aspire to become a ground engineer in any major airline. The discouragement came from old hands at the game who we would meet in a makeshift tea shop outside the airport boundary. They worked in Indian Airlines and were elderly persons who still struggled to acquire an AME license. They made fun of us and explained how each of them were frustrated persons.
Looking at their plight, I began to wonder whether I had made the right choice or had made a big blunder in opting for this institute but, then, I gathered confidence when I met another gentleman who stayed in my neighborhood. He was a ground engineer in Indian Airlines and every morning the car would come to pick him up. He had worked his way up.
He and the men I met in the tea shop were two sides of the same coin.
Anyway, to boost my morale, after classes I would walk down the tarmac, peeping into the hangars where people were at work and go into the lounge of Kolkata Airport. I could see the huge aircraft of international airlines like BOAC, Lufthansa, Japan Air Lines, and KLM lined up at the far end of the runway. Most of them were Boeing-707 which had at that time been inducted into service.
After spending some time in the lounge browsing through magazines and, once in a while, purchasing a copy of some magazine, I would take a bus to Shyambazar to take in a Bengali movie just to get my mind away from unwanted thoughts. (to be continued …)

How I acquired practical experience on Tiger Moth and Piper L-5 aircraft

The theoretical classes in ATTI were held in Clive House from 9am to around 11.30am and the afternoon slot from 2pm to 5pm was reserved for practical classes in the hangars of Moitra & Co located in Kolkata Airport.
Accordingly, I with my friends would board the private bus No 91 that would go to Lauhati and get down at the airport gate near a place called Koikhali. There we would have lunch at a tiny hotel – lunch comprised of a plate of mutton curry and three chapatis with a few slices of onion thrown in as salad along with a tiny piece of lemon.
After lunch we would walk down to the hangars of Moitra & Co located nearly one mile inside the premises of the airport. There was no road as such and we would walk through fields of shoulder-high grass crossing the hangar of Airways India Ltd on the way.
Airways India Ltd was a firm that handled light aircraft and we would watch lovingly at the Cessna aircraft of private companies that would be parked on the tarmac. The aircraft would come there for servicing and maintenance. My interest in AIL was that it was one of the companies where I could acquire practical experience if my luck was good.
Once inside our hangar, I would stare at the de-Havilland Tiger Moth and Piper L-5 aircraft on which I had to study to get acquainted with various terms used in aircraft maintenance. These vintage aircraft were my stepping stones to more sophisticated aircraft like the Dakota DC-3 or Fokker Friendship F-27 or the Boeing-707.
Since our hangars were adjacent to the engine test beds of Indian Airlines, the practical classes would suffer when an engine would be mounted on the rig for endurance test. The noise of the running engine would drown all other sounds. (to be continued …)