NOTE:- This was wrtten in early part of A.D. 1970 and published in the April 1970 issue of my employer's house journal then known as GBJHP News.
A new method of improving the soil bearing capacity is being employed at Haldia. This is the sandwicking process about which many have heard and are consequently curious about it. What follows is an attempt at explaining it to the layman.
As you all know, every structure needs a foundation. These foundations are placed on the ground. When the ground is strong as in the case of rock, very heavy structures can be placed on it without any elaborate foundations; whereas when it consists of a weak soil, costly foundations have to be provided.
The soil at Haldia is very weak. It can not support a load of more than half to one kilogram per square centimetre in most places. In such soils, we usually provide pile foundations. Piles are made of concrete, wood, metal etc. Concrete is however the most popular material for piles. These piles are driven into the ground till they refuse to go anymore. Then on top of a number of liles, a concrete "cap" is cast. On the pile cap, the structure is built. The piles provide strong foundations and do not permit any appreciable settlement of the structure founded on them. They are however a costly business. Therefore, whenever we can avoid them, we naturally try to do so. While equipment foundations do not tolerate any settlement, our storage tanks can take a certain amount of settlement, though not as much as one metre which is the expected settlement of untreated soil at Haldia as per a recent soil survey. Thus we can avoid piling under storage tanks and sandwicking which takes care of most of this settlement in advance appears to be a good solution. We hope to save about Rs. three and a half crores by adopting sandwicking.
The process of sandwicking is as follows :-
First, a hole is made into the ground with the help of a small drilling rig similar to ones used for making small bore wells. The sandwick which is a long and narrow jute hosepipe (about 80 m.m. in diameter) is then inserted in this hole. Such sandwicks are placed at an interval of two and a half metres both ways under the tank foundations. the ground is then "loaded" with sand. A heap of sand of pre-determined height is made over the foundations. The weight of this sand is equal to 100 % to 150% of the maximum load of the tank. As you know water is heavier than oil. Therefore the tank carries its heaviest load when it is filled with water during testing for leaks etc. This is the condition taken into account while determining the height of the sand heap. The heap of sand is allowed to remain in place for a period varying from 12 to 17 weeks. This is called preloading. During this period, an interesting phenomenon takes place. The ground under the heap of sand begins to settle. How does this happen ?
The soil consists of a number of layers of different materials. Some layers are pervious i.e. they allow passage of water and some do not in other words, they are impervious. The sandwick penetrates through both pervious and impervious layers. All these layers contain water particles. Due to preloading the water is sqeezed out and the sandwick (made from specially selected coarse variety unlike the sand used for preloading which can be of even fine variety) provides a channel for carrying away the water particles from the soil by capillary action. As the water is squeezed out, the soil contracts in the same way as when a ROSSOGULLA is squeezed. If the sandwicking is not done, the tanks would keep on settling down for a long period of time, giving perpetual headaches to our maintenance people. By adopting this process, we are allowing the settlement in advance and in a short period. We are also avoiding another scourge of the maintenance staff. This is one of an uneven settlement, causing the tank to tilt sideways and spill some of its contents. The bearing capacity of the soil is improved uniformly under the tank and it can take greater loads than before.
In the case of tanks of smaller diameter, what we do is to drive the sandwicks and prepare tank pad consisting of earth or fine sand of about the same height as the expected settlement. On this the tank itself is is erected and gradually filled with water. This is called hydraulic preloading. Here also, the preload is kept for 12 to 17 weeks during which the settlement takes place. The settlement is measured by means of settlement stakes. The water is then gradually pumped out. In the case of sand preloading also, the sand is removed after 90 % of the full settlement has taken place. This sand is now taken to another tank foundation and used there for prelosding. To minimise the quantity of preloading sand, a ring like a fortress made up of sand bags is built around the peripherry of the tank foundation and sand is then filled in this fortress. The preloading sand heaps' slopes would have hindered work in adjoining areas. As you know Haldia site has difficult access to it and bringing a huge quantity of sand to the site would have posed more problems. Sandbag walls have helped to save about 20% of the preloading sand.
You would be interested to know that the sandwicking process has been developed by an Indian engineer and besides Haldia, it is also being used inthe salt lake area of Calcutta (Kolkata).
Showing posts with label Haldia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Haldia. Show all posts
Friday, October 21, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
SHOULD WE BUILD TOWNSHIPS ?
NOTE
This was written for my employer's house journal. It was published in September 1971 issue of GBJHP NEWS of the Refineries & Pipelines Division of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. The Editor's comments on this piece are given below.
EDITOR'S COMMENTS :- Shri R N Desai is the one for asking inconvenient questions. But he knows how to get away with them, with the magic that he weaves with his words around the swift stabs of his hard, cold facts. His views may be challenged by both "the Management" and "the Unions". So, let it be. The columns of GBJHP NEWS are open to all.
SHOULD WE BUILD TOWNSHIPS ?
A question like this is bound to shake fellow Civil Engineers if not others as well. In these days of Science and Technology however, we have to constantly question ourselves whether what we have been traditionally doing continues to be right in a given set of circumstances.
I do not know the cost of other townships in the GBJHP family (GBJHP was an acronym used for Gauhati, Barauni, Jawaharnagar, Haldia refineries and Pipelines). Our own Haldia township is however estimated to cost Rs. 2.5 Crores for a total of 730 residential units of various types with the attendent facilities. This gives an average cost of Rs. 34200/- per unit.
Townships have been criticised as a drag on the public sector finances. a capital of Rs.2.5 Crores blocked in the townships involves us in interest charges of Rs.22.5 lakhs per year. Add to this the maintenance cost at the rate of 1 per cent of the capital. This amounts to another Rs.2.5 lakhs p.a. Add the salaries of the maintenance staff and overheads. The total recurring expenditure excluding depreciation, would exceed Rs. 27 lakhs.
Divide this amount by the number of employees accommodated to give you an expenditure of Rs. 3700/- p.a. or Rs. 310/- per month per employee. No doubt, the employees pay rent but the average rent could be taken to be only Rs. 30/- p.m. In other words, our Company subsidises us to the extent of Rs. 280/- p.m. in the matter of housing. Do we count this blessing when we recount our woes ?
My aim in writing this article, is however not to extol the munificence of the management. The point that arises is whether we can afford it. Must be, since we are still making profits ! But isn't there some way by which we can cut down on this expenditure apart from saving Rs. 2.5 Crores for productive invesiment elsewhere ?
The distinguished scientist-cum-industrialist -cum- lately turned government servant, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai has pointed out that every public sector enterprise must determine the mainstream of its activities and concentrate on it. Our mainstream of activities is obviously refining and selling oil. Should not every paisa available to us for investment be put in this mainstream ?
The question that comes up next is, how are we to house our employees ? The answer is simple. Let them live in their own houses ! It was already shown in an earlier article ( How not to lose Rs. 750/- p.m. ? published in March-April 1971 issue ) how advantageous it is for an individual to build his own residence. But where is the initial capital to come from ? Obviously, the employees barring a few, can not invest their money in building houses even if they have the necessary amount. The money must come from organizations whose mainstream of activities is to lend money. The LIC and the nationalized banks already have a scheme in this regard. For those of us who have put in more than six years of service, our Company has already decided to give 80 % of the cost of a house as a loan.
The instalments for the repayment of the loan would be heavy - on an average about Rs. 295/- p.m. and beyond the reach of most employees. But then can the Company not spend a part of the subsidy of Rs. 280/- p.m. that it is now spending on house rent allowances ? Say, Rs. 265/- p.m. could be paid as HRA which together with Rs. 30/- p.m. would make Rs. 295/- p.m. In any case, we have rules by which house rent allowance is paid to the employees who stay in their own houses.
What would be the Company's role in this scheme of things ? The Company would have to act as a catalyst. It would acquire the land, develop it, prepare a town plan, build roads,water, sewer and power lines, divide the land into plots and lease them out to the employees. Proportionate cost of these common services would be charged to the employees. It would initially run the municipal services and later hand over this function to a committee of employees. The Company would also build public buildings such as hospitals, schools, clubs, cinemas etc. out of welfare funds. A few quarters would have to be built for the small number of construction personnel coming to the site. These would later, be utilized for the small percentage of employees who are subject to transfers. Space would also have to be left in the township for later entrants who replace personnel retiring from service.
If we ponder further over this matter, it should be possible to make out a scheme that is mutually advantageous to the Company as well as the employees.To summarise, the advantages of adopting this scheme are as follows :-
1) The Company sticks to the mainstream of its activities. A capital of Rs. 2.5 Crores would be released for increasing the refinery capacity.
2) Recurring expenditure of Rs. 27 lakhs per year apart from depreciation could be reduced.
3) Every employee would be a house owner. He would have a stake in the refinery. He would become more responsible as he would have been exposed to a sort of entrepreneurship.
It would obviously not be possible to change the scheme of things already decided upon in the case of Haldia Refinery except for any further quarters that we may require for expansion. We could, however, give a thought to this matter for our future requirements and formulate a scheme as a sort of pilot project for the next refinery that comes up.
This is one small way in which we can put into practice democratic socialism that many are talking about !
The article ends here
The Editor in a footnote added as follows :-
IT IS A MATTER OF RS. 8 CRORES AND MORE
The bare cost of building the refinery townships at Gauhati, Barauni and Jawaharnagar adds upto over Rs. 551 Lakhs plus. The breakdown of the total cost in respect of the three townships and the number of units that the said cost represents is given below :-
Gauhati - Rs. 150 Lakhs for 641 units
Barauni - Rs. 295 Lakhs for 1487 units
Jawaharnagar - Rs. 106 Lakhs for only 932 units the refinery has.
The cost of additional units and that representing additional related expenditure has not been included in the above figures.
xxxxxxxxxxxx
As anticipated, a Letter to the Editor arrived and was published in the Nov.-Dec.1971 issue of the same journal. It is preceded by the Editor's comment on it.
Editor's Comment :- By many accounts, Shri R N Desai is the most - read writer of the GBJHP family. Here is some further testimony, but of a kind which may not be relished by the ever-growing tribe of Desai fans.
xxxxxxxxxxx
A LETTER
OUT CIVIL ENGINEERS ? EH !
DEAR SIR,
I was grossly amused to read Mr. Desai's seeming homily on building townships.... er... I mean not building them. On reading it, I was reminded of the story of Kalidasa, the ancient poet, who was one day found sitting pretty on the branch of a tree and merrily hacking away at it where it forked - apparently oblivious of his imminent peril. Unless of course, mr. desai is training his eyes on a cushy job in the Planning Commission, i do not know why he should deal such a heavy blow to his own tribe. An unfortunate band that finds its role shrinking in this bouncing Oil Industry - a Chairman from the clan notwithstanding. ( An allusion to the fact that our then Chairman Mr. Ramabrahmam was a civil engineer.)
Mr. Desai must have meant it as a joke. How else could he - a brilliant mind that he is - overlook these points. The township planned at Haldia at a total cost of Rs. 250 Lakhs is meant for 600 refinery personnel and 130 (approx.) from Marketing, Pipelines, Excise etc. Since people from the last named departments and about 100 from refinery will be holding prospect of frequent transfers, houses for them will have to be built by the Company. Now the division of capital expenditure on township is Rs. 207 Lakhs and Rs. 43 Lakhs for others.
The estimated expenditure of Rs. 207 Lakhs includes the cost of a hospital, a school, a club, a community centre and a guest house, totalling nearly Rs. 20 Lakhs. As the author suggests that these social amenities should be provided by the Company, I also excluded them from my computation. Hence for housing 600 personnel of the refinery, the Company is spending about Rs. 187 Lakhs. Since 100 persons out of that 600 will be transferred in and out, it leaves us with us with the housing problem of 500 only who can be given the benefit of Mr. Desai's revolutionary idea. Let us examine it in detail.
The unproductive expenditure on the houses and ancillaries construction for 500 stationary personnel at Haldia Township will be 5/6 x 187 = Rs. 152 Lakhs (say). The payback period of the refinery has been worked out to be 8 years. If this amount of Rs.152 Lakhs is to be paid back in 8 years, we will illustrate position after the 4th year to get an idea of the average yearly commitment of the Company on this score.
Position in the 5th year
1. Repayment instalment 152/8 = 19 Lakhs
2.Interest @ 9 % on half
the capital as the other
half has already been paid 152/2 x 0.09 = 7.86 Lakhs
3.Maintenance @ 1.5 %
including the
emoluments of the maintenance
personnel 152 x 0.015 = 2.28 Lakhs
4.Land rentals for 45 acres 0.81/29.95 Lakhs
Less return as rent @ Rs.30
per month per capita for 500
persons only 1.81/28.15 Lakhs
TOTAL ( say ) Rs. 28 Lakhs
Mr. Desai recommends in the name of democratic socialism that Company should subsidize @ Rs. 255 per month per capita. That works out to a yearly burden of 500 x 12 x 250 (say) = Rs. 15 Lakhs on which there is no return. Deducting this amount from the average yearly commitment as worked out earlier, we find that the Company is spending nearly Rs. 13 Lakhs on 500 employees for their accommodation for the first 8 years only. The commitment adds upto 104 Lakhs in 8 years' time. This amount of Rs. 13 Lakhs is equal to only one day's production of the refinery whose sale receipts for the first year is estimated to be Rs. 36 Crores. Now an expenditure of less than 0.5 % of the annual turnover on housing is negligible.
