Kasi Yatra-1981

Kasi (Yatra) Visit as it took place in 1981

One fine morning in the first week April 1981, I received a letter card from my Father-in-law Shri.K.V.Sreenivasa Iyer (KVS) that he wants to fulfill the desire of his beloved wife,(my MIL) which is visiting Kasi before her last breath.
They both have seen the world, as they were in Far East for most of their life, besides visits to many other places in India. He chose my company for three reasons:
1. I knew the local language very well.
2. I’m his youngest son-in-law.
3. I was expected to leave India on an assignment in September 81.
So, I wrote back that he can plan his travel and I should accompany him with my family for guidance and help.

I had no ceiling fan in the bed room, and immediately arranged to fix one (Compton make) at a cost of Rs.400, and also got my house white washed for Rs.150 with material and labor.
I requested my brother Ramakrishnan,(Kalyanam) to help me in organizing tickets accordingly, soon the date of arrival of my FIL was known.

I received confirmation that, my FIL with two of my SIL, grandson Satish and MIL would be arriving in Delhi on 28-5-81, by JJExpress. He had done the reservation by himself from Olavakode Junction.
He also remitted Rs.2000 simultaneously for me to do arrangements for his visit to Varanasi( Kasi.)

Immediately, I contacted my brother Ramakrishnan, for help in booking 6 Tickets to Kasi for any day after 5th of May 81.He, very sincerely, tried and got bookings to Calcutta in the train UPPER INDIA EXPRESS which leaves New Delhi every day, from platform no 13 at 20.10 hrs. (We were on waiting list with an assurance of confirmed berths to be declared 2 hrs before the scheduled time of departure.

My FIL and family arrived at Hazarat Nizamudin Junction in the afternoon of 28-5-81 and we took a taxi home for Rs.100 to reach our house in Old Raj Nagar.

Earlier I had my leave adjusted for 3 days and 15 days at a stretch from 10th of May. So, after a days rest, I took them on a visit to see, few of his family friends living in kalkaji in Delhi and in the vicinity. We traveled by public transport and rickshaws and the total expenses came to Rs.57.60 only – including fruits for hosts which came to Rs.20.00 only.
On Tuesday-the 5th of May1981, we visited Hardwar and Rishikesh. We returned on the next day. I shall write about this trip separately.

To-day, the expenses of those days look very negligible as the prices of everything has escalated in the last 28 years.

I shall show the daily expenses during this tour including the weeks before and after it.
The cooking gas was available for Rs.47.50. We bought a tourist guide- book to Varanasi for Rs.2.00 (TWO only), paid Rs.400.00 for booking 6 tickets to Varanasi, and Rs.450 for 4 and a half Tickets to Bombay (for my FIL family for return trip via Bombay)

The plan was to book a single reservation ticket( for each of us) to Calcutta and break the journey at Allahabad, Varanasi( Kasi) and Gaya – for my INLAWS to perform their religious ceremonies and then go to Calcutta from Gaya. All we had to do was re-confirm our reservations each time and pay for the relevant part of the journey. Return journey was straight, without break

As the day of travel to Varanasi was fast approaching, we were busy organizing everything from food for consumption during travel to dress and toiletries etc; though most of us were adults, we still had two (my daughter Sheeba-3years, and Baby’s son Satish-7years) children to be taken care especially from the point of safety aspects.

My brothers Ramakrishnan , Rajamani and another family friend Gopal, came to see us off safely on this trip. We left home at 15 hrs, and reached New Ghaziabad Railway station- nearest to our colony, in 30 minutes to catch; the available train to New Delhi station. There was a train scheduled passing this station at 3.30 PM, but learned that the said train left already at 14.15 hrs, based on new timings.

So, we rushed to Ghaziabad Railway station, as there are many trains to New Delhi passing this main station. Fortunately we got the next train – a shuttle to ND station. We reached platform 13 at 7PM.My brother Ramakrishnan, went into the station and got our berths confirmed as, he paid an extra amount of Rs.25 per ticket. (Rs 150.00 for SIX tickets to Calcutta)

The train arrived from the yard and we were shocked that all the compartments were already full. People have occupied seats from the yard itself. We tried to get into our compartment and could not do so, as the entrance was also blocked. We managed to get inside around 7.45PM.We were forced to get down at 8PM.

The train was scheduled to leave at 8.10 PM. My brother Kalyanam, quickly went to the booking counter and re-confirmed our berths. In the meantime, we decided to drop the trip and go for next day or whenever possible. Kalyanam, also spoke to the TTE of our coach, who asked us to board the train and he will sort out our berths. So, with great difficulty, we managed to get into the train and stood near our allotted berths.

The scene was like this:
I was very much upset and angry.
Saro - my wife was very much upset with me.
FIL and MIL were undecided what to do next. Mind you, they both were 80 years + young!.
Baby and Thankam (my SILs) lost all hopes of continuing the trip.
Sheeba and Satish were sweating and crying.

Kalyanam, spoke to the passengers who have illegally occupying our berths, and requested them to give seats to my aged in-laws. and they got the space to squeeze in.

The train left the station at 8.20 PM – late by 10 minutes.

We were supposed to travel leisurely with peace of mind, as we were already exhausted due to various trips in the previous days. With a bit of luck, we all got our seats with the help of the TTE. (We did not pay any more bribes besides the Rs150 paid to the booking clerk by my brother.)

I thought of my brother Kalyanam, and thanked him whole heartedly for, without his help, we wouldn’t have started this trip. I get annoyed and angry under this kind of situations while my brother did not!

Gradually, the tension, eased and we had our dinner, as we had enough to consume. We had comfortable journey for the rest of the travel, till we reached Allahabad at 6.30AM on 11-5-1981-Monday.

Within minutes of our stepping down on to the platform at Allahabad Railway station, we were surrounded by rickshaw pullers. Each one suggested a hotel or Inn. Since we had gone thru’ the guide for this town, we went to a hotel named PRAYG HOTEL. We were taken to this hotel by a -tongewala (Horse cart puller). This man helped us by organizing another cart for our city tour in the afternoon. We paid him 5 rupees at the end of the day for his help.

We took a room at 35.00 rupees per day. The room had a water cooler, large enough to freeze the room. We completed all our morning routines, had coffee, good breakfast and took rest till noon.

Later we left for the tour of the city and a trip to Sangam – confluence of Holy rivers- Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathi.
We went round the city. We could not visit Mothilal Nehru museum as it remained closed on Mondays.

We reached the bank of river Ganges. Then there was fun. Many boatmen nearly trapped us and insisted to take their boat to the confluence. Each one was announcing a rate for this trip, which was exorbitant and was near rip-off rate for any one. Then I started my talk in pure local dialect and they fell silent.
The rates came down drastically from hundreds to tens. We finally agreed for 25 rupees for a return trip to the confluence.

There was much less water in the river Ganges. Here again, as we approached the centre point, the priests grabbed our boat by a long stick and tided it with their one. They pronounced all sorts of rituals to be performed there for salvation and attainment of peaceful death which assured a place in heaven and, demanded a huge sum of money for it.

This is one of many instances, I have seen / experienced, and felt sorry for our orthodox systems that groomed many exploiters, in the society taking advantage of a Hindu’s faith in God. It is doubtful, if any one is going to straighten these unholy acts in our Hindu society.

I told the priest, that we had enough in Allahabad at the hands of various people like him who gave us experience like in Hell, and we were certain not to have any place in hell.

They kept quiet upon my yelling at them as above, and agreed to accept what ever we could spare for them. My FIL, collected 5 liters of holy water from the confluence for taking home. (He used that for rituals in his house, and gave all the fellow residents few ounces of it as many of the resident were not in a position to take pilgrimage to Kasi. We paid Rs.one only – in changes for the whole thing performed by us.
We returned to our hotel by 5PM.We decided to have some south Indian dishes for the evening and ordered 5 meals for Rs.17 only. We decided to leave for Kasi by Bombay-Varanasi Express next day at 6.45 AM, the night was pleasant with cold air coming from the desert cooler.
The day’s expense stood at Rs.169.95 (details in my 1981 diary.)

We were very reluctant to get up in the morning, but for continuing our journey on time and got up at 5AM in the morning of Tuesday 12-10-1981, and reached the station by 6.30 AM.

