This narrative is a personal experience that happened to me pretty long back, in 1981, yes, almost forty years back! Certain learnings of our experience stays good with us, forever!
In those days, I was working in Century Instruments Pvt. Ltd., Chandigarh as a travelling Sales Engineer (?), promoting the company’s test and measuring instruments, across the northern part of India.
Once a month I have a travel to do to Dehradun, some 6 hours away from Chandigarh. It was a picturesque route, via Nahan and Ponta Saheb, lovely hill terrain! Whenever I go, I stay at Dehradun for minimum 2 days, visiting the CSIR Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), ONGC, Institute of Petroleum Exploration, Forest Research Institute etc., of which IIP was the most potential client to us.
In winter times, travels are not easy. Piercing cold hits you while travelling, the not so good hotel rooms and tough local conveyance (mostly used to be the long Vikram, a three wheeled long automobile that could accommodate about 10-12 people and ply a distance of 10-15 kms, working as public transport system, within the city and also connecting the suburbs); all of which had been major challenges.
My regular visits to IIP had got me so many acquaintances within the institute both among scientists and the administrative staff. The process is that we meet scientists at all departments and introduce products and get them interested to indent it to their purchase dept’ and then go through the process of quoting and winning deals (not all, some you win, some you lose). The more connected you are the higher your wins, that has always been the dictum in sales function. With some of the scientists, my relationship went deeper, for e.g. was Dr S at this particular lab (sorry, no remembrance of the name of the lab), a very down to earth person, a doctorate from IIT Madras, in his late 30's. Since he had lived in Chennai (called Madras then), he was more empathetic to me, a South Indian.
In those winter times, (where professional productivity is lower and reproduction rate is higher!), people take multiple breaks from their workbench. They often come out to get the sun or go to the canteen or the chai-wallah out of the campus for a glass of ‘garam chai’. So after reaching IIP early that day and after visiting some depts’, I came out to have a hot tea for invigoration.
The chai-wallah was Ram Avtar, a Garhwali in his mid 40s. What he had was a ramshackle of a tea shop in a tent, with some bamboo stools scattered around it for the clients to sit. He used to make the tea himself, doing so in the sitting posture. Meeting him often, I had built up a good relationship with him. He knew that I am a ‘Madrasi’ that he caught from the way I speak Hindi. While making tea, he used to ask me about my native land and my folks and we used to converse. He has been a big advisor often and he used enjoy giving it. This time too, the conversation went into him advising me about my career saying, “tumko to isee naukri nahin karna chahiye, koi factory mein kaam karna iss se achcha hoga” (you shouldn’t be doing this job, instead you should be working in some factory). “Achcha”, I said and then hearing a rustle behind, I looked back and there stood Dr.S. He too had come out to have a hot tea.
Dr S wasn’t looking happy as he addressed Ram Avtar, “tu to apna kaam kar Ram Avtar” he said “isee tehdi mehdi salah kyon dete ho? Tujhe kya maloom inke career ke baare mein? (You do your work Ram Avtar. Why do you want to give such zigzag advices? What do you know about his career?) Ram Avtar knew he went too far and said to both of us, “galti ho gaya Saab, maafi mangta hoon”
I returned to the Lab along with Dr S after the tea outside. He said to me seriously, “Nair, do you think Ram Avtar is the right person to give you career advise? He is just a chai-wallah, with very low education, hasn’t seen the world outside his ramshackle, still thinking that he knows everything, a fool! Be careful not to discuss serious life matters with chai-wallahs, and if you want, please talk to educated and experienced people and to you I would say, work hard and follow your heart”. I said sorry and thanked him for such a sane advice.
I still keep the word and I don’t take guidance from chai-wallahs any longer
In those days, I was working in Century Instruments Pvt. Ltd., Chandigarh as a travelling Sales Engineer (?), promoting the company’s test and measuring instruments, across the northern part of India.
Once a month I have a travel to do to Dehradun, some 6 hours away from Chandigarh. It was a picturesque route, via Nahan and Ponta Saheb, lovely hill terrain! Whenever I go, I stay at Dehradun for minimum 2 days, visiting the CSIR Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), ONGC, Institute of Petroleum Exploration, Forest Research Institute etc., of which IIP was the most potential client to us.
In winter times, travels are not easy. Piercing cold hits you while travelling, the not so good hotel rooms and tough local conveyance (mostly used to be the long Vikram, a three wheeled long automobile that could accommodate about 10-12 people and ply a distance of 10-15 kms, working as public transport system, within the city and also connecting the suburbs); all of which had been major challenges.
My regular visits to IIP had got me so many acquaintances within the institute both among scientists and the administrative staff. The process is that we meet scientists at all departments and introduce products and get them interested to indent it to their purchase dept’ and then go through the process of quoting and winning deals (not all, some you win, some you lose). The more connected you are the higher your wins, that has always been the dictum in sales function. With some of the scientists, my relationship went deeper, for e.g. was Dr S at this particular lab (sorry, no remembrance of the name of the lab), a very down to earth person, a doctorate from IIT Madras, in his late 30's. Since he had lived in Chennai (called Madras then), he was more empathetic to me, a South Indian.
In those winter times, (where professional productivity is lower and reproduction rate is higher!), people take multiple breaks from their workbench. They often come out to get the sun or go to the canteen or the chai-wallah out of the campus for a glass of ‘garam chai’. So after reaching IIP early that day and after visiting some depts’, I came out to have a hot tea for invigoration.
The chai-wallah was Ram Avtar, a Garhwali in his mid 40s. What he had was a ramshackle of a tea shop in a tent, with some bamboo stools scattered around it for the clients to sit. He used to make the tea himself, doing so in the sitting posture. Meeting him often, I had built up a good relationship with him. He knew that I am a ‘Madrasi’ that he caught from the way I speak Hindi. While making tea, he used to ask me about my native land and my folks and we used to converse. He has been a big advisor often and he used enjoy giving it. This time too, the conversation went into him advising me about my career saying, “tumko to isee naukri nahin karna chahiye, koi factory mein kaam karna iss se achcha hoga” (you shouldn’t be doing this job, instead you should be working in some factory). “Achcha”, I said and then hearing a rustle behind, I looked back and there stood Dr.S. He too had come out to have a hot tea.
Dr S wasn’t looking happy as he addressed Ram Avtar, “tu to apna kaam kar Ram Avtar” he said “isee tehdi mehdi salah kyon dete ho? Tujhe kya maloom inke career ke baare mein? (You do your work Ram Avtar. Why do you want to give such zigzag advices? What do you know about his career?) Ram Avtar knew he went too far and said to both of us, “galti ho gaya Saab, maafi mangta hoon”
I returned to the Lab along with Dr S after the tea outside. He said to me seriously, “Nair, do you think Ram Avtar is the right person to give you career advise? He is just a chai-wallah, with very low education, hasn’t seen the world outside his ramshackle, still thinking that he knows everything, a fool! Be careful not to discuss serious life matters with chai-wallahs, and if you want, please talk to educated and experienced people and to you I would say, work hard and follow your heart”. I said sorry and thanked him for such a sane advice.
I still keep the word and I don’t take guidance from chai-wallahs any longer
No comments:
Post a Comment