But the latent returns in the form of better industrial climate and higher productivity as a result of conducive environmental psychology is incomputable. Who can say that the sparkling and consistent performance of our boys at Baroda (reference is to our refinery at Jawaharnagar at Baroda or Vadodara in Gujarat) has not been due to the wonderful living conditions at their township. In one single year, they earned enough profit to pay back the initial cost of their township 5 times over. ( Figures in the Editor's footnote above indicate that the cost of Jawaharnagar township per residential unit was the lowest !)
Now back to calculations. After the 8th year, the Company is spending nothing, except may be the amount it would have earned as interest on the extra 104 Lakhs it has spent over preceding eight years towards employees' accommodation. from 9th year onwards the Company would be saving an amount of Rs. 6 Lakhs (15.00 - 9.00) by building its own township, expenditure on land rentals and maintenance expenses being offset by rent collected. That is by 25th year, she (it) would have wiped out the unproductive initial investment of Rs. 104 Lakhs and thence in comparison, mr. desai's idea would be a constant drain on the Company's resources, with added headaches in finding new plots of land, developing, leasing out to employees (and the attendent troubles) etc. once in nearly every 20 years. And finally mr. Desai props up his figures by a tangential reference to depreciation on which he does not dwell elaborately, leaving the reader to make his own guess. Here is the catch.
Only in his last article, he had shown us how we were losing Rs. 750 p.m. by not building a house. The burden of his article was the innocent assumption that a property in an urban area appreciates to 10 times its initial value in twenty years' time. That way the township in Haldia (which is destined to become a major port city) now being built at a cost of Rs. 2.5 Crores will be worth 25 crores in 20 years' time, a favourable element which i have kept out of my calculations.
Now, come Mr. Desai, "Heads I win and tails you lose" is too old a gimmick to carry even temporary conviction. Your facts are quite cold but unfortunatrly they are not hard enough.
Yours etc.
An Admirer
(Some Admirer - Ed.)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
My response to the Admirer's letter to the Editor
OUT CIVIL ENGINEERS ? EH !
Dear Sir.
I have read with interest the letter with the above caption from " An Admirer " (sic). The 'Admirer' appears to have shed a lot of tears on behalf of Civil Engineers. This would lead one to believe that he is one of that tribe. It seems however that the tears have been wasted.
The Civil Engineer was once likened to a donkey by a former chief of mine - himself a Civil Engineer. Donkeys, he used to say, are the beasts of burden and till the advent of mechanized transport, did a lot of carriage work for the Civil Engineer. A Civil Engineer's status, in the old days therefore, was measured by the number of donkeys working on his site. His main reson for the analogy however, was that the Civil Engineer, like the donkey, could be kicked by anyone - even by a housewife. And like the donkey, he remains insensitive to any kicking or flogging. To him, it is just one of the routines of life. He plods along his own way, come hail or high wind. If a donkey is a happy animal, a Civil Engineer is a happy human. He becomes either a crook or a philosopher. (Even in our Company, he either gets retrenched - with full benefits to be sure - or he becomes the Chairman. God, my former chief used to say, does not worry himself over only two species - the donkey and the Civil Engineer !
Some would agree with this statement on the assumption that the Civil Engineer would, like the brother-in-law of a king, make himself comfortable for himself, even if assigned to count sea - waves ! (Apparently he stopped all fishing and shipping in the area as it interfered with his royal duty of counting sea - waves. For any exceptions that he made, he charged personal levies. Our present day royal hangers-on have found any number of reasons for personal levies !) .
Frivolity apart, I do not agree that employment of Civil Engineers would decrease by adoption of the scheme suggested in ' SHOULD WE BUILD TOWNSHIPS '. It may even increase. How ? Well, it is a CIvil Engineer's secret ! When winds of change blow, it is wise to bend rather than get uprooted. The ingenious Civil Engineer will, I am sure, bend and find a way.
Coming to the statistics quoted by my admiring Confucius (or is it Confusius ?), he deducts the figure of Rs. 15 Lakhs p.a. from the recurring cost of Rs. 28 lakhs p.a. Actually, these costs are mutually exclusive, being comparative. If I take into account depreciation, the annual recurring costs would be 28 + 250/20= 28+12.17 = 40.17 Lakhs p.a. as against rs. 15 Lakhs p.a. in the form of house rent allowance to the employees, making my scheme even more attractive. There is thus no catch anywhere. Even if as statistically contended, the Company could make up the investment in 25 years' time, there are perpetual headaches in maintenance, allotments etc. which are much more troublesome than finding additional land space once in 20 years.
Thus the the contention that the total extra expenditure is only Rs. 104 Lakhs is not correct. The extra expenditure is Rs. 25.17 Lakhs per year which in 8 years' time, would, amount to Rs. 201.36 Lakhs. To wipe out this amount of Rs. 201.36 Lakhs, it would take infinite number of years ! The interest charges on this amount alone would be Rs. 18 Lakhs as against a house rent allowance of rs. 15 lakhs per year.
Finally, the ' Admirer ' is afraid of the Company is afraid of the company losing the increment in the value of the township over a period of years. To this, the question is - Will or can the Company sell the township ? Will or can the Company raise the rents ? No, it would not even if it could. And the value of a property is judged by these factors. However for the individual employee, the value would increase as he has no such limitations. Hasn't someone said about something being good for the goose not being necessarily so for the gander ?
---R N Desai
P.S. :- Isn't it a good thing for all concerned that the "Admirer" has refrained from saying whom or what he is admiring ?
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
EPILOGUE
It is 40 years since the above was written. Following my own advice, I had built a house then for myself on a 5000 Sq.Ft. plot costing a total of Rs. 42000/- (Forty two thousand only) at Vadodara in Gujarat. Today, I am told that it can be sold for Rs.1,50,00,000/- (One Crore and fifty Lakhs only) . The Company did not accept my scheme (of not building townships) due perhaps to the then existing mind set. I do not know what is the position in other Indian Oil townships but I am told that about 400 quarters are lying vacant in the Jawaharnagar township at Vadodara (Baroda) in Gujarat. They are not known to have been sold. A large number of employees have built their own houses and have an experience similar to mine. Many out of towners and even Non-Gujaratis among the employees have built or bought houses/flats here. In general, all over India, a house building spree is still on. Civil Engineers, once almost wholly dependent on the government/public sector for jobs, after a short period of glut, are today in great demand again in both public and private sector as judged by the rush for admissions to Civil Engineering discipline.
This was written for my employer's house journal. It was published in September 1971 issue of GBJHP NEWS of the Refineries & Pipelines Division of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. The Editor's comments on this piece are given below.
EDITOR'S COMMENTS :- Shri R N Desai is the one for asking inconvenient questions. But he knows how to get away with them, with the magic that he weaves with his words around the swift stabs of his hard, cold facts. His views may be challenged by both "the Management" and "the Unions". So, let it be. The columns of GBJHP NEWS are open to all.
SHOULD WE BUILD TOWNSHIPS ?
A question like this is bound to shake fellow Civil Engineers if not others as well. In these days of Science and Technology however, we have to constantly question ourselves whether what we have been traditionally doing continues to be right in a given set of circumstances.
I do not know the cost of other townships in the GBJHP family (GBJHP was an acronym used for Gauhati, Barauni, Jawaharnagar, Haldia refineries and Pipelines). Our own Haldia township is however estimated to cost Rs. 2.5 Crores for a total of 730 residential units of various types with the attendent facilities. This gives an average cost of Rs. 34200/- per unit.
Townships have been criticised as a drag on the public sector finances. a capital of Rs.2.5 Crores blocked in the townships involves us in interest charges of Rs.22.5 lakhs per year. Add to this the maintenance cost at the rate of 1 per cent of the capital. This amounts to another Rs.2.5 lakhs p.a. Add the salaries of the maintenance staff and overheads. The total recurring expenditure excluding depreciation, would exceed Rs. 27 lakhs.
Divide this amount by the number of employees accommodated to give you an expenditure of Rs. 3700/- p.a. or Rs. 310/- per month per employee. No doubt, the employees pay rent but the average rent could be taken to be only Rs. 30/- p.m. In other words, our Company subsidises us to the extent of Rs. 280/- p.m. in the matter of housing. Do we count this blessing when we recount our woes ?
My aim in writing this article, is however not to extol the munificence of the management. The point that arises is whether we can afford it. Must be, since we are still making profits ! But isn't there some way by which we can cut down on this expenditure apart from saving Rs. 2.5 Crores for productive invesiment elsewhere ?
The distinguished scientist-cum-industrialist -cum- lately turned government servant, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai has pointed out that every public sector enterprise must determine the mainstream of its activities and concentrate on it. Our mainstream of activities is obviously refining and selling oil. Should not every paisa available to us for investment be put in this mainstream ?
The question that comes up next is, how are we to house our employees ? The answer is simple. Let them live in their own houses ! It was already shown in an earlier article ( How not to lose Rs. 750/- p.m. ? published in March-April 1971 issue ) how advantageous it is for an individual to build his own residence. But where is the initial capital to come from ? Obviously, the employees barring a few, can not invest their money in building houses even if they have the necessary amount. The money must come from organizations whose mainstream of activities is to lend money. The LIC and the nationalized banks already have a scheme in this regard. For those of us who have put in more than six years of service, our Company has already decided to give 80 % of the cost of a house as a loan.
The instalments for the repayment of the loan would be heavy - on an average about Rs. 295/- p.m. and beyond the reach of most employees. But then can the Company not spend a part of the subsidy of Rs. 280/- p.m. that it is now spending on house rent allowances ? Say, Rs. 265/- p.m. could be paid as HRA which together with Rs. 30/- p.m. would make Rs. 295/- p.m. In any case, we have rules by which house rent allowance is paid to the employees who stay in their own houses.
What would be the Company's role in this scheme of things ? The Company would have to act as a catalyst. It would acquire the land, develop it, prepare a town plan, build roads,water, sewer and power lines, divide the land into plots and lease them out to the employees. Proportionate cost of these common services would be charged to the employees. It would initially run the municipal services and later hand over this function to a committee of employees. The Company would also build public buildings such as hospitals, schools, clubs, cinemas etc. out of welfare funds. A few quarters would have to be built for the small number of construction personnel coming to the site. These would later, be utilized for the small percentage of employees who are subject to transfers. Space would also have to be left in the township for later entrants who replace personnel retiring from service.
If we ponder further over this matter, it should be possible to make out a scheme that is mutually advantageous to the Company as well as the employees.To summarise, the advantages of adopting this scheme are as follows :-
1) The Company sticks to the mainstream of its activities. A capital of Rs. 2.5 Crores would be released for increasing the refinery capacity.
2) Recurring expenditure of Rs. 27 lakhs per year apart from depreciation could be reduced.
3) Every employee would be a house owner. He would have a stake in the refinery. He would become more responsible as he would have been exposed to a sort of entrepreneurship.
It would obviously not be possible to change the scheme of things already decided upon in the case of Haldia Refinery except for any further quarters that we may require for expansion. We could, however, give a thought to this matter for our future requirements and formulate a scheme as a sort of pilot project for the next refinery that comes up.
This is one small way in which we can put into practice democratic socialism that many are talking about !
The article ends here
The Editor in a footnote added as follows :-
IT IS A MATTER OF RS. 8 CRORES AND MORE
The bare cost of building the refinery townships at Gauhati, Barauni and Jawaharnagar adds upto over Rs. 551 Lakhs plus. The breakdown of the total cost in respect of the three townships and the number of units that the said cost represents is given below :-
Gauhati - Rs. 150 Lakhs for 641 units
Barauni - Rs. 295 Lakhs for 1487 units
Jawaharnagar - Rs. 106 Lakhs for only 932 units the refinery has.
The cost of additional units and that representing additional related expenditure has not been included in the above figures.
xxxxxxxxxxxx
As anticipated, a Letter to the Editor arrived and was published in the Nov.-Dec.1971 issue of the same journal. It is preceded by the Editor's comment on it.
Editor's Comment :- By many accounts, Shri R N Desai is the most - read writer of the GBJHP family. Here is some further testimony, but of a kind which may not be relished by the ever-growing tribe of Desai fans.
xxxxxxxxxxx
A LETTER
OUT CIVIL ENGINEERS ? EH !
DEAR SIR,
I was grossly amused to read Mr. Desai's seeming homily on building townships.... er... I mean not building them. On reading it, I was reminded of the story of Kalidasa, the ancient poet, who was one day found sitting pretty on the branch of a tree and merrily hacking away at it where it forked - apparently oblivious of his imminent peril. Unless of course, mr. desai is training his eyes on a cushy job in the Planning Commission, i do not know why he should deal such a heavy blow to his own tribe. An unfortunate band that finds its role shrinking in this bouncing Oil Industry - a Chairman from the clan notwithstanding. ( An allusion to the fact that our then Chairman Mr. Ramabrahmam was a civil engineer.)