We boarded a coach marked- BOMBAY-ALLAHABAD- that was to be attached to the train was to travel to Varanasi. The coach was empty and had three tier arrangements. We spoke to a TTE and learned that this coach was going to Varanasi. So, we were comfortable, thinking of our first leg of the tour from Delhi.

Aword about Sheeba and Satish – They both were very quiet, till they saw an ice-cream vendor, or a toy seller, or anything else that were attractive to children of their age. My father in law was conceding to their demands / commands, and so was quiet – I realized.

We reached VARANASI at 4PM and the first thing I tried was to get reservation to Calcutta. Later I decided to try again after the day’s routines. This was a good decision, as we were to leave for Gaya for some more rituals and then only to leave for Calcutta.

We met some returning pilgrims, who were waiting to board trains to different destinations as; they had completed their rituals in Kasi. They warned us of rippers waiting to fleece us in the name of religion and rituals – waiting like hungry wolves.

My FIL, had the addresses of priests in Hanuman Ghat who did ceremonies to his ancestors during their visit many years ago. Here please note that, every family whose members regularly (once in a life time) came to Varanasi, had a reference with a priest whose family also did the ceremonies since many generations and continuing.

So, we knew whom to contact there. It was one Mr.Vaidyanathan s/o Shri.Viswanatha Vadyar of Kallidaikurichi, and we went there to his house. He gave us a warm welcome and surprised us by telling about my FIL’s ancestors, for whom his ancestors also performed the ceremonies then. Hence we all felt very safe in his place. We were given lodging on the third floor of his house except for my FIL and MIL who were pretty old and could not climb to 3 floors. Incidentally, I learned that, it was Shri. Viswanatha Vadyar; who, accommodated my paternal grand parents in 1958 and, helped them to perform all relevant rituals then.

We were introduced to a nearby café – Mysore café- for our homely food. Here snacks are served / sold at the front of the café, while lunch and dinner are served with prior order at the back of the café.
This system was introduced to cater the need of the aged and elderly pilgrims whose requirement varied with individuals coming from different parts of the country, and the food was always very light.

FIL went to meet the Priest – Viswanath- to discuss about the rituals / ceremony to be performed on the next day. The day’s expense was Rs.552.40 including advance to Priest. (500 only)

We got up very early the next day, Wednesday the 13th of May 1981 as both my in-laws had to leave for the ghat. I fetched coffee for my in-laws as; they had to leave early with the priest. Then we had coffee and breakfast (Rs.11 only)

The first part of the ceremony was over by 8.30 AM. For the next part I accompanied them, as we had to go into the holy river Ganges. By the grace of Lord Viswanath, everything was done without much fatigue to my in-laws. We also had the darshan of Lord Viswanath without much trouble.
On the Bank of Ganges, we saw regular delivery of so many dead bodies, and wondered where are they coming from?.

We came home after the day’s ceremonies and jointly had our first lunch in varanasi, at 12.15 hrs and, relaxed for a while. The boatman – Kalicharan who accompanied us in the morning was also the servant of the priest. At 2 PM, Kallicharan, arranged four rickshaws for us to go round in varanasi. We went to the Temple of Lord Viswanath and had full darshan of the Lingam inside the small pond. The priest won’t allow any one to feel the Lingam except for a large sum of money. I quietly, ran my right hand thru the pond and made noise, just to divrt the attention of the priests for a while, to stay there for some more time. The priests looked like way side robbers or similar ones from chambal valley.

We all came out and, discussed between us as to who was able to feel the Lord in the form of Lingam, and I confirmed my experience.

Later it was real darshan – at the UP silk emporium- as each one wanted kasi silk as a token of our visit to the silk city.

BENARES SILK IS FAMOUS ALL OVER THE WORLD particularly AMONG SOUTH INDIAN LADIES.

We all had our own individual financial shortage, as no one ever thought of buying a silk sari from here and hence not prepared and expected some one to foot the bill. My FIL, agreed to spare his purse and we all chose one sari for each and one for my mother as well.

No with this liberty, each one started dictating their own term to the sales man on Mr.Nandakumar- from Kerala, who helped us to arrive at a decision for reasonably priced saris.

It was agreed that, the saris will be send thru; bank, and we only had to pay a down cash of 10% of the total value.(This was the rule by the government of UP rule for promoting the sale of Kasi silk saris) My FIL put his signature at the corner of all saris with date. (Paid Rs.385.00) While we were very happy, FIL was thinking about bridging the deficit caused by this sudden and huge expense incurred unexpectedly.

We reached home after the tour of the city, and had light dinner and went to bed early. The day’s activities included – fetching Ganges water in 5 small pots, purchase of Kum kum, black thread, books, ice-cream for children, boat charges etc;- Rs.521.60 only including advance payment for saris.)

We chartered our plans for the next day and beyond.

Complete all rituals in Kasi by 11AM on 14-5-1981.
Leave for GAYA by train at 1PM
Complete all ceremonies in Gaya by the next day (15-5-1981).
Leave for Calcutta in the evening / Night.

We got up as usual, on Thursday the 14th of May 1981, and went to the bank of the river Ganges for a quick dip in the river. Sheeba was very much afraid to get into the river, as she saw a dead body of a buffalo floating in-front of Sheeba. Saro managed to get her a quick dip and we also finished our last bath there. The Ganges was very dirty and filthy even near the bank / bathing Ghats.

We were home and got ready for our next leg of journey. There were 13 persons (A very auspicious number?) going to Gaya with one Mr.Gaya Subramania Sasthri – who was chosen by our KASI priest.He had an elderly widow to assist in all rituals.

We were given few tips – rather cautious steps to be followed during our railway journey to Gaya.
Gaya is notorious for all sorts of crimes including dacoit and murder besides daredevil robberies from train passengers – the pilgrims.
The people from Gaya are nick named GAYAWALIS –a bad example-set in Tamilnadu and referred as well.
He said, for this reason only, people took a short return trip to Gaya from Varanasi and went back from Varanasi only. We could not do so, as we were traveling to Calcutta. We prayed few extra times for our safety at all levels of travels till reaching back Ghaziabd.

We were advised not to open our compartment section door till Mr.Subramaniam comes at the end of the journey at Gaya Railway station.

We left our residence at Hanuman Ghat at 1.30 Pm, and reached Mugal Sarai Railway station.( 16KM from Varanasi) We reached the station and the passenger train was already on the platform. The priest took us into a coach with Ladies section- with a door, and locked all 13 of us inside. he space was enough and we could seat in a balanced way sharing the available seats. He reminded us not to open the door till he himself emerges at Gaya station. The train left Mugal sarai at 3.45 PM.

We got plenty of bananas at every stop and that was our staple food till we reached Gaya. As the day light started dimming, the remainder part of our coach was getting filled denser and denser – as we could hear all sorts of languages and noisy expressions.

There was no light at all in any of the areas the train passed through, and we wondered if we were in a jungle or in an uncivilized part of the world. No wonder dacoits are lured in this part with no control over them.

We reached Gaya railway station at 9.40 PM. Our priest came from some where and led us thru’ the platform to the exit. I saw him handing over some money to the checking staff at the exit. I could guess what it could be and did not mention about it to any one.

Our priest told us that the train had come on time for the first time in many years and he felt that it was a good sign for events to come the next day.
We hired Tongas to take us to the place of stay. This was on the banks of river SONE BADRA. We were very hungry. On the advice of our priest, we procured puris and baaji made of yellow gourd. We also procured some hot milk for next day’s coffee. There was moon light, star light besides the street lights.

We reached our place of dwelling – a charity home by Kanchi Sankaracharya. The priest introduced me to one Mr.Kanaya Lal’s son for all help. Kanaya Lal was the sitting MLA for this area.

In the middle of the night, he agreed to get us reservation to Calcutta by the next evening’s train leaving Gaya. We paid Rs.25 as bribe- service charge for this most needed help.

He sorted our room requirement – for 13 of us. The ceiling fans were at a height of more than 30 ft above us and we hardly felt the stream of air on us. It was hot and humid. There were large tamarind trees, in the neighborhood, aged over 70 or 80 years and very large in diameter. I saw them as I walked with the agent, and just recalled the narrations in stories about GHOSTS of tamarind trees.

The total expense for the day was Rs.172.90

It was already well over 1AM of Friday the 15th of May 1981 and we had our dinner quickly and tried to close our eyes for the rest of the night. We literally sank into deep sleep.

