Escapades of a PSU Executive - Management trainee days

Escapades of a PSU Executive – VI

This is an imaginary series of the experiences of an idiotic PSU executive, working in a ‘Global fortune 500’ company. Please note that any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental.

This story does not have any form, structure or plot. It is a medley of emotions and remembrances of days long past in Teliya Oil.

Management Trainee days

The Idiot joined Teliya Oil in 1992 and after some training was assigned to a fuelling station for Aircraft in Guwahati Airport. These small snippets are from that period.

The first thing that impressed the Idiot was the manuals, where every working procedure was documented. There were three manuals – Two numbers of Aviation Operations Manual and one number of Aviation Quality Control Manual. The manuals were hard bounded and written in excellent lucid English with information on all working procedures. They even had beautiful diagrams – where the matter can be better understood.

He studied them in detail and maintained his own scrapbook where he wrote all the interesting information that he found there. These manuals gave him very positive feelings about the organization. It may be noted that those were the days when the internet was not there and getting any correct information on working matters was tough.

Sometimes he had to wait alone in the office deep into the night when a flight is delayed. During such times he slept on the big office table using the manuals as pillows. Although not too comfortable but they still were of some use as pillows.

The working life was tough. In the hot summer months going to refuel aircraft was a singularly tough matter. The apron used to get heated up and radiated heat. The engine of the aircraft kept emitting hot air. On top of that, the APU (Auxiliary power unit) of the aircraft made a screeching sound which will drive any sane person mad.

The work was backbreaking and tiring but still, he was happy because of his wonderful colleagues of the same age group, who toiled with him.

There was a tree behind the station, the base of which was concreted. When tired or sad they used to sit under the tree and relaxed in the shade with the wind blowing and share stories about themselves.

One day one of his colleagues told a story which was very entertaining for all of them. His name was Aryan (Name changed). Aryan had five children. One day after office hours he was teaching his daughter who was not interested in learning. To motivate the girl he told stories of lady pilots.

Hearing the last line, his wife swooped on him. The conversation went something like this:

Wife: So women fly aircraft?

Aryan: Yes, they do.

Wife: The aircrafts piloted by woman land in Guwahati airport?

Aryan: Yes, surely they do

Wife: And these aircraft are supplied fuel by you people?

Aryan: Yes we do.

Wife: That is why you stay so late in the office every day ogling at lady pilots. You should be ashamed before your daughter.

Aryan kept quiet and did not counter any further. The poor lady did not know that Aviation officers look like bonded labourers and did not have any officer like aura about them. Forget wooing lady pilots or air hostesses even the lady sweepers will not fall for them.

Talking of officer like an aura, the Idiot is reminded of another story. One of his mates who worked in another department had an officer like quality about him. He wanted to marry a girl from Tezpur who was a doctor. After the elders broached the topic, the girl’s family wanted him to make a visit to Tezpur and meet the complete family members.

So one fine day, he boarded the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) bus to Tezpur. Reaching Tezpur around 10.00 Hours, he hired a taxi (Make: Ambassador) for four hours at a cost of Rs 150.00.

Riding on the taxi he made a grand entry to the girl’s house where he was treated with a lot of love and affection. In fact, the extended family of cousins and aunts were all waiting for him. He was a handsome guy with smooth manners and made a good impression on them.

After partaking of lunch he left their house again royally riding on the Ambassador Taxi.

The problem came when he reached the ASTC bus stand after releasing the taxi. He found that a few members of the girl’s family were waiting there to catch the return bus to Guwahati. Terrified he hid near a small pan shop and keeping an eye on them, waited for them to depart. After they departed, he silently came and sat in the last seat of the last bus to his destination.  

His marriage was a success. With his knowledge, attitude and hard work, he reached a high level in Teliya Oil. He also made a lot of money and is seen to drive many costly high-end vehicles now.

Talking of marriage, the Idiot is eternally grateful to his colleague Prakash. The Idiot liked a girl and once the proposal was sent to the family, they seemed interested. The middleman, who was a friend, apprised him that someone from the girl’s family will come to meet him in his office. The Idiot started wearing a clean and well-ironed shirt every morning when he came to the office.

The day was like any other. The Idiot was assigned to do the decantation of the tanker trucks of Aviation fuel that day. Just as he was about to climb the tanker he saw two gentlemen walking into his office. He immediately realised that they were from the girl’s family.