Mr. Desai must have meant it as a joke. How else could he - a brilliant mind that he is - overlook these points. The township planned at Haldia at a total cost of Rs. 250 Lakhs is meant for 600 refinery personnel and 130 (approx.) from Marketing, Pipelines, Excise etc. Since people from the last named departments and about 100 from refinery will be holding prospect of frequent transfers, houses for them will have to be built by the Company. Now the division of capital expenditure on township is Rs. 207 Lakhs and Rs. 43 Lakhs for others.
The estimated expenditure of Rs. 207 Lakhs includes the cost of a hospital, a school, a club, a community centre and a guest house, totalling nearly Rs. 20 Lakhs. As the author suggests that these social amenities should be provided by the Company, I also excluded them from my computation. Hence for housing 600 personnel of the refinery, the Company is spending about Rs. 187 Lakhs. Since 100 persons out of that 600 will be transferred in and out, it leaves us with us with the housing problem of 500 only who can be given the benefit of Mr. Desai's revolutionary idea. Let us examine it in detail.
The unproductive expenditure on the houses and ancillaries construction for 500 stationary personnel at Haldia Township will be 5/6 x 187 = Rs. 152 Lakhs (say). The payback period of the refinery has been worked out to be 8 years. If this amount of Rs.152 Lakhs is to be paid back in 8 years, we will illustrate position after the 4th year to get an idea of the average yearly commitment of the Company on this score.
Position in the 5th year
1. Repayment instalment 152/8 = 19 Lakhs
2.Interest @ 9 % on half
the capital as the other
half has already been paid 152/2 x 0.09 = 7.86 Lakhs
3.Maintenance @ 1.5 %
including the
emoluments of the maintenance
personnel 152 x 0.015 = 2.28 Lakhs
4.Land rentals for 45 acres 0.81/29.95 Lakhs
Less return as rent @ Rs.30
per month per capita for 500
persons only 1.81/28.15 Lakhs
TOTAL ( say ) Rs. 28 Lakhs
Mr. Desai recommends in the name of democratic socialism that Company should subsidize @ Rs. 255 per month per capita. That works out to a yearly burden of 500 x 12 x 250 (say) = Rs. 15 Lakhs on which there is no return. Deducting this amount from the average yearly commitment as worked out earlier, we find that the Company is spending nearly Rs. 13 Lakhs on 500 employees for their accommodation for the first 8 years only. The commitment adds upto 104 Lakhs in 8 years' time. This amount of Rs. 13 Lakhs is equal to only one day's production of the refinery whose sale receipts for the first year is estimated to be Rs. 36 Crores. Now an expenditure of less than 0.5 % of the annual turnover on housing is negligible.
But the latent returns in the form of better industrial climate and higher productivity as a result of conducive environmental psychology is incomputable. Who can say that the sparkling and consistent performance of our boys at Baroda (reference is to our refinery at Jawaharnagar at Baroda or Vadodara in Gujarat) has not been due to the wonderful living conditions at their township. In one single year, they earned enough profit to pay back the initial cost of their township 5 times over. ( Figures in the Editor's footnote above indicate that the cost of Jawaharnagar township per residential unit was the lowest !)
Now back to calculations. After the 8th year, the Company is spending nothing, except may be the amount it would have earned as interest on the extra 104 Lakhs it has spent over preceding eight years towards employees' accommodation. from 9th year onwards the Company would be saving an amount of Rs. 6 Lakhs (15.00 - 9.00) by building its own township, expenditure on land rentals and maintenance expenses being offset by rent collected. That is by 25th year, she (it) would have wiped out the unproductive initial investment of Rs. 104 Lakhs and thence in comparison, mr. desai's idea would be a constant drain on the Company's resources, with added headaches in finding new plots of land, developing, leasing out to employees (and the attendent troubles) etc. once in nearly every 20 years. And finally mr. Desai props up his figures by a tangential reference to depreciation on which he does not dwell elaborately, leaving the reader to make his own guess. Here is the catch.
Only in his last article, he had shown us how we were losing Rs. 750 p.m. by not building a house. The burden of his article was the innocent assumption that a property in an urban area appreciates to 10 times its initial value in twenty years' time. That way the township in Haldia (which is destined to become a major port city) now being built at a cost of Rs. 2.5 Crores will be worth 25 crores in 20 years' time, a favourable element which i have kept out of my calculations.
Now, come Mr. Desai, "Heads I win and tails you lose" is too old a gimmick to carry even temporary conviction. Your facts are quite cold but unfortunatrly they are not hard enough.
Yours etc.
An Admirer
(Some Admirer - Ed.)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
My response to the Admirer's letter to the Editor
OUT CIVIL ENGINEERS ? EH !
Dear Sir.
I have read with interest the letter with the above caption from " An Admirer " (sic). The 'Admirer' appears to have shed a lot of tears on behalf of Civil Engineers. This would lead one to believe that he is one of that tribe. It seems however that the tears have been wasted.
The Civil Engineer was once likened to a donkey by a former chief of mine - himself a Civil Engineer. Donkeys, he used to say, are the beasts of burden and till the advent of mechanized transport, did a lot of carriage work for the Civil Engineer. A Civil Engineer's status, in the old days therefore, was measured by the number of donkeys working on his site. His main reson for the analogy however, was that the Civil Engineer, like the donkey, could be kicked by anyone - even by a housewife. And like the donkey, he remains insensitive to any kicking or flogging. To him, it is just one of the routines of life. He plods along his own way, come hail or high wind. If a donkey is a happy animal, a Civil Engineer is a happy human. He becomes either a crook or a philosopher. (Even in our Company, he either gets retrenched - with full benefits to be sure - or he becomes the Chairman. God, my former chief used to say, does not worry himself over only two species - the donkey and the Civil Engineer !
Some would agree with this statement on the assumption that the Civil Engineer would, like the brother-in-law of a king, make himself comfortable for himself, even if assigned to count sea - waves ! (Apparently he stopped all fishing and shipping in the area as it interfered with his royal duty of counting sea - waves. For any exceptions that he made, he charged personal levies. Our present day royal hangers-on have found any number of reasons for personal levies !) .
Frivolity apart, I do not agree that employment of Civil Engineers would decrease by adoption of the scheme suggested in ' SHOULD WE BUILD TOWNSHIPS '. It may even increase. How ? Well, it is a CIvil Engineer's secret ! When winds of change blow, it is wise to bend rather than get uprooted. The ingenious Civil Engineer will, I am sure, bend and find a way.
Coming to the statistics quoted by my admiring Confucius (or is it Confusius ?), he deducts the figure of Rs. 15 Lakhs p.a. from the recurring cost of Rs. 28 lakhs p.a. Actually, these costs are mutually exclusive, being comparative. If I take into account depreciation, the annual recurring costs would be 28 + 250/20= 28+12.17 = 40.17 Lakhs p.a. as against rs. 15 Lakhs p.a. in the form of house rent allowance to the employees, making my scheme even more attractive. There is thus no catch anywhere. Even if as statistically contended, the Company could make up the investment in 25 years' time, there are perpetual headaches in maintenance, allotments etc. which are much more troublesome than finding additional land space once in 20 years.
Thus the the contention that the total extra expenditure is only Rs. 104 Lakhs is not correct. The extra expenditure is Rs. 25.17 Lakhs per year which in 8 years' time, would, amount to Rs. 201.36 Lakhs. To wipe out this amount of Rs. 201.36 Lakhs, it would take infinite number of years ! The interest charges on this amount alone would be Rs. 18 Lakhs as against a house rent allowance of rs. 15 lakhs per year.
Finally, the ' Admirer ' is afraid of the Company is afraid of the company losing the increment in the value of the township over a period of years. To this, the question is - Will or can the Company sell the township ? Will or can the Company raise the rents ? No, it would not even if it could. And the value of a property is judged by these factors. However for the individual employee, the value would increase as he has no such limitations. Hasn't someone said about something being good for the goose not being necessarily so for the gander ?
---R N Desai
P.S. :- Isn't it a good thing for all concerned that the "Admirer" has refrained from saying whom or what he is admiring ?
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
EPILOGUE
It is 40 years since the above was written. Following my own advice, I had built a house then for myself on a 5000 Sq.Ft. plot costing a total of Rs. 42000/- (Forty two thousand only) at Vadodara in Gujarat. Today, I am told that it can be sold for Rs.1,50,00,000/- (One Crore and fifty Lakhs only) . The Company did not accept my scheme (of not building townships) due perhaps to the then existing mind set. I do not know what is the position in other Indian Oil townships but I am told that about 400 quarters are lying vacant in the Jawaharnagar township at Vadodara (Baroda) in Gujarat. They are not known to have been sold. A large number of employees have built their own houses and have an experience similar to mine. Many out of towners and even Non-Gujaratis among the employees have built or bought houses/flats here. In general, all over India, a house building spree is still on. Civil Engineers, once almost wholly dependent on the government/public sector for jobs, after a short period of glut, are today in great demand again in both public and private sector as judged by the rush for admissions to Civil Engineering discipline.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
RESURRECTION OF TAMRALIPTA
NOTE :- This article was published perhaps in the inaugural issue of Haldia Refinery News or soon thereafter. It records the dreams of planners of those days. Maybe, now is the time to take a stock of the situation by interviewing the various stakeholders to find out if the dreams were fulfilled. I hope that someone would do it in a dispassionate manner for our future learnings.
RESURRECTION OF TAMRALIPTA
SIXTH DECEMBER 1969 will carve out for itself a place in the annals of the socio-economic history of West Bengal, nay of India. On this memorable day, the foundation stone was laid by Hon. Dr. Triguna Sen, Minister of Petrleum,& Chemicals. Mines and Metals, Government of India at Haldia for the construction of a most complex refinery under the Indian Oil Corporation Limited.
Till recently, Haldia was a typical Indian village but now, it holds out a promise of great economic and industrial re-awakening to the people not only of West Bengal but also to the entire India. Haldia Refinery Project is a public sector oil refinery fully owned by the Government of India that is by the people of India.
The first refinery in the public sector was commissioned on !st January 1962 at Gauhati for processing 0.75 million tonnes of indigenous crude oil with Rumanian assistance. In 1964, the second refinery was built at Barauni in the state of Bihar for processing 2 million tonnes of crude oil from Assam oil fields with Soviet Union's assistance.. The third refinery was built at Jawaharnagar in Gujarat in 1966 for processing 3 million tonnes of Ankleshwar crude oil, again with Soviet assistance.
Haldia refinery is the fourth link in the chain of oil refineries owned and operated by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. When Haldia refinery goes on stream, we shall be processing 2.5 million tonnes of crude oil which will be imported from the Aghajhari oil fields of Iran. The initial capacity of 2.5 million tonnes per annum will be expanded to 3.5 million tonnes in the foreseeable future. Haldia Refinery will mainly produce Cooking gas, Naphtha, Petrol, Solvent Mineral Oil, Aviation fuel, Kerosene, High Speed Diesel, Jute Batching Oil, Lubricating Oil, Furnace Oil, Bitumen and various grades of Paraffin and Micro-crystalline Waxes.
KEROSENE FOR THE JANATA AND LPG FOR THE ELITE
When a villager will light a lamp in his humble hut, a housewife will burn a Janata stove to cook meals for the family, a doctor will drive a car to attend to a patient, a modern miss will bake a cake in her gas oven or a farmer will run his diesel pump to irrigate his fields - they all will remember the refiners of Haldia. We, at Haldia will be happy to contribute our mite to make the nation self-reliant. Like individuals, only a self-reliant nation can be strong and happy. Has not Cicero said ? " Most happy is he, who is self-reliant and who centres all his requirements on himself alone. " As stated elsewhere, we shall be procuring 70 % of the equipment required for the construction of the refinery, from indigenous sources. This sets a fine example for other projects. " Is example nothing ?" said Burke, " It is everything. Example is the school of mankind and they will learn at no other. " So we shall be helping the nation in our own humble way by trying to be self-sufficient and self-reliant.
HALDIA - THE HARBINGER
This is not all. As the Hon. Minister for Petroleum & Chemicals, Mines and Metals said, " Haldia refinery when completed will certainly act as a harbinger of rapid development of the state (West Bengal) in all fields including agriculture and industry." The production of fuel oil as mentioned elsewhere, will be 1.53 lakh tonnes per year. This product will be utilised for producing nitrogenous fertilizers. The Government of India has already taken a decision and necessary initial steps to set up a big fertilizer complex adjacent to our refinery at Haldia with an annual production of 1.65 lakh tonnes of Urea, 3.6 lakh tonnes of nitrogenous phosphate and 60,000 tonnes of Soda Ash. There are other promising features as well. While on one hand, the refinery will produce certain specified products for consumption, on the other, it can provide feed stocks to Petrochemicals industries under the present day technology for manufacture of downstream items like man-made fibres, pesticides, dyestuffs, pharmaceuticals, plastics, synthetic rubber etc.