We woke up very early in the morning, as my in-laws were to go with the priest for the day’s rituals. I made coffee using the milk procured on the previous night. Only FIL had a sip of it. It was hot and humid at 6AM. I managed to locate a small outfit which provides idlys and dosa – south Indian dishes. This was run by a couple in a place closer to our residence. There was a temple for Lord Vishnu there. (They were Brahmins from Kerala.)

I had my breakfast with coffee and fetched 6 sets for others. I also ordered food for lunch and dinner – for our onward journey to Calcutta.
Both my parent-in-laws came back by 10AM, looked very tired. I learned that the priest made them to wait for long while taking the turn of the other people. After brief rest, we went the temple of Lord Maha Vishnu. The legend says that the original foot print is still cast there and is being worshipped. We also worshipped the original foot print of Lord Vishnu. We purchased few replicas of the foot prints made of copper.

In the temple, we witnessed child marriage to 100 odd children. They were in the age group of 8.
Since the restaurant was close by we had our lunch there. Once we had our lunch, we got back to life. The road was very bad, with fine stones that nearly penetrated into our bare foot. We then returned to our inn, and took rest till 3PM.

In the evening our tickets were delivered and we were then sure of traveling to Calcutta. Then we bade farewell to the priest Gaya Subramania Sasthrigal and other people who accompanied us.
I went to the restaurant at 4 pm but nothing was available, and I was asked to come back after 5pm.

So, at 5pm, we went to the restaurant (excluding FIL and MIL), had hot snacks and coffee, Procured some items for dinner and some items for FIL and MIL.

We were home by 5.30pm, took some rest, and set off to the Gaya railway station. We reached the station by 6.30 pm. We came very early to station, to avoid traveling late in the evening to station as we were advised of dangerous people who could trouble us. The train was only due to leave by 10.00 pm only.

We took rest in the designated waiting hall till about 9.30 and moved to the platform where the train was due to arrive. The Doon express arrived on time, and we boarded the coach, where our name was displayed on the reservation list. There were too many people who nearly blocked our entry, but we managed to reach our seats / berths.

We went inside the ladies’ section for our dinner, as this section was empty. One old lady objected, to our entry, but we explained to her the situation and she obliged to spare the area for taking our dinner.
Sheeba was enjoying her dinner with sambar as we were negotiating with the lady. We carried with us a full earthen pot of water besides dinner and there was no problem for anything else.

Our expense for the day was Rs.313.20

We reached Howrah (Calcutta) station at 7.50 am on Saturday the 16th of May 1981. My FIL, went out on the platform and looked for his friends who were expected to receive us on that day. Since, we were delayed in our schedule; no one was there to welcome us. My FIL, had written to 4 or 5 friends about our possible arrival without any confirmed date of travel. So, we went to one the friend’s house situated on 6B, Manohar Parker Road. We felt the cold breeze and greenery around reminding us of Kerala.

We were received by Mr.Narayanan who welcomed us. He explained to us that they were frequenting to the Railway station every day in the past few days, but gave up as we had his address.

After a brief conversation, he took us to KOMALAM LODGE behind his house. Mr.Narayanan had already booked rooms for us without mentioning the date. So, there was no problem for the lodge keeper to offer us all facilities required.

The arrangement was like this:
We had one large double bed room, meant for 4 persons, got extra bed for 2 more persons. We paid, a normal rent of Rs.80 for double room, and 10 each for the two additional beds. This was the best, cheapest accommodation which also satisfied our requirement for aspects. We could still feel it was bit more expensive – concerning our financial condition then.

We were left there by Narayanan, for us to complete the morning routines, and assured us that he will be informing all other friends of FIL, about our arrival on that day. We managed to finish our routines fast.

While we were having coffee, Mr. Natrajan and Narayanan arrived and joined us for coffee. I went out with them to get myself familiarized about the surroundings. I was shown the places for having breakfast, lunch and dinner besides snacks. All these places were close to each other and served meals three times a day. But, each outlet was famous for its own variety of food. So, there were few for the said meals of a day.

The very first thing I did was procuring the day’s news paper and some magazines. We could not find any in the previous days since leaving Ghaziabad. On the road side platforms, I saw fresh flowers, which reminded me of the flower markets in Erode, Coimbatore and Madras.

I bought a bunch of flowers for Rs.2. later by 12.30 hrs, we went out for lunch. We were served lunch on banana leaves @4 Rs. per person.
After lunch, we walked around the area. There were fruit shops all over the place. We procured assorted fruits including apples, mangoes etc; we discussed about our next move – purchase in Calcutta! / Sight seeing- of the city’s famous / historical places. We also learned that our return journey tickets were also booked for 20th May 1981.We had no bookings in any other train, and this available one was to travel in JANATHA EXPRESS – a kind of a slow express train slightly faster than the conventional passenger train!

This means, we had to remain in Calcutta for another 4 days!

My FIL, started worrying again, but then told that that he found a way to tide over the situation. (I knew of it and not mentioning it here for the sake of my commitment to him)

We could have managed without the formulae of my FIL, had I took the 1000 rupees kept in reserve in Ghaziabad. The short fall was again due to our advance payment of Rs.400 to saris at Varanasi.

Sheeba ands Satish found plenty of space in the lodge and always paled indoors. Whenever we were in the room, they spent their time by watching from the room window, counting the number of buses and trams passed our lodge. They saw double decked buses and were very much excited. Each had different numbers and disputed and ended in quarreling about whom saw more such buses or trams. My FIL gave his counted numbers to keep them quiet.

We took rest for the whole day- getting over the tiredness of the previous 6 days.
The day’s expenses came to Rs.141.00 only.

We woke up, to another new day in Calcutta, on Sunday the 17th of May 1981, completed all morning routines, had breakfast and were ready for the day’s city tour. Being Sunday, my FIL’s friends joined us for the first part of the tour.

As first leg of our tour, we went to the VICTORIA MEMORIAL. This placed is of great interest, even to ordinary people as it housed everything about Queen Victoria, British Empire that never had the sun ever set. I purchased a set of souvenirs – picture post cards besides some leaflets.

Here while every one was engaged in the outside tour of the monument, I came across a very aged person, who served in the British there during the time of Queen Victoria. He was retained and kept inside the memorial as he was a kind of a loyal person to the Royal, plus he had no other place to go. He told me of a lot of gossip about the queen and I enjoyed it. His memory was very sharp and I could listen to his narrations / revelations with rapt attention. His English language proficiency was of very high standard. I promised him that I will never pass the information to anyone else, ever.

The next leg of our tour was to visit the PLANETORIUM. From outside, one could see nothing, but, once you entered the dome, you are in a different world altogether. The whole set was like our solar system. On the day of our visit, the program was about sun set on the Polar Regions – named THE MIDNIGHT SUN.
The space inside the planetarium was fully air-conditioned. The entry ticket was priced at Rs.4 per adult. We purchased 13 tickets and went inside to enjoy the program of that time. Each program was of 30 minutes duration, and there were different one for each half an hour.

We enjoyed every minute of the program, which took us to the top of the universe. This planetarium was only one in Asia and second in the world as per the records in 1981.The first one was in Russia. The place was crowded by scholars, students and general public.

The next place of visit was NEHRU CHILDREN’S MUSEUM. Here we had tough time- with Sheeba.

On every floor of the museum, we saw different type of toys meant for children. They were assorted from different countries and each type was specific. Sheeba saw the cubes with numbers / letters, and started crying for them. They were on display from a locked glass box. She demanded that we get them for her. Then Sheeba applied the ultimate weapon – crying - Sheeba kept on crying louder and louder.

(Sheeba was very much upset and kept on crying till we procured similar items for her the next day. We had to buy something for Satish also. This put an end to Sheeba’s woes.)

In the evening we went to KALIGHAT with Mr. Natrajan. We all worshiped Kali there. It was raining heavily and there was no one other than us, and we kept on worshipping Kali as much as many times as possible. We waited in the temple for the rain to recede, and took taxis to Mr.Natrajan’s house in Baliganj for dinner.
Mr.Natrajan’s house was spacious, and comfortable. The rent was low, as he was staying there since 7 years. After dinner, Mr.Natrajan, gave us tickets for the next day for, tour of other places in the city. His sons were also included for our help during the local tours. We were then escorted to our hotel.

