Official picnic in Delhi Liaison Office with Russian delegations

As I have mentioned earlier, my Bengali boss had done me a world of good by transferring me. I was initially depressed but realized that whatever happens is always for the good. That is why I was given charge of a new department and asked set it up from scratch. I defined the norms of work here and others followed. That helped to boost my confidence no end and, with the passage of time, I understood that when decisions are to be taken, they must be taken without bothering about the consequences.

Anyway, the nature of my work with regard to Russians was completely different as compared to my earlier interactions. I was a part of the Indian delegation and formed the working level. The bosses went to Russia in June and our meetings with the Russians would be annual affairs held in the month of December at our Liaison Office at Hauz Khas.
These meetings would be a sort of official picnic. Our team from Nashik would put up in our Guest House which was located in the Khel Gaon or the Asian Games village. After breakfast in the Guest House, we would walk down to the Liaison Office in Hauz Khas. Once the Russian working team arrived, we would begin to compare notes, resolve discrepancies point by point, discuss any new pints that might have cropped up since the last meeting. At times, we would have to send fax to our people in Nashik to obtain clarifications.
The working level teams would carry out the exercises for about 10 days after which the senior officers of both the Indian and Russian sides would meet to ensure that everyone spoke in the same frequency.
The end result of these meetings was the Inter-Governmental agreements that would be signed by the ministries – and, from being a non-entity, I had suddenly entered the domain of decision makers. It was a good feeling. (to be continued …)

A few more must reads -

Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage

Trip to Nashik should take in Shirdi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves

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Nashik, a tourist center with links to the Mahabharata

Kumbhmela 2015 in Nashik – guided tours to wineries and vineyards

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‘Papri’ and ‘Barood’ - collection of Bengali short stories published from Nashik

British Army wants computer whizzkids to counter the growing menace of ISIS propaganda


Another interesting blog - Citizen Journalist

Another interesting blog - Violence and atrocities


Durga Puja - priest dancing with devotee (YouTube video)

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 …)


Another interesting blog - Violence and atrocities

Another interesting blog - Citizen Journalist

Links to some more interesting stories –


Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage


My Boss wanted me to become a detective


My job interview over a cup of coffee


Train travel to and from Kanpur to Kolkata


I gamble away my month’s earnings before Diwali


I finally join the MiG factory in HAL Nashik