There is actually a two-way process. Whereas we shall be feeding our products to other industries, we shall require materials and other services from others for which ancillary industries in the public/private sector are expected to come up in this area. Thus with the advent of Haldia Refinery, a host of other industries will come up in Haldia Region. As is welknown, for a long time, west Bengal has been a one city state since all the industries had been centred in and around Calcutta. After independence, the Government of India have set up a number of heavy and other industries in the Durgapur-Asansol region with a view to relieve congestion in Calcutta. The Haldia complex will be the third industrial area in west Bengal. The difference between the Durgapur-Asansol belt and Haldia complex will be that the latter is served by a major port and is therefore expected to become a swinging metropolis on the lines of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in course of time. It will in fact, be better than the above metros since it is being planned de novo.
WE ARE ALL CO-PARTNERS
An effort on this scale naturally calls for certain sacrifices on our part. We are sure that the people from this area who will naturally have to bear the brunt of these sacrifices and who would ultimately stand to gain, would not mind a temporary dislocation in their normal way of life. In due course of time, everyone of us will be a co-partner in this effort of national reconstruction. The ultimate good that will come out of this temporary dislocation will far outweigh the disadvantages now being faced.
We are therefore proud that we are taking part in the regeneration of this area which had, inthe long bygone days, had been a flourishing trade centre served by a busy port known as TAMRALIPTA, the present day Tamluk.
RESURRECTION OF TAMRALIPTA
SIXTH DECEMBER 1969 will carve out for itself a place in the annals of the socio-economic history of West Bengal, nay of India. On this memorable day, the foundation stone was laid by Hon. Dr. Triguna Sen, Minister of Petrleum,& Chemicals. Mines and Metals, Government of India at Haldia for the construction of a most complex refinery under the Indian Oil Corporation Limited.
Till recently, Haldia was a typical Indian village but now, it holds out a promise of great economic and industrial re-awakening to the people not only of West Bengal but also to the entire India. Haldia Refinery Project is a public sector oil refinery fully owned by the Government of India that is by the people of India.
The first refinery in the public sector was commissioned on !st January 1962 at Gauhati for processing 0.75 million tonnes of indigenous crude oil with Rumanian assistance. In 1964, the second refinery was built at Barauni in the state of Bihar for processing 2 million tonnes of crude oil from Assam oil fields with Soviet Union's assistance.. The third refinery was built at Jawaharnagar in Gujarat in 1966 for processing 3 million tonnes of Ankleshwar crude oil, again with Soviet assistance.
Haldia refinery is the fourth link in the chain of oil refineries owned and operated by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. When Haldia refinery goes on stream, we shall be processing 2.5 million tonnes of crude oil which will be imported from the Aghajhari oil fields of Iran. The initial capacity of 2.5 million tonnes per annum will be expanded to 3.5 million tonnes in the foreseeable future. Haldia Refinery will mainly produce Cooking gas, Naphtha, Petrol, Solvent Mineral Oil, Aviation fuel, Kerosene, High Speed Diesel, Jute Batching Oil, Lubricating Oil, Furnace Oil, Bitumen and various grades of Paraffin and Micro-crystalline Waxes.
KEROSENE FOR THE JANATA AND LPG FOR THE ELITE
When a villager will light a lamp in his humble hut, a housewife will burn a Janata stove to cook meals for the family, a doctor will drive a car to attend to a patient, a modern miss will bake a cake in her gas oven or a farmer will run his diesel pump to irrigate his fields - they all will remember the refiners of Haldia. We, at Haldia will be happy to contribute our mite to make the nation self-reliant. Like individuals, only a self-reliant nation can be strong and happy. Has not Cicero said ? " Most happy is he, who is self-reliant and who centres all his requirements on himself alone. " As stated elsewhere, we shall be procuring 70 % of the equipment required for the construction of the refinery, from indigenous sources. This sets a fine example for other projects. " Is example nothing ?" said Burke, " It is everything. Example is the school of mankind and they will learn at no other. " So we shall be helping the nation in our own humble way by trying to be self-sufficient and self-reliant.
HALDIA - THE HARBINGER
This is not all. As the Hon. Minister for Petroleum & Chemicals, Mines and Metals said, " Haldia refinery when completed will certainly act as a harbinger of rapid development of the state (West Bengal) in all fields including agriculture and industry." The production of fuel oil as mentioned elsewhere, will be 1.53 lakh tonnes per year. This product will be utilised for producing nitrogenous fertilizers. The Government of India has already taken a decision and necessary initial steps to set up a big fertilizer complex adjacent to our refinery at Haldia with an annual production of 1.65 lakh tonnes of Urea, 3.6 lakh tonnes of nitrogenous phosphate and 60,000 tonnes of Soda Ash. There are other promising features as well. While on one hand, the refinery will produce certain specified products for consumption, on the other, it can provide feed stocks to Petrochemicals industries under the present day technology for manufacture of downstream items like man-made fibres, pesticides, dyestuffs, pharmaceuticals, plastics, synthetic rubber etc.
There is actually a two-way process. Whereas we shall be feeding our products to other industries, we shall require materials and other services from others for which ancillary industries in the public/private sector are expected to come up in this area. Thus with the advent of Haldia Refinery, a host of other industries will come up in Haldia Region. As is welknown, for a long time, west Bengal has been a one city state since all the industries had been centred in and around Calcutta. After independence, the Government of India have set up a number of heavy and other industries in the Durgapur-Asansol region with a view to relieve congestion in Calcutta. The Haldia complex will be the third industrial area in west Bengal. The difference between the Durgapur-Asansol belt and Haldia complex will be that the latter is served by a major port and is therefore expected to become a swinging metropolis on the lines of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in course of time. It will in fact, be better than the above metros since it is being planned de novo.
WE ARE ALL CO-PARTNERS
An effort on this scale naturally calls for certain sacrifices on our part. We are sure that the people from this area who will naturally have to bear the brunt of these sacrifices and who would ultimately stand to gain, would not mind a temporary dislocation in their normal way of life. In due course of time, everyone of us will be a co-partner in this effort of national reconstruction. The ultimate good that will come out of this temporary dislocation will far outweigh the disadvantages now being faced.
We are therefore proud that we are taking part in the regeneration of this area which had, inthe long bygone days, had been a flourishing trade centre served by a busy port known as TAMRALIPTA, the present day Tamluk.
Friday, September 30, 2011
WHY DID JOI BANGLA GET JOI ?
Note:-
Bangladesh came into existence as a fallout of the 1971 Indo-Pak war. I was at that time working on the construction of Haldia Refinery of Indian Oil Corporation located in the state of West Bengal. The armistice between the two sides took place on 16th December 1971. This article was written within 7-10 days of the armistice, for our house journal " Haldia Refinery News ". It was published in its January 1972 issue. It is a kind of calm stock-taking amid scenes of euphoria.
WHY DID JOI BANGLA GET JOI ?
Joi Bangla ! Joi Hind ! Joy everywhere ! Except in the hearts of Yahya and his hai-hais.
(Gen. Yahya Khan was the Pakistani dictator then.)
Bangladesh is free and friendly. India and Indira can inhale freely. A sense of euphoria prevails all over which is quite natural.
Whether we succeed or fail; when a job is done, it is time to take a stock of the situation. When we fail, we ourselves may not be in a fit state of mind to analyse the causes of our failure. In any case, others would be too glad to do it for us. However in case of success, it is necessary for us to do so as an exercise in learning for the future. Why did we succeed ? We succeeded because :-
(a) We did not react to the events of 25th March in a huff.
(On that day, Pakistan ordered a military crackdown on the agitators for democracy in the then existing East Pakistan. Mr. Mujibur Rehman, the President of National Awami party had been elected and his party had the majority in the Pakistani Paliament. This was acceptable neither to the military nor the political establishment of West Pakistan who had till then been dominating the scene and had almost been treating East Pakistan as a colony. Simultaneously with the military action, Mr. Mujibur Rehman was arrested. He was then in the national capital located in West Pakistan for talks prior to the formation of the government. In view of the majority enjoyed by him, he was expected to become the Prime Minister of the whole of Pakistan. East Pakistan declared its secession from Pakistan and formation of a new country called Bangladesh. This is, in short, what happened on that fateful day. The military action resulted in an exodus of nearly a million refugees into the neighbouring states of India, a major chunk staying in refugee camps in the state of W. Bengal.)
(b) We fully realised our position vis-a-vis the Super-Powers (USA and USSR) and the international community at large.
(c) We created a proper climate in the country for taking a decisive action without allowing any undue pressures to develop. Such pressures could have forced the government into doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.
(This had happened in the 1962 India-China showdown where we lost heavily).
(d) We created an international climate by means of publicity media and personal visits.
(e) We reinforced our flanks and built up a bulwark in the rear by entering into a peace treaty with one Super Power (USSR) and offering a hand of friendship to another Super Power (USA).
(f) We mobilised our defence forces and defence production.
(g) We planned our armed action in detail, in case of an attack.
(h) We showed utmost restraint, allowing the enemy to take a wrong step.
( They did this, as expected of the immature military hotheads then ruling Pakistan, by bombing our airfields facing West Pakistan.)
(i) When the time came, all the preparations made earlier, worked like clockwork. The valour of our armed forces and the Mukti Bahini (an irregular force of the nascent Bangladesh) and (most importantly), the massive support of the common people of Bangladesh gave us a magnificient victory.
As in this case, so also in our case, let us not react in a huff. Let us think over and chalk out a line of action, taking realities into account. Let us act in a determined, co-ordinated and tenacious way. Then, there is no reason why our Haldia Refinery cannot be built in time.
Bangladesh came into existence as a fallout of the 1971 Indo-Pak war. I was at that time working on the construction of Haldia Refinery of Indian Oil Corporation located in the state of West Bengal. The armistice between the two sides took place on 16th December 1971. This article was written within 7-10 days of the armistice, for our house journal " Haldia Refinery News ". It was published in its January 1972 issue. It is a kind of calm stock-taking amid scenes of euphoria.
WHY DID JOI BANGLA GET JOI ?
Joi Bangla ! Joi Hind ! Joy everywhere ! Except in the hearts of Yahya and his hai-hais.
(Gen. Yahya Khan was the Pakistani dictator then.)
Bangladesh is free and friendly. India and Indira can inhale freely. A sense of euphoria prevails all over which is quite natural.
Whether we succeed or fail; when a job is done, it is time to take a stock of the situation. When we fail, we ourselves may not be in a fit state of mind to analyse the causes of our failure. In any case, others would be too glad to do it for us. However in case of success, it is necessary for us to do so as an exercise in learning for the future. Why did we succeed ? We succeeded because :-
(a) We did not react to the events of 25th March in a huff.
(On that day, Pakistan ordered a military crackdown on the agitators for democracy in the then existing East Pakistan. Mr. Mujibur Rehman, the President of National Awami party had been elected and his party had the majority in the Pakistani Paliament. This was acceptable neither to the military nor the political establishment of West Pakistan who had till then been dominating the scene and had almost been treating East Pakistan as a colony. Simultaneously with the military action, Mr. Mujibur Rehman was arrested. He was then in the national capital located in West Pakistan for talks prior to the formation of the government. In view of the majority enjoyed by him, he was expected to become the Prime Minister of the whole of Pakistan. East Pakistan declared its secession from Pakistan and formation of a new country called Bangladesh. This is, in short, what happened on that fateful day. The military action resulted in an exodus of nearly a million refugees into the neighbouring states of India, a major chunk staying in refugee camps in the state of W. Bengal.)
(b) We fully realised our position vis-a-vis the Super-Powers (USA and USSR) and the international community at large.
(c) We created a proper climate in the country for taking a decisive action without allowing any undue pressures to develop. Such pressures could have forced the government into doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.
(This had happened in the 1962 India-China showdown where we lost heavily).
(d) We created an international climate by means of publicity media and personal visits.
(e) We reinforced our flanks and built up a bulwark in the rear by entering into a peace treaty with one Super Power (USSR) and offering a hand of friendship to another Super Power (USA).
(f) We mobilised our defence forces and defence production.
(g) We planned our armed action in detail, in case of an attack.
(h) We showed utmost restraint, allowing the enemy to take a wrong step.
( They did this, as expected of the immature military hotheads then ruling Pakistan, by bombing our airfields facing West Pakistan.)
(i) When the time came, all the preparations made earlier, worked like clockwork. The valour of our armed forces and the Mukti Bahini (an irregular force of the nascent Bangladesh) and (most importantly), the massive support of the common people of Bangladesh gave us a magnificient victory.
As in this case, so also in our case, let us not react in a huff. Let us think over and chalk out a line of action, taking realities into account. Let us act in a determined, co-ordinated and tenacious way. Then, there is no reason why our Haldia Refinery cannot be built in time.