We were comfortable and went to bed soon after returning from the day’s programmes.

The days’ expenses came to Rs.166.30 only.

We woke up very early in the morning of Monday the 18th of May 1981.After an early breakfast; we went to the regional tourist office located near the planetarium. Mr.Narayanan helped us in finding our designated tour bus and escorted inside it. The bus left at 7 am and Jain temple was the first stop.

Then we visited, Ramakrishna Ashram, Vivekananda Memorial, Krishna Temple, Museum, and again the Victoria Memorial etc;

We were taken to a large vegetarian restaurant for lunch. We visited the botanical gardens and the lake around, and the famous zoo.

We got down near the Lake as another friend Mr.R.V.N.Swamy- was visiting to meet my FIL. While others were escorted to Mr.Swamy’s house, self and FIL went into the shops nearby.

Later we joined them after 30 minutes in the house. We had snacks and coffee in Mr.Swamy’s house.
Later we returned to our hotel, and had some fruits in place of dinner, as we had enough food till then. We were all happy about the day’s activities and were satisfied about our overall passing of the tour since we left Ghaziabad on the 10th of May 1981. The day’s expenses came to Rs.211.00

The next three days of less tours, but visits to good old friends of my FIL.
So, on Tuesday the 19th of May 1981, we woke up very peacefully, with all activities at our disposal and completed our morning routines. We were invited by one Mr.Ramakrishnan, a good old friend of my FIL, for lunch. His place of residence was close to our hotel. We went out for purchase in the after noon – There is no chase like purchase.
It was more of window shopping than of any purchase. Still, we purchased some ready made cloths for children back in the native place.

The day’s expense came to Rs.133.10

On the next day, Wednesday, the 20th of May 1981, we vacated our hotel room and went to another friend’s place located at 6B, Manohar Pukur Road. We had our meals with the residents.

Later, in the evening, by 6.30 PM, we went to the Railway station by Taxi. Mr.Narayanan and Mr.Natrajan came to station by local train. We boarded the train and into our coach and there was no problem like what we faced in Delhi.

As we were chatting inside the coach, it seemed that some had lost a suitcase and a big fight was going on the other side of the coach. Though some one clarified if we have seen anyone running with a red suit case, we replied negative and the person went away. We did not know what happened afterwards.
The train – Summer special Janatha Express left Howrah at 8.50 PM and we bade farewell to Calcutta.
The day’s expenses including total Hotel bills, cost of return tickets to Ghaziabad, all came to Rs.984.50.

On Thursday, the 21st of May 1981, we were inside the train – Janatha Express traveling back to Ghaziabad. Though we were in a reserved coach, we still felt the tiredness of the past 10 days’ activities. We survived on cucumber, leches, bananas, oranges and puri baaji besides ice-creams. It all came to Rs.31.10 – not bad is isn’t it?

Sheeba became friendly with a lady passenger, who gave her enough puri –baaji for consumption. Satish managed with other items. It seemed that the journey was taking more than necessary time as it was running like a slow passenger train. The only consolation was it was moving forward!

On Friday, the 22nd of May 1981, we reached Ghaziabad, at 10am. We came home by 11.30am and were very happy to be home at E-53 Old Raj Nagar. Immediately, I checked the steel cupboard to make sure nothing was forgotten. Everything was inside – as I feared lost them in transit.

The real kasi Yatra came to an end after 12 days of hard journey and tiring tour. None of us are responsible for the success of this tour, but GOD the almighty Himself.

It is not due to our wisdom that we returned safely, but for HIS blessings. Though, everything seemed like a dream, the nightmare with which we set out on 10-5-1981, still haunts all of us. In reality, every moment of the program was full of anxieties, and uncertainties.

I decided to compile this brief write up for the sake of any one venturing like us in future.

The only factor that might create question will be the cost of such a tour in the coming years.

Our total expense for the entire tour (excluding the charges to the respective priests) came to

Rupees 2899.45 only for six adults and two children

Note:

The forgoing narrations are exact reproduction of my notes written during the tour and the diary maintained then – as of 25th May 1981

Life in Ghaziabad-1969

Life in Ghaziabad

In Ghaziabad, I lived with my youngest maternal uncle Mr.K.K.Subramanian. My uncle was Production Manager for M/s. Unichem Labs – a pharmaceutical company situated at Mohan Nagar. Later this factory was shifted to Industrail Area on the Meerut Road.

After my uncle got married in 1970,(24th of August, to be precise) I shifted to Old Raj Nager – close to my factory, and lived with 5 other fellow staff in a rented flat.

The rent was only Rs.140.00 per month, and had two rooms besides a bathroom and open terrace above the roof. The flat was very spacious and we had no trouble in living there. In reality, we never met together due to our working hours. We prepared food at night on rotation basis and ate at our convenience- as each one was on his own schedule.

Our highest grocery bill was Rs.600.00 per month. Vegetable cost was very marginal – as we procured seasonal vegetables only- just to site an example, green peas was procured at 00.15 paisa per kilo, Potao was delivered at door step in a measure called DHADI, for Rs.10.00 per sack.

The cost of other vegetables was also in this range and so was the pricing of fruits. Raw wheat was sold at 15 paisa per kilo- imported from USA under PL480 scheme. We procured 10 kg at a time, washed and dried it and made flour at 10 paisa for grinding 10 Kg wheat. The only trouble was removing the chaff from the flour, and this was done on rotation again.

Before started living in Raj Nagar, I was living with my uncle in Gandhi Nagar. On days, when my uncle was staying back at Delhi on week ends; I invited friends – 2 max.-for snack or tea. On one occasion, I was asked to make some Urad dal Vada.

In good faith, I made urad dal paste and added some pepper seeds for taste.My friends came as scheduled. I boiled oil and started making a round sized urad dal paste, to be dipped into the oil. But, the circular paste did not hold, and slipped into the oil bath.
I managed to push in 4 or 5 vadas. But not one was round, and each one was of different in shape and size. I realized the defect – too much water in the paste. Though this product was delicious, the oil was gone in no time. We squeezed oil out of the odd shaped vada’s and only ate the cooked vada paste.
In the subsequent years, I perfected the art of making vada and made a lot, while living in Old Rajnagar.

During this period, my friends were staying in the village named Sehani. I made visits to see the life of my friends in this U.P village.
One fine morning, I went there by cycle. It was hot summer day though dry. I saw my friend washing his terline pants with VIM powder. I was shocked, that he was using VIM powder instead of a suitable detergent.

When I clarified, he told me his friends in the village had told him to do so, as VIM cleans everything. He could not do anything more except soak it in clean water and dry it.

After an hour or so, we saw this piece of clothe has become a rag without any shine at all. He nearly cried as the most expensive pants were no more.
I explained to him that, VIM is suitable for cleaning vessels / utensils which are used in cooking food. The tragedy was the person who told him to use it for washing the linen was also ignorant in this matter.

My uncle took me to the weekly market once in a while. He taught me how to count money in Hindi to deal with the vendors. The literature Hindi as it is, could not help me in the streets. He purchased a brand new Hercules Cycle for my regular movements within the city besides attending to work. The cost of this cycle at that time (1970) was Rs.260.00 only.

I used this cycle – I called it my TWO WHEELER – to the maximum advantage to me. This cycle, carried my wife, and daughter on its back and front respectively to hospitals and to neighbors places. It was stolen by my neighbor when living in Old Raj nagar. I knew the culprit but did not want to create hell for him. This fellow was also making illicit liquor and was caught red handed and was thrashed and sent to jail. I thought that he got what he deserved.

I purchased another cycle, but it never replaced my first one.

In Gandhi Nagar, the land lord retained all the news paper paid by my uncle. I started taking over from the time I started living there. Shamelessly, he asked me to leave it with him and take it after he finished reading it. But, I refused and took the paper directly from the vendor in the early hours of the day- everyday. I also fetched milk, from the neighborhood vendor who brought his buffalos twice a day.
While staying in Gandhi Nagar, I familiarized with most South Indian friends who were all some sort of Executives working for companies like Tata Oil Co, Hindustan lever, and some banks.