Now, the Idiot did not want to do the monkey crawl to the top of the Tankers in front of the girl’s uncles. So he requested Prakash to do the decantation. Prakash readily agreed. Prakash also made a fake show of respect to the Idiot and uplifted his “Position” in front of the girl’s family members. The Idiot was very grateful to Prakash because had the girl’s uncles seen him doing the monkey crawl to the top of a tanker, they would have surely rejected the proposal.

Prakash is now a big DGM in Teliya Oil and a good friend of the Idiot.

During his training period, the Idiot was posted for a very short period in Barauni Marketing point. Bihar was a wonderful experience for the Idiot. Although the people of Bihar seemed very menacing and deadly they were internally very nice and helpful. Unless disturbed they were not at all harmful. The Idiot still believes that Bihar like the North East is a victim of bad publicity.

The Don of Barauni during that period was a man called Ashok Samrat (Name changed). The terminal was headed by an officer named Mr Good. (Name changed). Now this Mr Good had a towering personality and himself looked like a Don and a Mafia Boss. Had he wanted, he could have walked into a Hindi movie and play the role of a ganglord.

All the Management Trainees used to look at him with awe.

The S&D table was a very chaotic working place, with tanker drivers shouting and jostling for loads to tempting places. One day Mr Good walked into the S&D room.

He walked in with such a swagger displaying his 58 inches wide chest that, the multitudes quietened down and waited with bated breath. He checked the indents and the filling advice and asked a person to take them to his office room where he will do the allotment as per his wish.

After he went away the Idiot and his friends analysed his awesome personality. One person said he had such a commanding personality because of his eyes. Another said it is because of his 58-inch chest, etc. Hearing which Pradip disagreed. Pradip said his awesome personality was in his buttocks. Actually, his buttocks were very much swollen and looked liked an elephant’s rump.

The human body walks on a balance. If someone pushes out his chest too much, to maintain the balance the body pushes out the Buttocks. In fact, as Anuradha said later, Mr Good’s Buttocks had an immense personality of their own.

Pradip is now a GM posted in the HQ of Teliya Oil.

Thus the days passed for the Idiot.

One last sweet incident: The station of Guwahati was getting ready for a high-level visit. Mr Nil Kantha Bhola (Name changed) who was the head of the aviation group was coming for a visit.

Mr Bhola had an openness not found in many big shots of today. He will do an inspection and blast officers for any error. But in the evening he will share a peg with all and dance with them. Somehow he had the ability to connect heart to heart with the officers.

Another beautiful culture prevailed during that period. The evening party is always held in the house of the head of the station and not in any hotel. Every officer in the colony staying with a family is expected to bring one dish to the party. The dish need not be royal or great but could be something very simple and everybody participated in this manner.  This brought a great bonhomie within the officers.

This incident happened in such a party, where everybody was having fun and a bottle of whisky specially kept for the occasion was opened. As the whiskey took effect, all the people became very friendly and somewhat philosophical.

One officer whose name was Basu was the hero of the day. His callisthenics after getting drunk was a good source of fun for all.

During an emotional discussion, Mr Bhola asked Basu – “Basu are you religious? Do you believe in God”?  Basu replied, “Yes, I believe in God. In fact, I am the most religious person. I pray to Shiva every morning”. After that Basu stood up and with a look of honeyed love told Mr Bhola, “For me Shiva is Bhola and that is you”. The people were stunned at the very apt comment of Basu.

Basu was really a Shiva Bhakt. He established a Shiva temple in every station that he was posted in. As he aged he started muttering the Shiva Stuti honouring his God all throughout the day. For example, if someone asks him what is the time of the day he will reply, “Om Namah Shivaya, it is 9’O’Clock”, etc. 

Today sometimes the Idiot wondered – what happened to the relationship among officers. How did the relationship become so formal and mostly fake? Where did the bonhomie go?

The Idiot feels the promotional system with the nakedly ambitious created an undue stress among the officers. With the increase in pay and perks, people became a little exclusive. The work pressure which was carried up to thankless level by constant follow up irritated the community in totality. On top of that, the arrogance displayed by some of the fast-trackers further affected the interpersonal relationships.

Many times during tours to Mumbai, the Idiot stayed in the guest house of Teliya Oil in Ghatpokar, Govandi. One pooled bus take all from the residential quarter to the office in the morning. As the Idiot boards the bus – he notices that everybody avoids each other by using the mobile phone as an excuse. No one shares a joke or makes fun of anything. People mostly do not even wish each other. Everyone sits prim and proper during the bus journey like butterflies pinned to the dissection board.

It is the time people in Teliya Oil reorient their priorities but who will take advises from a certified Idiot?