Monday, August 29, 2011
HALDIA DEVELOPMENT BOARD ! HALDIANS ARE WATCHING YOU !
Haldia area is by now, welknown as an area where an industrial complex, served by a port, is coming up. Various organizations are now working in the area towards the fulfillment of this scheme. Co-ordination among them is therefore a must, if haphazard growth is to be avoided.
A master plan for Haldia has already been prepared. It has now to be translated into factories, roads, houses, shops and so on. It is here that a co-ordinated effort is called for. Each agency has its own problems. There are, however, many problems which are common to all or to many agencies. An individual agency can noy tackle these problems, by itself. While these problems will be described in detail subsequently,an attempt has been made to list some of them below :-
1. Lack of communications whether it is by rail, road or river or it is postal,telegraphic, telephonic or wireless. Presemt facilities could, at best, be termed as primitive.
2. Lack of construction materials and consequent high cost of projects.
3. Obstructions put by persons whose lands and houses are to be acquired.
4. Lack of entrepreneurs. Here is a paradox. Plenty of opportunities coupled with plenty of unemployment. Yet there are no entrepreneurs. This vicious circle has to be broken.
5. Need to get popular local support for the successful completion of the Haldia complex. Sudden intrusion of city folk in a rural area is apt to give the locals, a feeling of 'Colonization', with consequent feelings of alienation,jealousy and indifference, if not outright hatred.
6. Need to put up common urban facilities such as schools, hospitals,stadium, university, dairy, shopping centres, hotels, restaurants etc., so as to avoid duplication of the same by every agency.
It is perhaps with a view to achieve these aims that the West Bengal government has constituted the Haldia Development Board. To me, it appears, at first sight, to be a doubtful proposition. Such boards are known to assemble for their meetings and eatings and very often turn out to be mere debating societies. A quotation from the Greek Historian Thucydides, that was a favourite with the late President Kennedy and which is relevant here, refers to Peloponesian policy making bodies. It says " Each member of such bodies presses its own ends....which generally results in no action at all.....they devote more time to the pursuance of their own purposes than to the consideration of general welfare.....each supposes that no harm will come of his own neglect.......that it is the business of another to do this or that......and so on. As each separately entertains the same illusion, the common cause imperceptibly decays "
It is quite possible that each agency represented in the Haldia DevelopmentBoard may pursue its own narrow interests. each one may take shelter for its own defects behind the failure of another agency to do the task allotted to it. At worst, some agencies may even collaborate in non-fulfillment of their tasks by mutual blaming which they had agreed upon in advance.
Some might consider thse fears to be unfounded and hypothetical. Such things have, however happened in the past and are likely to be repeated till such time as responsible behaviour that goes hand in hand with democracy, gets firmly rooted in all of us.
What then, is the solution ? Should an overall body like a holding company or a development Authority vested with powers to co-ordinate the activities of various agencies be constituted ? No ! Such bodies would only put an additional obstacle in the path of whatever little or unco-ordinated steps that the various agencies might be taking. Such a body would want to vet every scheme that any pursue with consequent red tape in the jungle of which, the objective itself would get lost or delayed beyond use.
The answer lies in finding a man of adequate stature and vision to be able to carry out the objectives. Find such a man and build the complex around him. He would, I am sure, like to make Haldia his home.Do not fetter him with administrative responsibilities. Give him instead sufficient wire pulling abilities to see that each agency works towards the goal. "Management By Objectives" is getting to be a much used cliche. Therein however lies hope for the people tired of hair-splitting over methods and procedures. Alas ! The one man who could fill the bill is no more. I mean the late B.B.Ghosh.
By the way, the Haldia Development Board held its first meeting in Calcutta recently. Was it in answer to an artcle published in an earlier issue of this journal with the title " Is Haldia being built in Calcutta ? "
When ! Oh when ! will our neo-feudals get out of their Calcutta based mentality ? They do not seem to like getting out of it the Gandhian way. Perhaps they prefer being moved out the Mao way ! It should be remenbered however thatin today's circumstances, the "Mantra" of Mahatma or Mao is " Back to the villages ". Let us change ourselves in time, before time changes us.
The Haldia Development Board is now a fait accompli. It desrves a fair trial. Well, let us wait and see. In the meantime, it would only be fair for the Haldia Development to know that Haldians are watching them.
A master plan for Haldia has already been prepared. It has now to be translated into factories, roads, houses, shops and so on. It is here that a co-ordinated effort is called for. Each agency has its own problems. There are, however, many problems which are common to all or to many agencies. An individual agency can noy tackle these problems, by itself. While these problems will be described in detail subsequently,an attempt has been made to list some of them below :-
1. Lack of communications whether it is by rail, road or river or it is postal,telegraphic, telephonic or wireless. Presemt facilities could, at best, be termed as primitive.
2. Lack of construction materials and consequent high cost of projects.
3. Obstructions put by persons whose lands and houses are to be acquired.
4. Lack of entrepreneurs. Here is a paradox. Plenty of opportunities coupled with plenty of unemployment. Yet there are no entrepreneurs. This vicious circle has to be broken.
5. Need to get popular local support for the successful completion of the Haldia complex. Sudden intrusion of city folk in a rural area is apt to give the locals, a feeling of 'Colonization', with consequent feelings of alienation,jealousy and indifference, if not outright hatred.
6. Need to put up common urban facilities such as schools, hospitals,stadium, university, dairy, shopping centres, hotels, restaurants etc., so as to avoid duplication of the same by every agency.
It is perhaps with a view to achieve these aims that the West Bengal government has constituted the Haldia Development Board. To me, it appears, at first sight, to be a doubtful proposition. Such boards are known to assemble for their meetings and eatings and very often turn out to be mere debating societies. A quotation from the Greek Historian Thucydides, that was a favourite with the late President Kennedy and which is relevant here, refers to Peloponesian policy making bodies. It says " Each member of such bodies presses its own ends....which generally results in no action at all.....they devote more time to the pursuance of their own purposes than to the consideration of general welfare.....each supposes that no harm will come of his own neglect.......that it is the business of another to do this or that......and so on. As each separately entertains the same illusion, the common cause imperceptibly decays "
It is quite possible that each agency represented in the Haldia DevelopmentBoard may pursue its own narrow interests. each one may take shelter for its own defects behind the failure of another agency to do the task allotted to it. At worst, some agencies may even collaborate in non-fulfillment of their tasks by mutual blaming which they had agreed upon in advance.
Some might consider thse fears to be unfounded and hypothetical. Such things have, however happened in the past and are likely to be repeated till such time as responsible behaviour that goes hand in hand with democracy, gets firmly rooted in all of us.
What then, is the solution ? Should an overall body like a holding company or a development Authority vested with powers to co-ordinate the activities of various agencies be constituted ? No ! Such bodies would only put an additional obstacle in the path of whatever little or unco-ordinated steps that the various agencies might be taking. Such a body would want to vet every scheme that any pursue with consequent red tape in the jungle of which, the objective itself would get lost or delayed beyond use.
The answer lies in finding a man of adequate stature and vision to be able to carry out the objectives. Find such a man and build the complex around him. He would, I am sure, like to make Haldia his home.Do not fetter him with administrative responsibilities. Give him instead sufficient wire pulling abilities to see that each agency works towards the goal. "Management By Objectives" is getting to be a much used cliche. Therein however lies hope for the people tired of hair-splitting over methods and procedures. Alas ! The one man who could fill the bill is no more. I mean the late B.B.Ghosh.
By the way, the Haldia Development Board held its first meeting in Calcutta recently. Was it in answer to an artcle published in an earlier issue of this journal with the title " Is Haldia being built in Calcutta ? "
When ! Oh when ! will our neo-feudals get out of their Calcutta based mentality ? They do not seem to like getting out of it the Gandhian way. Perhaps they prefer being moved out the Mao way ! It should be remenbered however thatin today's circumstances, the "Mantra" of Mahatma or Mao is " Back to the villages ". Let us change ourselves in time, before time changes us.
The Haldia Development Board is now a fait accompli. It desrves a fair trial. Well, let us wait and see. In the meantime, it would only be fair for the Haldia Development to know that Haldians are watching them.
IS HALDIA BEING BUILT IN CALCUTTA ?
( This article was written in early 1970s )
Public Sector projects are usually locatedin undeveloped areas as one of the social aims of the public sector is to ensure balanced development of the entire country. This, indeed, throws up a lot of problems for the construction people.
Very often, the construction team finds the site, a good 80K.M. from the nearest railhead, the road communication consisting of only a fair weather road and little availability of basic construction materials. These are not the only handicaps that the construction people may face. Only a rudimentary postal service may exist. Telegraphs and Telephones, if present, may only function at the pace of life in the tranquil rural surroundings. Banks may be unheard of, shopping done only in weekly bazaars and good milk, contrary the belief of its surfeit in rural ares, simply not to be seen.
Thes problems are not new. Every project has faced them. Our own Haldia is no different from others, though we are rather unfortunate in this respect. The nearest railhead is at Mecheda, a distance of about 65 K.M. from Haldia. a new branch line of the S.E. Railway from Panskura to Durgachak has been laid but has not become operational. The Durgachak-Haldia section has yet to be completed. A National Highway is under construction but it has not been completed.
At present, there is a road from Panskura to Haldia which is not very suitable for heavy traffic. There is no regular river transport coming to Haldia itself. Though Calcutta is only about 60 K.M. away as the crow flies, the road distance is about 130 K.M. The railway distance would also be about the same. A short cut is possible by coming to Diamond Harbour, cross the river by ferry to Kukrahati and continuing the journey by road from Kukrahati to Haldia. In this way, the distance could be shortened to about 75K.M. This short cut is however suitable for passenger traffic only and that too in good weather.
Electricity has now come to haldia, but till very recentlythe nearest electrified place was Tamluk about 50 K.M. away. The State Bank has recently opened a branch but deals only in deposits. No credit facilities are yet available. There is not a single hardware shop in Haldia though one would imagine it to be the first thing to come up in a place where more than Rs. 200 crores are to be spent on construction.
For skilled labour, for cement, for asbestos sheets, for gravel, for timber, for sal ballies, for bamboo matting, even for nails or screws, there is no availability in Haldia itself. There is a tendency therefore, for each and every contractor, not to speak of the various project authorities, to run to Calcutta for arranging the supplies. Each man arranges his own transport and for want of a return trip load from Haldia,the transport companies charge from Rs. 250 to Rs. 300 per trip. Since almost everyone has family or relatives or friends in Calcutta, the tendency of depending on Calcutta gets a further boost.
To say that Haldia is being built in Calcutta would not be very wrong. Calcutta is no doubt, like a mother to Haldia, but if the child is to grow up, it is necessary to cut the placenta as early as possible.If Haldia is to be an alternative to Calcutta, it must learn to stand on its own legs.
All the facilities mentioned above, have to be set up here to form a proper infrastructure. We, of the Haldia Refinery Project, have established here, family and all., in Haldia and our roots have started going into the soil. The mental attachment to Calcutta in respect of the contractors and other agencies, has however, yet to be broken.
For this purpose, it is necessary to establish all the required facilities here. If an army marches on its stomache, a project marches on the availability of four 'M's i.e. men, materials, machines and money at its doorstep. It is the duty of all Haldians to make this availability, a fact, not only to quicken the p[ace but also to cut down the costs of construction.
How can this be achieved ? Demarcate areas for timber yards, cement godowns, hardware stores, steel yards, for shops of daily necessities and so on. Advertise for parties to set up these facilities. Allow a proper wholesalers' market to develop. Create conditions by which no one has to run to Calcutta except the specialised ahencies dealing in supplies.
Let the bank give credit facility to the contractors and other bentrepreneurs. Arrange ferrying of trucks and buses between Diamond Harbour and a point opposite on the Haldia coast I could cite a few more things that could and need to be done. The first and the major obstacle, however, is that all concerned with Haldia, have yet to become Haldians at heart. Once that mental block is cleared, the rest would be much easier to arrange.
Public Sector projects are usually locatedin undeveloped areas as one of the social aims of the public sector is to ensure balanced development of the entire country. This, indeed, throws up a lot of problems for the construction people.
Very often, the construction team finds the site, a good 80K.M. from the nearest railhead, the road communication consisting of only a fair weather road and little availability of basic construction materials. These are not the only handicaps that the construction people may face. Only a rudimentary postal service may exist. Telegraphs and Telephones, if present, may only function at the pace of life in the tranquil rural surroundings. Banks may be unheard of, shopping done only in weekly bazaars and good milk, contrary the belief of its surfeit in rural ares, simply not to be seen.
Thes problems are not new. Every project has faced them. Our own Haldia is no different from others, though we are rather unfortunate in this respect. The nearest railhead is at Mecheda, a distance of about 65 K.M. from Haldia. a new branch line of the S.E. Railway from Panskura to Durgachak has been laid but has not become operational. The Durgachak-Haldia section has yet to be completed. A National Highway is under construction but it has not been completed.