One day, I met one grocery shop keeper – Mr.Banarsi Lal Gupta- , who had just opened a small shop. He offered, South Indian items – like chips, pickles, coffee powder, etc; for which one has to go to Delhi in those days. He requested me to take him to all the south Indian families living there, for him to make a request to buy grocery from his shop.

I took him to all these people. They were very happy to avail his service as it saved them a trip to Delhi and the time involved. Gupta, became a house hold name and became a very well known vndor in Gandhi Nagar.

He always helped all of us in getting the scarcest item on any day. For example, he got us Kerosene during the war times around 70-72. Now his shop is the biggest one, in that area, and besides he had developed many more. Mr.Gupta is not around any more. His son Pappu is looking after the business – as I learned recently, from other friends living there.

Fulltime employment-III

Fulltime Employment- part 3

Working with Poysha was a great experience. No where in the world, any educational institute has the facility to put students for Industrial experience. The only place for such exposure is a full fledged Factory or any such outfit.

In my case too, I was thrown into the field of Maintenance engineering which excited me as I always wanted to correct things.( When I was in school, I serviced my grandpas’ table fan to make it perform silently etc;) The interesting aspect is, one keeps encountering new problems each day and seeking solutions like an expert. Such an exposure increases the confidence of the individual, besides making him not to give up easily and running away from problems.

Again, my bosses gave me full support and guidelines when I was challenged with problems in dealing and fixing an engineering problem. Maintenance related engineering problems are unique and need to be addressed carefully.

The technicians I had in my team were also of great talents, in this field. Most of them were far above my age, and I worked with them as one of them. They could not read an electrical drawing, but were experts in practical solutions. For instance, one of my electricians could assemble and properly wire a Star-Delta starter, but could not draw its circuit. Most of them learned their job on site, and became a sort of experts in Electrical Maintenance Engineering.

There were THREE electricians all with surname SHARMA – they were
1. Ghanshyam Datt Sharma – An expert in motor winding- from U.P
2. Kirorimal Sharma – An all rounder from Rajasthan
3. Chautmal Sharma – Electrical / Electronics technician also,from Rajasthan

I have great appreciation and respect for their talent and always stood by their side when necessary.

Like in every place, here too I had a very poor performer – an electrician by name V.P.Gulati. He was very good at singing and always there in any related function in town. He was a late comer to work, besides his performance was very bad even compared to the new entrant – Rajendar Diwakar despite being the most experienced technician- with over 20 years- as of 1970 !!
In the factory, there were rules, for reporting delay on normal failures and breakdowns.
During day time,
The duty technician will try to rectify the problem within the first 15 minutes.
Then the respective supervisor will be notified and the problem is expected to be solved, within a total of 30 minutes. If, again the delay prolongs, the HOD must be notified simultaneously along with Works Manager for VERY URGENT ACTION.
Then upon rectification of the fault and restoration of production, a report will be made in writing by the HOD-Electrical Maintenance addressed to the Works Manager. Most cases, the report is retained and discussed with Branch Manager during his visits (Twice weekly).

If the delay exceeds 2 hours and causing loss of revenue, the same will be notified to H.O in Bombay. Then all will be on the line explaining the delay and provide a definite schedule for avoiding repletion of such faults.
During Night time,
A vehicle was made standby for calling in HODs or senior supervisors for attending problems related to production lines and maintenance.
The rule was same here as well, except that the supervisor had to be called in by sending the vehicle (to the nearest person available).

When it came for Electrical maintenance problems, I was always called in as I was living very close to the factory- walk able distance of about 1000 yards.
There were only 3 or 4 such delays, during my entire career with Poysha, spanning a period 1970 – 1981.

Minor delays will be compensated by making up for the loss of production by working during lunch hours and reducing other activities. I can tell you, that Poysha during my years, had the best of staff that were dedicated and dutiful. We enjoyed our work and working relation among us.

I trained my new staff, Rajendar Diwakar (R.D) to handle night shift on his own. For this purpose, I nearly placed my head on the block but, my training to him well deserved and the fellow was very loyal and careful in his job. My boss –Mr.R.C.Shah- always cautioned me that I will loose my job if R.D fails in his duty and an inordinate delay causing loss of production took place.

I went to the factory in nights, by walk and made surprise inspections to confirm, everything was in line and no one is fooling me. I was allowed to carry out such duties by my boss and works manager. I attended my routines irrespective of my odd hour duties.

This practice made me to become a very trusted employee in the eyes of Management and security staff. Besides my regular work – of Electrical maintenance, I learned mechanical maintenance jobs and electromechanical jobs by working with technicians of these areas.
At one point, I worked with a diesel mechanic – Mr. Siddanthi who was specially hired to look after the three Diesel operated Generators.

Siddanthi was a very talkative person and it did not hinder his work – I mean he kept working while talking. He was much senior to me by age and was liked by all. He was an expert in his work and at times challenged the mechanics that came from Cummins factory in Pune. He always, found solutions for problems and solved them by himself, as calling an expert from the manufacturer could cost much more.

I learned something very startling to me till date. The best workmen always are very talkative by nature, and best managers are seldom talkative. If these two classes mingle, the result is a talkative manager but not a silent worker. So, it is best to see them as they are conventionally.

I also learned that no one is an idiot, but had limitations in some areas while are very bright in something else.
So, I had to be very careful working in between workmen and my managers. This opportunity gave me ample experience to deal with both parties without upsetting either of them.

This KEEPING A BALANCED RELATIONSHIP, with both parties, helped me to attend work while workmen and some junior managers went on strike. I had the support of both parties, who allowed me to attend work, as it did not come in their agitation.

I worked with all the rank and file staff, by helping them in their jobs and learning other jobs – such as servicing an industrial vacuum pump, a special gear box (Positively Variable Infinite gear boxes) and other mechanical devices. These gear boxes are sealed units meant for 10 years operation without maintenance – except changing oil when due as per the manufacturers instructions. When run dry, the seal used to give out smoke and it was a tricky affair to change the oil seal. Any misadventure could render the gear box redundant for ever.
I wrote to various manufacturers of many types of equipment used in CAN MAKING INDUSTRY and received updated information on maintenance. In some cases, I received replaceable components free of charge.

It was very difficult to find certain components within India, and also a special license was required to import them. All this involved H.O officials as I was not authorized to do anything of this nature.

So, my normal clarification with most of the manufacturers got me spares and literature. I solved many problems and only my boss was aware of my activities, as it helped smooth and less expensive maintenance.

I had enough useful leaflets and drawings related to all types of equipments related to CAN MAKING MACHINES / PANELS, and I gave the whole to my boss at the time of my leaving. My boss at the time of my leaving the factory was one Mr.K.Vivekanath Pai. (Addressed always as K.V.Pai) He was very surprised to see the content filed in date order and according to the equipment. He knew that I had some sort of literature but never realized the volume of it.

I learned that Mr.K.V.pay passed away in 2007. I shall tell you more about my workplace experience in my next chapter.

As I write about my experience, I shall also add some facts about my personal life as well in those years - Ghaziabad.

Full time Employment-II

Fulltime Employment- Part-2

I was among the new staff, joined in the first quarter of 1970.The others were:

K.R.Kutty General Stores
Madavan Nayak Tin sheet stores
Parthasarathy Administration

I was staying at Gandhi Nagar in 1970. This colony was 4 KM from the factory. I was not entitled for transport facility. So I was walking to factory or taking a cycle rickshaw to reach my place of work well before 9AM.

K.R.kutty and Madavan Nayak were staying in a village – Sihani by name- 2 KM from the factory. They also came to work the same was as I did. Their lad lord was one Mr.Thyagi (surname). He was an agriculturist and also maintained scores of buffalos for milk.
Thyagi, always milked the buffalos by 5AM in the morning. He made it a point to spare half a liter of milk for the use by my friends Kutty and Nayak.

On Sundays, I visited them and we spend the day cooking, eating and passing time by discussing familiar matters of the week. We never discussed politics or anything about individuals in the factory. Most of the time, we were wondering about our future in Ghaziabad as the conditions were not very bright. The only positive aspect of our employment was – we worked for a reputed company who paid wages at par with Tatas and Birlas then.

After few months at work, I was entrusted with weekly Maintenance jobs- to done on Sundays when the factory was closed for production.
Those who attended work were entitled for half days salary and a fully paid compensatory day off within that week. Maintenance and stores staff attended work on Sundays. So, we three (Kutty,Nayak and self) were always in the factory

Seeing my plight for attending to work, a fellow staff Mr.Anil spared his bi-cycle (He was entitled for factory transport) for me to use till I became eligible for transport.