At present, there is a road from Panskura to Haldia which is not very suitable for heavy traffic. There is no regular river transport coming to Haldia itself. Though Calcutta is only about 60 K.M. away as the crow flies, the road distance is about 130 K.M. The railway distance would also be about the same. A short cut is possible by coming to Diamond Harbour, cross the river by ferry to Kukrahati and continuing the journey by road from Kukrahati to Haldia. In this way, the distance could be shortened to about 75K.M. This short cut is however suitable for passenger traffic only and that too in good weather.
Electricity has now come to haldia, but till very recentlythe nearest electrified place was Tamluk about 50 K.M. away. The State Bank has recently opened a branch but deals only in deposits. No credit facilities are yet available. There is not a single hardware shop in Haldia though one would imagine it to be the first thing to come up in a place where more than Rs. 200 crores are to be spent on construction.
For skilled labour, for cement, for asbestos sheets, for gravel, for timber, for sal ballies, for bamboo matting, even for nails or screws, there is no availability in Haldia itself. There is a tendency therefore, for each and every contractor, not to speak of the various project authorities, to run to Calcutta for arranging the supplies. Each man arranges his own transport and for want of a return trip load from Haldia,the transport companies charge from Rs. 250 to Rs. 300 per trip. Since almost everyone has family or relatives or friends in Calcutta, the tendency of depending on Calcutta gets a further boost.
To say that Haldia is being built in Calcutta would not be very wrong. Calcutta is no doubt, like a mother to Haldia, but if the child is to grow up, it is necessary to cut the placenta as early as possible.If Haldia is to be an alternative to Calcutta, it must learn to stand on its own legs.
All the facilities mentioned above, have to be set up here to form a proper infrastructure. We, of the Haldia Refinery Project, have established here, family and all., in Haldia and our roots have started going into the soil. The mental attachment to Calcutta in respect of the contractors and other agencies, has however, yet to be broken.
For this purpose, it is necessary to establish all the required facilities here. If an army marches on its stomache, a project marches on the availability of four 'M's i.e. men, materials, machines and money at its doorstep. It is the duty of all Haldians to make this availability, a fact, not only to quicken the p[ace but also to cut down the costs of construction.
How can this be achieved ? Demarcate areas for timber yards, cement godowns, hardware stores, steel yards, for shops of daily necessities and so on. Advertise for parties to set up these facilities. Allow a proper wholesalers' market to develop. Create conditions by which no one has to run to Calcutta except the specialised ahencies dealing in supplies.
Let the bank give credit facility to the contractors and other bentrepreneurs. Arrange ferrying of trucks and buses between Diamond Harbour and a point opposite on the Haldia coast I could cite a few more things that could and need to be done. The first and the major obstacle, however, is that all concerned with Haldia, have yet to become Haldians at heart. Once that mental block is cleared, the rest would be much easier to arrange.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
THE NATIONAL RESURGENCE AND OUR PARTICIPATION IN IT
( This article was written after the December 1971 war for Haldia Refinery News, our company's house journal. it is now being posted on my blog )
With the victory of Bangladesh, we in India, too have witnessed the dawn of a national resurgence. Political stability, the firm establishment of democracy and a balancing phenomenon after the turbulence of the past five years, have buoyed up our spirits. As a nation, we have now come to the doorstep of self-reliance. We have our own place - and a fairly important one in the region. More and better things are bound to follow.
Democracy does not merely mean free and fair elections. Democracy also means opportunity for each and everyone and a system of checks and balances that does not allow any single section of the people, a permanent dominance over others. In a nation, there are not merely regional or communal groups. There are others such as the peasantry, the working class, the white collar workers, the bureaucracy, the military, the press, the trading class, the industrialists, the politicians, the professionals such as doctors, lawyers etc,, the intelligencia such as the educationists, the the artists, the authors, the students and so on. Each of these groups has its own interests and its own lobby. A mature democracy is one in which all these groups are evenly balanced and tend to speak with one voice and act in concert , when the overall national interests are involved, however divided, they may be or may appear to be, otherwise.
Thanks to the far sighted leadership of the early years, we have today most of the ingredients of a stable and mature democratic nation. The early years saw first the politicians' dominance as opposed to that of the bureaucracy. the neglect of the military was corrected after the Chinese invasion. The exploitation of the peasants by the landlord class was sought to be corrected by the enaction of land reform laws and of the working class by the labour laws. The press became bolder, the intelligencia free to think, the artists free to create and the professionals free to practise.
It is in the nature of things that repressed sections of society, when given the opportunity, would act more strongly than is warranted, just as a loaded spring on release, jumps up. The past five years' turbulence was a fairly good symptom of this phenomenon. The very fact that such a turbulence could occur is a sign of freedom and democracy. It is however in achieving a balance after such a turbulence that a nation shows its mettle as a matured nation.
We are now in the process of acheving that balance. We have, however, a long way to go. We have to raise the standard of living of the people, a thing more easily said than done. Equitable distrubution of the nation's wealth is a must. But the wealth has to be created first. National wealth does not mean gold or silver or currency notes. It means more production of goods and services - food, clothing, housing, the necessities, the comforts and eventhe luxuries.
If we want to create national wealth, productivity is of the utmost importance, economical production, an imperative. Side by side equitable distribution of the wealth being created, must go on, for, without equitable distribution, creation of wealth itself is impeded beyond a certain stage. On the other hand, distribution before adequate creation of wealth also stops further generation of wealth.
Just as exploitation of the labour by the employers must be prevented, the exploitation of the rest of the nation by the labour must be resisted, Labour, partiocularly, the urban labour, forms only one section of the nation as a whole and a minority section at that. They are, in fact, much better placed as compared to the the vast number of peasants, not to speak of the landless agricultural workers. The nation can not be held to ransom by any of the sections that make it, labour included. Productivity must be increased and only the economic gains of incresed productivity shared. The effort in the days after independence was to rouse the depressed sections of the societyy towards their rights. Now that this has been done, it is time to make them aware of their responsibilities as well.
There is now more important than ever, the need to restore the confidence of the masses in the "establishment". There is at present, a crisis of confidence. By our words and deeds, we have to restore the confidence. For this, first of all, it is necessary to do what we actually say, we shall do and to promise only that , which we are capable of doing. This sounds very simple but for a people with a long tradition of hypocrisy, it is not so easy to acheve. We have, however, got to achieve it. Now or never.
Secondly, we have to get rid of the evils bureaucracy, bossism and subjectivity. The people have a feeling that when one approaches a bureaucrat, one has to keep on giving endless petitions, bend on one's knees as a supplicant and perhaps grease a few palms before one can obtain, even the smallest of one's rights as a taxpayer. Let us not get into the question of the extent to which, this feeling is correct. Let us not, however, deal with the public in a bureaucratic manner, in however small a sphere i n which we deal with the public. We should not forget that they are our paying customers.
Next comes bossism. This is an evil that is one of the worst characteristics of the of the bygone feudal and princely era. It unfortunately persists. A strong man builds up a coterie of people around himm, most of them, self-seekers or the timid who bask in the security afforded by the despotic boss. This coterie has only to sing the praises of the boss and attend his basic and even petty interestss. In return, they are allowed to serve their own interests. For the boss, there is no reason, no logic. His only reason is, "Because I say so". The I is always in the capital.
For a leader in any walk of life, power is essential if he is to carry out the aims for which he stands. With him, power is a means. With the typical 'boss' however, power is a nend. He takes pride in his 'decisiveness'. This decisiveness is however based on steamrollering of any oppositionto his views. Bossism is the very negation of democracy and it must be rooted out not only in politics in all walks of life. Let us not permit bossism any more anywhere.
Subjectivity is another evil of the emotionally immature people. They tend to judge everything by their own standards. They simply can not imagine that some people could be unlike themselves or that certain situations can be tackled in ways other than what they are used to. If we are to go ahead, objectivity as taught by the Gita, is a must.
In this phenomenon of national resurgence, we have a definite role to play. The elimonation of the evils mentioned above, in our own sphere and a responsible democratic behaviour would be our contribution to the national resurgence.
With the victory of Bangladesh, we in India, too have witnessed the dawn of a national resurgence. Political stability, the firm establishment of democracy and a balancing phenomenon after the turbulence of the past five years, have buoyed up our spirits. As a nation, we have now come to the doorstep of self-reliance. We have our own place - and a fairly important one in the region. More and better things are bound to follow.
Democracy does not merely mean free and fair elections. Democracy also means opportunity for each and everyone and a system of checks and balances that does not allow any single section of the people, a permanent dominance over others. In a nation, there are not merely regional or communal groups. There are others such as the peasantry, the working class, the white collar workers, the bureaucracy, the military, the press, the trading class, the industrialists, the politicians, the professionals such as doctors, lawyers etc,, the intelligencia such as the educationists, the the artists, the authors, the students and so on. Each of these groups has its own interests and its own lobby. A mature democracy is one in which all these groups are evenly balanced and tend to speak with one voice and act in concert , when the overall national interests are involved, however divided, they may be or may appear to be, otherwise.
Thanks to the far sighted leadership of the early years, we have today most of the ingredients of a stable and mature democratic nation. The early years saw first the politicians' dominance as opposed to that of the bureaucracy. the neglect of the military was corrected after the Chinese invasion. The exploitation of the peasants by the landlord class was sought to be corrected by the enaction of land reform laws and of the working class by the labour laws. The press became bolder, the intelligencia free to think, the artists free to create and the professionals free to practise.
It is in the nature of things that repressed sections of society, when given the opportunity, would act more strongly than is warranted, just as a loaded spring on release, jumps up. The past five years' turbulence was a fairly good symptom of this phenomenon. The very fact that such a turbulence could occur is a sign of freedom and democracy. It is however in achieving a balance after such a turbulence that a nation shows its mettle as a matured nation.
We are now in the process of acheving that balance. We have, however, a long way to go. We have to raise the standard of living of the people, a thing more easily said than done. Equitable distrubution of the nation's wealth is a must. But the wealth has to be created first. National wealth does not mean gold or silver or currency notes. It means more production of goods and services - food, clothing, housing, the necessities, the comforts and eventhe luxuries.
If we want to create national wealth, productivity is of the utmost importance, economical production, an imperative. Side by side equitable distribution of the wealth being created, must go on, for, without equitable distribution, creation of wealth itself is impeded beyond a certain stage. On the other hand, distribution before adequate creation of wealth also stops further generation of wealth.
Just as exploitation of the labour by the employers must be prevented, the exploitation of the rest of the nation by the labour must be resisted, Labour, partiocularly, the urban labour, forms only one section of the nation as a whole and a minority section at that. They are, in fact, much better placed as compared to the the vast number of peasants, not to speak of the landless agricultural workers. The nation can not be held to ransom by any of the sections that make it, labour included. Productivity must be increased and only the economic gains of incresed productivity shared. The effort in the days after independence was to rouse the depressed sections of the societyy towards their rights. Now that this has been done, it is time to make them aware of their responsibilities as well.
There is now more important than ever, the need to restore the confidence of the masses in the "establishment". There is at present, a crisis of confidence. By our words and deeds, we have to restore the confidence. For this, first of all, it is necessary to do what we actually say, we shall do and to promise only that , which we are capable of doing. This sounds very simple but for a people with a long tradition of hypocrisy, it is not so easy to acheve. We have, however, got to achieve it. Now or never.
Secondly, we have to get rid of the evils bureaucracy, bossism and subjectivity. The people have a feeling that when one approaches a bureaucrat, one has to keep on giving endless petitions, bend on one's knees as a supplicant and perhaps grease a few palms before one can obtain, even the smallest of one's rights as a taxpayer. Let us not get into the question of the extent to which, this feeling is correct. Let us not, however, deal with the public in a bureaucratic manner, in however small a sphere i n which we deal with the public. We should not forget that they are our paying customers.
Next comes bossism. This is an evil that is one of the worst characteristics of the of the bygone feudal and princely era. It unfortunately persists. A strong man builds up a coterie of people around himm, most of them, self-seekers or the timid who bask in the security afforded by the despotic boss. This coterie has only to sing the praises of the boss and attend his basic and even petty interestss. In return, they are allowed to serve their own interests. For the boss, there is no reason, no logic. His only reason is, "Because I say so". The I is always in the capital.
For a leader in any walk of life, power is essential if he is to carry out the aims for which he stands. With him, power is a means. With the typical 'boss' however, power is a nend. He takes pride in his 'decisiveness'. This decisiveness is however based on steamrollering of any oppositionto his views. Bossism is the very negation of democracy and it must be rooted out not only in politics in all walks of life. Let us not permit bossism any more anywhere.
Subjectivity is another evil of the emotionally immature people. They tend to judge everything by their own standards. They simply can not imagine that some people could be unlike themselves or that certain situations can be tackled in ways other than what they are used to. If we are to go ahead, objectivity as taught by the Gita, is a must.
In this phenomenon of national resurgence, we have a definite role to play. The elimonation of the evils mentioned above, in our own sphere and a responsible democratic behaviour would be our contribution to the national resurgence.
Monday, August 22, 2011
EVES OF HALDIA REFINERY LADIES' CLUB
My association with women, it appears, dates back to my birth, nay, even before that. Except for a short period of girl hating in my boyhood, i have, like it or not always been thrown togetherwith the female of the species. it was therefore no surprise to me when the Haldia Refinery Ladies' Club were given a flat directly below mine for their Monday meetings and eatings.
The day before, begins with some of the ladies going out to help their friend whose turn it is to feed the fraternity. The conclave is to help the hostess in cooking. On the D-Day, dressing up starts as soon as the hubbies have hurried to office after lunch. Why the ladies dress to kill when there is no prey about is something i have not been able to understand.
The husbands are enjoined to remember what day it is and to return home early. Evening tea is served almost on the doorstep to the men on their return. After a few hurried movements to and fro the bedroom, the kitchen ,the bathroom and so on (during which you are only conscious of the swishing of the Sari), with a loving smile, the lady departs leaving the children to the gentle (!) care of the gent.
The subsequent happenings in the L.C. have been matter of great conjecture and curiosity among the men of the Haldia Refinery Township. Being one of the curiouser chaps, I decided to take advantage of my vantage position. The problem was how ? I might have been a Pipng Tom (refers to my stint with the Pipelines Division of Indian Oil) but am certainly not a Peeping Tom. The only way left was to glue the ear to the floor and get an audio version of the events, the visual one having been ruled out.
Here is the intelligence report. At least a part of it.
A booming voice :- " Can you imagine ? My husband had........
A whining voice :- " Just when I was starting...my..son.....
A honeyed voice :- " Oh ! s..o n..i..c..e to see you dear Mrs.......
The whining voice :- " spoiled his pants and then.........
The booming voice :- " late. He knew very well that.......
The whining voice :- "I had to change his pants and.......
A grave voice :- " Yes, I was in KOlkata..........
A babyish voice :- " No. My husband is a good boy. He always......
The honeyed voice :- ' And how is dear Mita ? She is s..u..c..h a s..w..e..e...t.....
The babyish voice :- " Comes early on Mondays and then......
The grave voice :- " Mita's school has started. She is quite......
The booming voice :- " And here comes Her Highness Mrs. Lall, late as usual........
By this time, friends, I lost my patience and unglued the ear. Making sense out of these intermingling voices was a bit hard on the nerves. Lighting up a cigarette, I put my feet up the centre table. After all, every day is not Monday.So why not relax ? Switched on the Radio. poor thing could not compete in volume or variety. Switched it off. The voices still buzzed in my ears.
All of a sudden, there was no sound at all. The silence was so overpowering, i could almost hear it. i was frightened. Had anything untoward happened ? I am always scared of silent sirens. Slowly, I got down the stairs and sheepishly walked past the L.C. door, casting just a wee bit of a glance in the direction of the ladies and I had my answer to the puzzle. God has designed the mouth for fulfilling only one purpose at a time. It can either speak or eat !
Outside, I came across droves of children accompanied by forlorn looking fathers sauntering on the road. some of the enterprising children managed to need the mummy when she was masticating. they were rewarded over mummy's protestations by the hostess with the repast going round. the Community Centre was crowded with cackling children. no peace there either. Didn't know there were so many children in the colone. the Red Triangle chaps seem to have been sleeping.
So, back to Home..sweet..Home. Only it was lacking in one essential ingredient. The voices, babyish,honeyed,booming,grave,and whining, the giggles, the A..a..hs, tch..tchs..., the screams of delight and so on filtered into my flat.
Realization dawned on me as to why the Mahatma observed silence on Mondays. The Ashram must have had a Ladies' Club !
The day before, begins with some of the ladies going out to help their friend whose turn it is to feed the fraternity. The conclave is to help the hostess in cooking. On the D-Day, dressing up starts as soon as the hubbies have hurried to office after lunch. Why the ladies dress to kill when there is no prey about is something i have not been able to understand.
The husbands are enjoined to remember what day it is and to return home early. Evening tea is served almost on the doorstep to the men on their return. After a few hurried movements to and fro the bedroom, the kitchen ,the bathroom and so on (during which you are only conscious of the swishing of the Sari), with a loving smile, the lady departs leaving the children to the gentle (!) care of the gent.
The subsequent happenings in the L.C. have been matter of great conjecture and curiosity among the men of the Haldia Refinery Township. Being one of the curiouser chaps, I decided to take advantage of my vantage position. The problem was how ? I might have been a Pipng Tom (refers to my stint with the Pipelines Division of Indian Oil) but am certainly not a Peeping Tom. The only way left was to glue the ear to the floor and get an audio version of the events, the visual one having been ruled out.
Here is the intelligence report. At least a part of it.
A booming voice :- " Can you imagine ? My husband had........
A whining voice :- " Just when I was starting...my..son.....
A honeyed voice :- " Oh ! s..o n..i..c..e to see you dear Mrs.......
The whining voice :- " spoiled his pants and then.........
The booming voice :- " late. He knew very well that.......
The whining voice :- "I had to change his pants and.......
A grave voice :- " Yes, I was in KOlkata..........
A babyish voice :- " No. My husband is a good boy. He always......
The honeyed voice :- ' And how is dear Mita ? She is s..u..c..h a s..w..e..e...t.....
The babyish voice :- " Comes early on Mondays and then......
The grave voice :- " Mita's school has started. She is quite......
The booming voice :- " And here comes Her Highness Mrs. Lall, late as usual........
By this time, friends, I lost my patience and unglued the ear. Making sense out of these intermingling voices was a bit hard on the nerves. Lighting up a cigarette, I put my feet up the centre table. After all, every day is not Monday.So why not relax ? Switched on the Radio. poor thing could not compete in volume or variety. Switched it off. The voices still buzzed in my ears.
All of a sudden, there was no sound at all. The silence was so overpowering, i could almost hear it. i was frightened. Had anything untoward happened ? I am always scared of silent sirens. Slowly, I got down the stairs and sheepishly walked past the L.C. door, casting just a wee bit of a glance in the direction of the ladies and I had my answer to the puzzle. God has designed the mouth for fulfilling only one purpose at a time. It can either speak or eat !
Outside, I came across droves of children accompanied by forlorn looking fathers sauntering on the road. some of the enterprising children managed to need the mummy when she was masticating. they were rewarded over mummy's protestations by the hostess with the repast going round. the Community Centre was crowded with cackling children. no peace there either. Didn't know there were so many children in the colone. the Red Triangle chaps seem to have been sleeping.
So, back to Home..sweet..Home. Only it was lacking in one essential ingredient. The voices, babyish,honeyed,booming,grave,and whining, the giggles, the A..a..hs, tch..tchs..., the screams of delight and so on filtered into my flat.
Realization dawned on me as to why the Mahatma observed silence on Mondays. The Ashram must have had a Ladies' Club !
Saturday, August 20, 2011
TRANSFORMATION OF AN ' ENGLISH ' GIRL
Rati was born in England of Indian parents. When she was about five years old, her parents returned along with her to India. Soon, a brother was born. Having been born and brought up in England, she was " English " whereas her brother who was born in India was an Indian.
As if the contrast between England and an Indian city was not enough, her father got a job on the construction site of a public sector unit in one of the most backward areas. Bewilderment of Rati in this place was complete.
Rati had however not forgotten the manners and social graces learnt by her in one of the smaller towns of England. She could be depended upon to stir out of the house in only the most proper dress for the purpose of the outing, all neatly ironed and starched. When meeting someone on the road, instead of sheepishly smiling like other Indian children, she would boldly greet an adult with a " Good Morning or Evening, Mr. or Mrs. or Miss so and so ".
If you were to call on her parents, she would answer the doorbell, greet you properly, a pleasant surprise written all over her face. She would usher you in the sitting room and after making you comfortable, inform her parents of your arrival. Then, like a good child, she would withdraw, leaving the grown - ups to their grown - up talk. Among us construction people in that small settlement, Rati was indeed a wonder, an example quoted by some mothers of what a good child should be.
Rati's little brother was however her despair. He was inclined to be merry, to be talking louder than in whispers and to be wearing ill-matched clothes. If she was not wary, Ravi would sneak out wearing only his slippers. Why ! She had once seen him playing barefooted. And horror of horrors ! Ravi had once openly and unashamedly expressed a desire to swim in a pond that the villagers used for bathing, and washing clothes as well as utensils.
Ravi was indeed a great burden for Rati's frail shoulders. Whenever and wherever possible, she attended to his attire, his manners and so on. But the moment her back was turned, Ravi lapsed into a behaviour that Rati had started thinking of as his " Indianness ". The more she tried to cure him of it, the more he lapsed into it. The strain on her mind was beginning to tell.
It was during this period that I went to Rati's house on some business. Her father was away but was expected back soon. I was therefore having a chat with Rati's mother in the meantime. Rati could be seen reading a book in the adjoining room.
Just then, Ravi barged in her room as was his wont, clothes splattered with mud, hair disheveled and a wild look of joy on his face. He shouted " Look ! Didi ! what I have brought for you ! Rati looked and found a small garland of wild flowers for Rati's hair.
For once in her ten years of existence, she forgot to notice her brother's untidy appearance, his abominable manners and even omitted to scold him. Instead, she broke one of her own rules. She walked into the drawing room, garland in hand and said excitedly, " Mother ! Look ! What Ravi has made for me !
No sooner she said it, she realized that an outsider was present. She was about to apologise and withdraw but the look of total approval on both the adult faces changed her mind. When I pulled her towards me, she came unresistingly and sat on my lap as naturally as the rest of the children in that small settlement did, her pyjamas notwithstanding. Ravi's genuine affection had after all overcome her inhibitions.
She was later to realize that one's behaviour corresponded to one's development on a number of planes, apart from time and environment. Behaviour natural to youself can never be considered as boorish except by boors or half-baked copycat people. Social graces that come from within and are a part of one's personality are what count. Acquired manners like gilded ornaments can last only as long as the gilt takes to wear off. The only way to be happy and to go up is to be true to yourself and the world would eventually be true to you.
By now, Rati is a big girl. Call her Indian, call her English, no matter what !
As if the contrast between England and an Indian city was not enough, her father got a job on the construction site of a public sector unit in one of the most backward areas. Bewilderment of Rati in this place was complete.
Rati had however not forgotten the manners and social graces learnt by her in one of the smaller towns of England. She could be depended upon to stir out of the house in only the most proper dress for the purpose of the outing, all neatly ironed and starched. When meeting someone on the road, instead of sheepishly smiling like other Indian children, she would boldly greet an adult with a " Good Morning or Evening, Mr. or Mrs. or Miss so and so ".
If you were to call on her parents, she would answer the doorbell, greet you properly, a pleasant surprise written all over her face. She would usher you in the sitting room and after making you comfortable, inform her parents of your arrival. Then, like a good child, she would withdraw, leaving the grown - ups to their grown - up talk. Among us construction people in that small settlement, Rati was indeed a wonder, an example quoted by some mothers of what a good child should be.
Rati's little brother was however her despair. He was inclined to be merry, to be talking louder than in whispers and to be wearing ill-matched clothes. If she was not wary, Ravi would sneak out wearing only his slippers. Why ! She had once seen him playing barefooted. And horror of horrors ! Ravi had once openly and unashamedly expressed a desire to swim in a pond that the villagers used for bathing, and washing clothes as well as utensils.
Ravi was indeed a great burden for Rati's frail shoulders. Whenever and wherever possible, she attended to his attire, his manners and so on. But the moment her back was turned, Ravi lapsed into a behaviour that Rati had started thinking of as his " Indianness ". The more she tried to cure him of it, the more he lapsed into it. The strain on her mind was beginning to tell.
It was during this period that I went to Rati's house on some business. Her father was away but was expected back soon. I was therefore having a chat with Rati's mother in the meantime. Rati could be seen reading a book in the adjoining room.
Just then, Ravi barged in her room as was his wont, clothes splattered with mud, hair disheveled and a wild look of joy on his face. He shouted " Look ! Didi ! what I have brought for you ! Rati looked and found a small garland of wild flowers for Rati's hair.
For once in her ten years of existence, she forgot to notice her brother's untidy appearance, his abominable manners and even omitted to scold him. Instead, she broke one of her own rules. She walked into the drawing room, garland in hand and said excitedly, " Mother ! Look ! What Ravi has made for me !
No sooner she said it, she realized that an outsider was present. She was about to apologise and withdraw but the look of total approval on both the adult faces changed her mind. When I pulled her towards me, she came unresistingly and sat on my lap as naturally as the rest of the children in that small settlement did, her pyjamas notwithstanding. Ravi's genuine affection had after all overcome her inhibitions.
She was later to realize that one's behaviour corresponded to one's development on a number of planes, apart from time and environment. Behaviour natural to youself can never be considered as boorish except by boors or half-baked copycat people. Social graces that come from within and are a part of one's personality are what count. Acquired manners like gilded ornaments can last only as long as the gilt takes to wear off. The only way to be happy and to go up is to be true to yourself and the world would eventually be true to you.