My day off was always on a working day for others. It helped me in doing my jobs like going to Bank, Post office etc; I also visited Delhi on working days at times, though I could meet people only in their offices and not in their homes.

In my anxiety to learn everything, about Delhi, I made frequent visits covering many places and houses of relatives. I made myself familiar with the geographical conditions and bus routes (Delhi Transport Corporation) On public holidays, I could avail a concession bus ticket for Re.1 for traveling in all routes as many times as possible on that day. This encouraged me to discover many routes from Palam Airport to Shadhra.

On most Sundays, my uncle went to Delhi to meet his friends living in many parts of the city. He visited them on rotation, as it was very difficult to cover all places within the day.

On one Sunday, I went out to buy some vegetables from the nearby vendor. I went to the shop accompanied by another friend, who came for lunch on that day. On that particular day, my regular vendor’s shop was found closed. So, to find if any other shop was open in the neighborhood, I started enquiring with people having other shops in the same lane.

While walking, I accidentally touched a set up displayed along the street. This apparently, belonged to a sweet shop whose owner, also sold poori-baji regularly. Being a U.P Brahmin, he performed rituals before opening the shop or set his oven on fire.

The item I was holding was the brim of his large copper pot with about 50 liters of water. Seeing me holding that, he yelled at the top of his voice, abusing me and accusing me in local dialects of Hindi language. I did not understand a word, but realized something was wrong. Then my friend stepped in and clarified what was his problem with me. The owner yelled, and said that I have polluted his holy water, kept for pooja. He had already purified, and offered that water and was about to start the final ritual. My friend explained to him that I was new to the area and just came from madras and added that I too was Brahmin. On hearing this, the old man said that all madrasis are CHAMARS – meaning all persons from madras are the most backward people. After that he retired to his shop for replacing everything.

The greatest end result was that I became his regular customer in the following months, and at one point I clarified if any one had upset him some time ago, and narrated the incident. Believe me he could not recollect the incident, and could not recognize me either. He regretted that he spoke in haste which he should have avoided in the first place.
I often made it a point to say halo to him whenever I passed by his shop. Our friendship was a very good one. I shifted to (Raj Nagar) a far of colony close to my place of work, in the subsequent years and could not visit him as before. Many years later, I learned that he passed away.



To be continued ----------


Sivasubramaniam
09-09-09

Full time employment-Part I

Fulltime Employment – First One
Part-1
After attending my full time interview at M/s.Poysha Industrial Company, I went back to my house in Gandhi Nagar. I informed my uncle later in the day that I was selected and advised to join work as of 16-3-1970.

It was Monday, first day of the week, and 15 days to complete the financial year. (Financial Year in India is from FIRST of APRIL to 31st of the next year.

On the first day, I completed formalities related to my job and signed few documents after confirming all the previous submissions. The only document due then was my original appointment letter, which had gone for clearance from Regional General Manager located in New Delhi. This office was in the Nehru House close to Times of India Office and IBM HO.

I was taken thru’ various departments by my boss- Mr.R.C Shah- in-charge-Electrical Maintenance and production of two departments. His full name is ROHIT CHANDULAL SHAH.

My HINDI language proficiency was very poor as I was only familiar with TEXT BOOK HINDI, from exposure in school days. So, I interacted with everyone in English only, with a determination to learn the language to STREET level perfection.

To brief you of the factory set up, it was established in 1967 and was due for expansion. The business was MAKING METAL CANS AND CONTAINERS and the company was stiff competitor to Metal Box – an English company having a factory in Faridabad.

So, I was involved in the maintenance of related machinery / equipments such as – Metal Printing press, Slitters, Body makers, Eccentric presses, Seaming machines, full fledged Tool room and workshops. The expansion related electrical work was entrusted to me by the Management and there was a very good team of electricians employed for the same.

There was a general store, a fully stocked Printing Ink stores, and component stores besides a very large raw material (Tin coated metal sheets) stores.
Everything was set to operate under stringent legal conditions, and confined to strict local regulations, as well. This industry was under PRIORITY status as per the Rules of Central Government. Every document was stamped in RED on the envelope PRIORITY INDUSTRY by the Management.

I understood that this was necessary for easy clearance without abnormal delay by the local authorities concerned.

The team of electricians in the department was just enough to carry out all related jobs in the trade including electrical winding of motors. The Tool room catered for making DIES which was a very sensitive job with precision quality. The production departments needed very much the co-operation and skills contained in the Tool Room engineers and fitters.

There was a full fledged team of MECHANICAL maintenance engineers who were basically for looking after the Metal Printing machines and the industrial ovens under one HOD, while other mechanical maintenance jobs were carried out under my boss. There were other mechanics and fitters for taking care of jobs related to Eccentric Presses, Seamers, and locking machines.

There was another production line involving a long single machine, about 20 meters long – named LX-2 / LX-4 – as identified by the makers of these machines indicating the specification and size.

There was another machine where special cement was used to seal the joints. This was about 10 meters in length. Its name was RFBM – meaning Roll Form Body Maker.

I will explain the process which otherwise will make no sense of the foregoing narrations to strangers who have no exposure to CAN MAKING PROCESS.

Tin coated metal sheets were printed with the logo and descriptions of the item (that will be packed in them by their manufacturers), on outer side and lacquer on the inner side. The lacquer is a protective layer of preservative suitable for the content that will be packed in the container made by the sheet. The temperature for drying the lacquer was much higher and so this coating was given first and then the lithographic printing which required relatively low temperature for drying.

A special metal printing machine was used for lithographic work and a separate coating machine was used for lacquering. Both were in the same lines as the oven is common for drying the sheets with provision for temperature settings accordingly.

In another area, metal sheets were slit as per the size of the container to be made, without upsetting the printed information. Similarly, lids were punched out of metal strips. (Slit by special machines called slitters) Simultaneously; rings were made to suit the lids, and dried with sealants using separate ovens.

The seam machines were used in placing and seaming the ring with the lid. Here you should realize, that the container is already sealed on its top by the can manufacturer, while the user will fill the content from the actual bottom of the container and seal with a plain lid without ring.

The containers were also made of plain sheets with only food lacquer for packing juice by its producers. The sizes were set as per the volume of these containers. Apart from round cans, rectangular containers (1 liter and 5 liters) were also made for packing petroleum products.

The LX-2 and LX-4 machines are fully automated production lines where strips of printed sheets are fed which come out as finished containers at the end line. These machines have stages named; flexing, bending, edging, soldering, seaming and conveyers (on overhead and floor) which rolled them out.

The factory divisions were named by their activity / machinery involved. They were:

Automatic, Semi-automatic, Press, and Printing. Others were Tool room, dispatch and Production Planning Control departments. Purchase department was separate along with stores and accounts. The maintenance departments operated under separate HODs.

All these were under direct control of Works Manager who was stationed within the factory, while the Branch Manager, Controlled everything from New Delhi office. The Delhi office consisted of a fully fledged sales and marketing division and accounts department.

The climate was into summer or receding winter (I joined in March) and I learned the practical side of my engineering qualification.
Within few days, it was Holi – festival of colors. Fortunately, I was not tortured with colors. Over the next years, I noticed that not a single Holi festival ends in peace as there were disputes due to sprinkling of items other than safe color powder which were hard to be removed from the face and body.

The climate played a very important role on performance of equipment. Winter season was free of major breakdowns while
Summer made every one to sweat in maintaining the frequently failing machinery. I opted to work for any number of hours as I have to learn a lot about maintaining the electrical side of all those sophisticated machines. About 80% of the equipment was imported – from USA and Europe. The collaboration was with American Can Company.

There were three Forklifts – one number 2 Ton, operated with diesel while the other two were 1 Ton each operated by traction batteries.
In many areas of work, I was given training in the area of their maintenance which included these Electric fork lifts as well.

My boss – Mr. Shah gave me full freedom in learning and executing my work without any hindrance. Like every new employee I too was exposed to workplace politics at the hands of rank and file staff and at times of HODs.
But, the whole scene changed as I learned more and more of my work and I was everywhere in my job. The biggest privilege was accessing the office of Managers (I mean the Works Manager and Branch Manager) without even knocking the door.