By now, Rati is a big girl. Call her Indian, call her English, no matter what !
Monday, August 15, 2011
PANTS DON''T MAKE A BOY
Four year old Preety is a delectable dumpling sweet enough to eat. She laughs a lot. She has also a lot of variety in her laughters. Only the discerning can understand what she means by each kind of laughter. She walked into my life one day last year, accompanied by her parents and a baby brother. Since then, she has been enchanting me with her laughters.
On that first meeting, I asked her, her name. " Preety " she said and laughed. This laugh meant, " Look at this silly uncle ! He does not even know that I am Preety. The next day, as I was about to leave for the office, there was a knock on the door. I opened the door and found Preety at the threshold. She looked at me and feeling that I had not paid sufficient attention to her, laughed. Now this laugh could only mean, " Wow ! Aren't you glad that I have come ? " naturally, i had to make amends for my behaviour. I picked her up and announced her arrival to my wife.
Another day, I started telling her that I too had a daughter also called Preety and that she was in Delhi. " Then whose am I ? " she asked bluntly. I had to reply that she too was mine. To this, she laughed meaning " So now you have come round, eh ? "
Once she came in when we were having snacks. I asked her if she would like to join us. She gave no reply but walked upto the dining table, picked up a banana, peeled it, took one bite and laughed. This time it meant, " How amusing ! Soes one behave so formally with one's own ? " And with that laughter, she adopted my wife and myself as her own.
I have yet to see a person with such an expressive laughter. Each and every laughter of hers has a different ring, different meaning to it. Once she returned from a longish vacation. We came across each other in a public gathering. On seeing me, she gave me a " So glad to see you after such a long time " titter. Partly because she had changed somewhat but majorly because I was lost in a reverie, I responded with an automatic smile that was a bit synthetic. She seemed to sense this and laughed again. This laughter sounded different and my reverie was broken. Previously I had only looked at her but now I noticed her. it was then that her second laughter registered on my mind as " Is it so long that you do not even recognize me ? "
Her most memorable laugh was given when we all were going to a party together. She came in, dressed in pants and a bush shirt. " So, you have become a boy ! " I exclaimed. She smugly said " Pants don't make a boy " and laughed.
On that first meeting, I asked her, her name. " Preety " she said and laughed. This laugh meant, " Look at this silly uncle ! He does not even know that I am Preety. The next day, as I was about to leave for the office, there was a knock on the door. I opened the door and found Preety at the threshold. She looked at me and feeling that I had not paid sufficient attention to her, laughed. Now this laugh could only mean, " Wow ! Aren't you glad that I have come ? " naturally, i had to make amends for my behaviour. I picked her up and announced her arrival to my wife.
Another day, I started telling her that I too had a daughter also called Preety and that she was in Delhi. " Then whose am I ? " she asked bluntly. I had to reply that she too was mine. To this, she laughed meaning " So now you have come round, eh ? "
Once she came in when we were having snacks. I asked her if she would like to join us. She gave no reply but walked upto the dining table, picked up a banana, peeled it, took one bite and laughed. This time it meant, " How amusing ! Soes one behave so formally with one's own ? " And with that laughter, she adopted my wife and myself as her own.
I have yet to see a person with such an expressive laughter. Each and every laughter of hers has a different ring, different meaning to it. Once she returned from a longish vacation. We came across each other in a public gathering. On seeing me, she gave me a " So glad to see you after such a long time " titter. Partly because she had changed somewhat but majorly because I was lost in a reverie, I responded with an automatic smile that was a bit synthetic. She seemed to sense this and laughed again. This laughter sounded different and my reverie was broken. Previously I had only looked at her but now I noticed her. it was then that her second laughter registered on my mind as " Is it so long that you do not even recognize me ? "
Her most memorable laugh was given when we all were going to a party together. She came in, dressed in pants and a bush shirt. " So, you have become a boy ! " I exclaimed. She smugly said " Pants don't make a boy " and laughed.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
The Surrender
On a sunday evening, I felt suddenly tired and bathed with perpiration during a set of tennis. Walked out without playing any more. Went home, supped and slept. Woke up in the middle of the night, perspiring despite the winter. No sleep thereafter.
Saturday story was repeated on Sunday except that I was playing cricket with my kids and their cronies when it happened. Sunday night competed with Saturday night in keeping me awake. The result was a close tie. Something like the Brisbane Test Match.
Monday morning blues ! Without living up the weekend ! Never in my three year old friendship with Insomnia, did I feel so down and out. Rang up the doctor. Doctor was annoyed on hearing about pain in the chest and left arm. Actually more annoyed as I did not report earlier in the weekend. Ordered my admission to the hospital. I thought, maybe the doctor was himself suffering from Monday morning blues. Looked at my wife, hoping for a rescue operation. No expression. Looked again . Still no expression. Covering the phone mouthpiece, I provoked her. " Do you mind, if I go, get admitted to the hospital ? "
" You are unwell and the doctor says so. Therefore, you must. Your health comes first " said my Pativrata Nari.
" O.K. Doc ! I shall report to the hospital in an hour. " I gave in with what I thought was grace. The news electrified the house. Boys excited. Their hockey field was next to the hospital. Daughter and ma-in-law in tears. Yes, ma-in-law too ! And genuine, not crocodile ones, mind you ! Wife busy packing my earthly belongings between restrained sobs. Not having been a bride, I did not till then, understand why her family cries at the time of her departure. Now I did. I would make a bad bride though. I did not feel like crying. The bride ought to. At least good ones.
I wanted to go to hospital in style i.e. in an ambulance. Our driver foiled me however. He was ready with the ancient jeep at the gate. I hoped, as usual, it might not start. It did. I hoped as usual, it might fail on the way. It did not. And I was thus jeeped all the way to the hospital. In a most unpatient like manner. Like a bride being carried piggyback instead of in a palki. But then bad ones ought to be.
At the hospital door, I tried to act brave. After a few steps, the atmosohere got me. I started wobbling and leant on the wall for support. I was taken to my bed. Tucked in.
The hospital staff started trickling in. One brought a chair for my wife to sit on. Another wheeled in a roller coastered cabinet cum dining table. A third took my temperature and pulse. Wife left after a while. I explored around the bed. Found a bell switch. Just for the heck of it, pressed it. The bell rang. Not very musical. A tall and stately maid in a nurse's uniform appeared. I asked for water. She complied. Pressed the bell again. a sister of sweet innocence appeared. Mischief died on my lips. I asked for my lunch to be laid out. Ate, dozed off, thanks to the sleeping fraught adminstered earlier.
Woke up. Pressed the bell again. wanted to have another look at the tall and stately one. Instead, a loose limbed, languid one appeared. Asked for something. Got it. Pressed the bell again. A schoolgirlish one appeared. Hey ! Isn't there an end to this procession ? I call them Wish-Kanyas. Wish for something. Press the bell. Presto ! There she comes, even if she is not the one you wished for. All very conscientious in their duty, smiling, cheerful and making light of an obviously hard job. Kudos to them.
The matron once made an entry. She did not look matronly. Too young for that. Tried to sound like one, though. Said, I could not smoke while in the hospital. Pleaded for four cigarettes a day. She did not have the heart to say no. Weak spot there. Named her " Bokuni Di " meaning the adminishing elder sister in Bengali. She has not stopped admonishing since. Which little girl does like becoming a Didi and ordering younger siblings around ?
Night dawned. As they do for insomniacs. Switched on the light. Started reading. Night sister entered. Spoke. A tenor. Said, I ought not to read. I said, I knew. Went on reading. She brought a doze. Chloral. Knock out drops. Gave me. Expected me to be knocked out by it. I was. After two hours.
The night sister is like a speaking doll. Her brand new husband, a handsome, young, Army Jawan had come to see her on vacation from his field posting. The sister had her eyes glowing, the like of which can be seen only when women are in love. Bless her, dear God ! If and wherever you are !
E.C.G. done, blood sucked and tested, urine and stool tested, worms expelled - four of them, about 6" long (average). Aneama given, X - Ray taken. All hospital rituals over. Just when I was about to be comfortable in the hospital, wife asked me when I was getting discharged. What for ? I countered. I looked better, she said. Doctor agreed. Boss too said so. He went further - wanted me to get my head examined. By a proper head shrinker. Funny people these ! Dragged me to hospital when I didn't want to go. Want to drag me home when I am about to get set in the hospital. But then ...
That's how life is. You are but a pawn in the hands of the powers that be. Best not to struggle too hard. Fall in line.Go when you are dragged. Come when you are pushed out. Struggle a little though, otherwise even non-powers might push you around.
Saturday story was repeated on Sunday except that I was playing cricket with my kids and their cronies when it happened. Sunday night competed with Saturday night in keeping me awake. The result was a close tie. Something like the Brisbane Test Match.
Monday morning blues ! Without living up the weekend ! Never in my three year old friendship with Insomnia, did I feel so down and out. Rang up the doctor. Doctor was annoyed on hearing about pain in the chest and left arm. Actually more annoyed as I did not report earlier in the weekend. Ordered my admission to the hospital. I thought, maybe the doctor was himself suffering from Monday morning blues. Looked at my wife, hoping for a rescue operation. No expression. Looked again . Still no expression. Covering the phone mouthpiece, I provoked her. " Do you mind, if I go, get admitted to the hospital ? "
" You are unwell and the doctor says so. Therefore, you must. Your health comes first " said my Pativrata Nari.
" O.K. Doc ! I shall report to the hospital in an hour. " I gave in with what I thought was grace. The news electrified the house. Boys excited. Their hockey field was next to the hospital. Daughter and ma-in-law in tears. Yes, ma-in-law too ! And genuine, not crocodile ones, mind you ! Wife busy packing my earthly belongings between restrained sobs. Not having been a bride, I did not till then, understand why her family cries at the time of her departure. Now I did. I would make a bad bride though. I did not feel like crying. The bride ought to. At least good ones.
I wanted to go to hospital in style i.e. in an ambulance. Our driver foiled me however. He was ready with the ancient jeep at the gate. I hoped, as usual, it might not start. It did. I hoped as usual, it might fail on the way. It did not. And I was thus jeeped all the way to the hospital. In a most unpatient like manner. Like a bride being carried piggyback instead of in a palki. But then bad ones ought to be.
At the hospital door, I tried to act brave. After a few steps, the atmosohere got me. I started wobbling and leant on the wall for support. I was taken to my bed. Tucked in.
The hospital staff started trickling in. One brought a chair for my wife to sit on. Another wheeled in a roller coastered cabinet cum dining table. A third took my temperature and pulse. Wife left after a while. I explored around the bed. Found a bell switch. Just for the heck of it, pressed it. The bell rang. Not very musical. A tall and stately maid in a nurse's uniform appeared. I asked for water. She complied. Pressed the bell again. a sister of sweet innocence appeared. Mischief died on my lips. I asked for my lunch to be laid out. Ate, dozed off, thanks to the sleeping fraught adminstered earlier.
Woke up. Pressed the bell again. wanted to have another look at the tall and stately one. Instead, a loose limbed, languid one appeared. Asked for something. Got it. Pressed the bell again. A schoolgirlish one appeared. Hey ! Isn't there an end to this procession ? I call them Wish-Kanyas. Wish for something. Press the bell. Presto ! There she comes, even if she is not the one you wished for. All very conscientious in their duty, smiling, cheerful and making light of an obviously hard job. Kudos to them.
The matron once made an entry. She did not look matronly. Too young for that. Tried to sound like one, though. Said, I could not smoke while in the hospital. Pleaded for four cigarettes a day. She did not have the heart to say no. Weak spot there. Named her " Bokuni Di " meaning the adminishing elder sister in Bengali. She has not stopped admonishing since. Which little girl does like becoming a Didi and ordering younger siblings around ?
Night dawned. As they do for insomniacs. Switched on the light. Started reading. Night sister entered. Spoke. A tenor. Said, I ought not to read. I said, I knew. Went on reading. She brought a doze. Chloral. Knock out drops. Gave me. Expected me to be knocked out by it. I was. After two hours.
The night sister is like a speaking doll. Her brand new husband, a handsome, young, Army Jawan had come to see her on vacation from his field posting. The sister had her eyes glowing, the like of which can be seen only when women are in love. Bless her, dear God ! If and wherever you are !
E.C.G. done, blood sucked and tested, urine and stool tested, worms expelled - four of them, about 6" long (average). Aneama given, X - Ray taken. All hospital rituals over. Just when I was about to be comfortable in the hospital, wife asked me when I was getting discharged. What for ? I countered. I looked better, she said. Doctor agreed. Boss too said so. He went further - wanted me to get my head examined. By a proper head shrinker. Funny people these ! Dragged me to hospital when I didn't want to go. Want to drag me home when I am about to get set in the hospital. But then ...
That's how life is. You are but a pawn in the hands of the powers that be. Best not to struggle too hard. Fall in line.Go when you are dragged. Come when you are pushed out. Struggle a little though, otherwise even non-powers might push you around.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)