Of few incidents, I have to mention some here, for the sake of its fun and importance. Within few days of joining I was handling all the department activities over seen by Mr.Shah.

I had an electrician by name Singh. (I’m not mentioning his full name for the sake of protection) He was a regular late comer to work. I warned him twice. Every action I represented was promptly conveyed to both my HOD and Administrative Manager, for their information.

Again he came late by a longer delay. I did not allow him to attend work and directed him to personnel department. Simultaneously, I informed by boss as well. My boss came to the department and asked Mr.Singh to leave immediately



You know what happened, he removed all his dress and stood naked for a while, shouting at us in Hindi. The security officer also came running to apprehend Singh, but quickly Singh picked up his boiler suit and ran away jumping through the window there. I never saw until after six months when he came apologizing for all his unholy acts and begged us to reinstate him at work. He was politely shown the Exit. The exit of Singh, created a vacancy for a trainee technician.

Once again, it was me again, to recruit a suitable replacement, so that work does not suffer. By this time, my Hindi language proficiency was improved to more than the street level and I was fully prepared to find a suitable person.

As I mentioned, my electrical technicians were of the best in the trade and very reliable in their jobs. One of them – G.D.Sharma recommended a person by name Rajender Diwakar for the position of Trainee Technician.

I made myself clear to all that indiscipline and incompetence will not be tolerated under any circumstances. I reiterated that assistance and support in doing all jobs will be provided more than necessary but one has to learn with maximum effort.

So, after a long chat and tour of the factory, I decided to recruit this young man – RAJENDER DIWAKAR to fill the position of Trainee technician. R.D is son of a tube well operator in Ghaziabad. He learned the tricks of the trade from his father and neighborhood wiremen. G.D.Sharma’s father was also a line man and a friend of R.D’s father.

I had resistance from the union leader( named NCP) who objected to the recruitment of R.D, and wanted me to take some one recommended by him (the union leader) I flatly refused and told him that I’m responsible for the work done in my department and hence will choose accordingly. Finally, the union leader departed with a smile and became very friendly in the later years (till he was shot dead on 4-1-1981 by some unidentified person)

I loved my job, and stayed at work place for prolonged hours and everyone knew of my nature and working knowledge. There was no one till the last of work who complained of me to any one. I learned a lot in my work place by indulging in all maintenance jobs – irrespective of its nature- electrical, mechanical or both. I worked with technicians to learn my new jobs and they liked my participation. I was always the first one to arrive in my place of work and last one to leave. The head watchman at times asked me if I was staying in the factory guest house as he was seeing me almost at all times. In fact I stayed in the guest house on one occasion.

When I joined Poysha Industrial Company, there were only one each of metal printing press and LX-4.

A second machine – LX-4 was on order to arrive in summer of 1970, from West Germany. The machine arrived but its control panel was soaked in sea water and was beyond any use. The supplier M/s.Krupp Industries West Germany- agreed to air-lift a brand new panel immediately, as the damage was covered under insurance.

By the time the panel arrived, my boss went on his annual leave. The Works Manager- Mr.P.V.Shah- called me for a meeting along with the production Manager. It was decided to go ahead with the installation and commissioning of this new LX-4 machine immediately. I felt very happy as I had the experience of installing transformers and other machines in the previous year though for a short duration.

Please note that Mr.P.V.Shah is a man of extraordinary exposure to CAN INDUSTRY and was a very decent and approachable person for all. He always came to work – 7A.M, from Defence colony in Delhi to factory in Ghaziabad. He assured me and my team of every support in carrying out our job being done for the first time.

I was entrusted with calculation for cables – size and quantity- needed for installing this machine without any difficulty. The purchase Manager- Mr.Madan Lal was very helpful in getting all necessary material for this tough job without delay. For example, it was difficult to get some cable glands initially. Cable was from Siemens. We all worked day in and day out.

The machine was commissioned, just on the day my boss resumed duty after vacation and, he was very pleased of my performance. He said, he was worried if everything will be done properly as we (me and my team) never installed a machine like this. As practiced, the machine was inaugurated / commissioned by one Pooran Singh – token no.1- (meaning the first employee who joined the factory in 1967). Small pooja with breaking of coconuts was performed and we celebrated the occasion. Sweet – in the form of laddu was shared by all.


The following staff was working in the company at the time of my joining duty.

M/s.
T.S.Bhat Branch Manager – worked from NewDelhi
P.V.Shah Works Manager
U.P Nayak HOD – Automatic- Body Makers
Govindan HOD- Semi-Automatic
B.C.Das HOD - PPC
K.M.Das HOD- Admin and Personnel
Lasrado HOD -Tool Room and Press
A.K.Sood HOD - Printing
R.C.Shah HOD - Electrical Maintenance / Production
K.C.Mandal HOD - Printing Maintenance
Mannan HOD – All Stores
Madan Lal HOD - Purchase
Capt.B.Das Chief of Security



I will write more about my employment, with M/s.Poysha Industrial Company in Ghaziabad, in the next part.


V.Sivasubramaniam
09-09-09

Truth about people / Things

Truth about some People/ Things we come across.


It was an after noon; in the year 1967.I was sitting with some of my college mates, in the local park, where we assembled once in a while to exchange views on various subjects we studied in the libraries till that date.

The libraries – I mean both situated in our college and the one close to the park. In both places, we could read almost all periodicals published from all over the world.

Usually, one of us will fetch some eatable – like salted ground nut without shell, or puffed rice or soft nuts depending what is available cheaply and more in quantity.

Some days, if it was beginning of the month, then we could buy samosa, vada or some heavier stuff, as the economical condition of the pocket was better.

On this particular, day, we decided to discuss about special people in general, and how they are useful in our society. We spoke of Writers, Vendors, Teachers, cobblers, cooks, beggars, blind men, petty thieves, and street vendors, traveling sales men who do a kill with passengers in any train and make the best of the weakness and greed of the passengers.

When my turn came, I spoke of a different type of people altogether. Most of the time, my fellow mates expected me to be special in any contribution as they always believed that I’m a widely read person.

So, I spoke of two calibers of people, who are totally on the opposite sides of the society. I learned this information, from elderly people in the family who are a kind of wise men.

ONE:

The most un-reliable people whom one cannot trust:

Priest / Pundit: This kind will do anything in the name of God, to convince you and extract maximum benefit out of you. They will literally threat you of so many evil and demon which will take over you unless you perform as per the priest’s recommendation.
Broker: This type is a very shrewd one, and will always talk good of the other side while trying to sell your land, house or find a match for your ward. He will also gain maximum from both sides while cheating the other very sweetly. For example, if you are desperately trying to sell a piece of land,

The broker will say, that your land is out of the way, not close to any bus stand, and has no proper road etc;

But will talk the opposite way to the intended buyer like, you are very fortunate that the development in this area is slow but will pick up fast and the price of this land will be up many folds, a tarmac is being laid before the next bi- election, the man wouldn’t ordinarily sell this land, but is in dire need for money, so please take this opportunity and let me strike a deal for you and you won’t get another chance.

Same way, if you are trying to find a groom for your daughter, the broker would say, he has got the best match in town, even though the girl does not deserve such a case, boy is very well settled, has lot of business connections land etc;
To the boy’s party he would say the girl is a very lucky one as per her horoscope, will be an angel to the boys party if welcomed as daughter-in-law, many families are also trying to take her as their daughter in-law, but, I spoke very high of you and still suggest that you let your son meet this prospective girl without any second thoughts.

The next type is a Prostitute, whose only job is to sell her body / rather rent her body for a night and get maximum income out of her customer. If the fellow happens to be rich, she will cheat the customer to his skin and retain him till fully fleeced and will ditch him and switch to another better or similar one.

She will tell stories to get sympathy of the customer, blame her family members for screwing her life, accuse her ex-husband who sold her without her knowledge, which forced her into this noble profession of pleasing men. She would pretend, like she never had any gold or silver ornaments. She would say whatever she inherited were retained by her in-laws while being thrown out.

Having used to live by the oldest profession in the world, she will be friendly with people with power and authority. She will make use of them to get away from her evil performances and to protect herself from would be trouble makers out of her past customers.

TWO

Here, there are people / things who are selfless and God fearing while performing their work / duty. These people are never tired of their service which gets repeated several times in their life time and are happy with menial benefits received for such a noble service.

In this analogy, one is human and two are devices and one is a natural product.

Teacher: A teacher is a selfless and very much a devoted person, in imparting knowledge to students and enjoys their progress out of his sincerity.
A teacher enjoys conveying life’s truth to students, preparing them for the challenged future ahead, and the necessity to tackle them.

He lives entirely on his hard earned income, with contention of his need without ever exceeding the limit or wanting more and more of anything.

Above all, he is stationary in his level, while the students go further up and attain higher qualifications and occupy far higher positions in life. The teacher is again very happy to see as many of his students attaining such levels. His ambition gets hardened and a near vow is taken by him in maintaining a stream of intellectuals in his career as a simple and humble teacher. Among many teachings of reputed teachers, there are two simple cautionary words of wisdom is always linger in my thoughts.

a. Heavier the head, severe is the injury.
b. Higher the level greater is the fall.

We all can understand the guidelines within these statements.

Boat:

A boat is always in the water and on either side of the shore, waiting to transport people from one bank of the river to the other. While people come and goes, (majority being non-returnees,) the boat is in water only- except when needing a repair on shore. Boat is a selfless device or a means of transport and remains so for more than a life time.
Its life is entirely for sacrificing for the benefit of others, while it is seldom recognized, by the users.
Ladder:

A ladder is again a selfless means of inter-connecting piece of device, linking two levels – mostly top to bottom in a place – a house, shop, temple, construction site, or the trunk of a tree.

A ladder, if at all given a location, it is always under or along the lover level of the floor only. A ladder serves its duty by allowing stepping over it and reach the higher level while it stand in one place only.

It probably gets beaten up at times in the name of repairs / mending , and when its life is almost over, it is used as fire wood without any decent ceremony.

Bitter Lemon- Citrus fruit (Large with thick skin)

Bitter lemon is dried with salt and used as home remedy for indigestion. Large loaves of it are dried with salt, repeatedly under the sun. In this process, the loaves turn into small black rings with salt appearing over its skin.

The beauty of it is something never explained. It digests everything, but our stomach cannot digest it. The piece comes out as it is.

So, in all the above four subjects, non changes its state, remains dedicated and dies as it is.

The simple truth is one has to be truthful, loyal, honest and devoted to our duties without expecting any rewards.

I learned a lot more for balancing of my life, so that it remains contented, and free of trouble to others.

My fellow classmates too enjoyed group discussions and we aways shared our knowledge for the benefit of each one in particular and society in general.

V.Sivasubramaniam
26-09-2009

Deepavali / and My Mother

Importance of being my Mother
Remembering her on this Deepavali Day

Deepavali comes but once in a year. I’m not a very religious person when it comes to celebrating any festival. I did not know of significance of a festival except there is a possibility of getting a new dress and plenty of special items to eat – sumptuously.

I can remember my first Deepavali in the year 1962. We did not celebrate the festival in 1961, as we lost my maternal grandfather in that year. I cannot remember previous deepavali celebrations ever.

Deepavali was in October in 1962. Traditionally, we get up, at 4.30 AM on that day, take oil bath in hot water, take some idyllis and sweets and try to set fire crackers, and walk away with friends in the neighborhood, boasting about our dresses, capability in getting volumes of crackers.

(My mother prepares idyllis, mysorepak, and ribbon pakoda , besides mixer. We children only helped in consuming these items)

On this Deepavali Day, we were up by 4.30 AM and taking oil bath one by one. I took my turn first as I wanted to be in the lead. During this time, I heard music – natha swaram by a group of musicians in the street. There were a team of musicians who, took a tour of the area and played special music in every house in the early hours. This is known as MANGALA ISAI.

Those who had radio could also listen to the name in the radio station – Madras-2. I think they still broadcast this music even in these years.

When the musicians came to our house as well, I let them in, and they played music appropriate to Deepavali. It was only for few minutes. Suddenly my father came shouting and yelling at them not to play music in our house and asked them to leave. Hearing the noisy situation, my mother came running, with a plate with betel leaves, bananas, and a silver coin of FOUR ANNAS. Quickly I grabbed it and gave the same to the person appeared to be their leader.

This incident damaged the atmosphere of my first Deepavali. My father quarreled with my mother and did not take breakfast, till very late in the morning. In the meantime, I left the house and walked around the various neighborhoods, in the middle of the noise caused by fire crackers and bright lights produced by such crackers with and without noise. Some were creating deafening noise as people were setting fire to Atom Bombs.

My brothers and sisters were too small to understand the situation. I met my friend Ram Mohan whose father was working at the Tiruppattur municipality. He was in the same boat as me when it came to financial conditions. He had elder sisters and brothers while I was the eldest in my family.

Ram told me that he is happy by seeing others celebrating the festival and has no complaints. He also came around and we jointly visited few of our friends around. In some houses we got sweets as they were wealthier than us and had no problems in sparing sweets. My friends from affluent families came with us with crackers and we went to the nearby ground and set fire to all the fire crackers. I remember very clearly the time I came home by 9.30 AM. My mother scolded me for not being there with my brothers and sisters.

We played around till lunch and we tried to forget the morning incident, but it was haunting us. My sister told me that why our parents could not buy any basic lighting items if not fire crackers. In the after noon, my mother gave me TWO RUPEES and asked me to buy some color matches, needle crackers and long stick like lightening rods which made noise when lit.

So, we regained our happiness and my sisters asked me to buy as much items as possible for use in the night. I over ruled their demand and agreed to do so with major share of the items. I went out to buy some items. Since Deepavali was already over, I could get extra items within the amount of TWO rupees.

My father was normal towards the evening and joined us in bursting the needle crackers, as we feared the thicker ones which father said to be dangerous. So, my father tied the needle cracker at the end of his walking stick and I set fire to it. Soon it was set on fire, my father moved it away from us and the cracker went up in smoke with noise and bright light.

We had dinner – dosa (pan cake) and small quantity of sweets. There were new sweets and I learned that were from neighbors, who shared our home made sweets as well. My mother cautioned us not to consume too much as we could end up with stomach problems. She normally gave us some kind of choornam / paste made of some Ayurvedic ingredients, which protected our stomachs from getting worse, as we needed to eat and consume all the items within the next few days as chances of getting the again was dim.

It was quiet after dinner except for some occasional cracker noise from outside. My brothers and sisters were busy talking about the day, spoke about their new dress which they showed to friends earlier in the day – as I was out. They asked mother to consider buying better dresses for the next deepavali.

Some how, my mother gave a kind of satisfactory reply, to my brothers and sisters. Then they all went to bed. Going to bed was not like getting into individual rooms like these days, but to the hall with common beds for all, spread from end to end of the hall, leaving a small passage to the main entrance on one side and, kitchen on the other.. I was not in a mood to sleep, as the morning incident was haunting me repeatedly.

My mother too was upset and she called me to the small veranda at the entrance of the house. There were no chairs or cushions there. There was a gunny bag which served as the doormat and I sat on it while my mother was on the floor. There was no new sari for my mother; she wore one that was seldom used (on wedding days once in a blue moon). We had possibly the cheapest dress material which was stitched to become a shirt or pairs of half pants. Some of her ornaments were pledged for meeting school fees (One sovereign was sold at Rs.150 in that year). My mother nearly broke down as she narrated these situations, and , about the unpleasant event that took place in the early hours of the day. Here is what my mother told me on that day:

“The root cause for this incident was lack of money to even observe a festival, let alone celebrate in a grand manner. Your father has to remit some money to his parents who are also like us. Your grand father is a retired teacher with a poor pension, and your father being the eldest son, must help him as much as possible. But your grandfather is not insisting his other sons to support him so that the responsibly is spread equally to all. You are our eldest son, elder to all your brothers and sisters who are still very young and cannot understand matters related to money and the lack of it in our family. Your father earns about Rs.300 a month, has to meet all expenses including the house rent of Rs.40, besides electrical bill of Rs12 PM, spare at least Rs.50 for your grandfather, buy monthly ration, meet school fees for you all and there is not much left for festival or related expenses. Now, we are supported by your uncles – my brothers - who also are in the same conditions but not married yet. We cannot expect them to provide life long support or expect them to look after our needs at all times. You are our only hope, you should study well; become an earning member as fast as possible, so that we will be in an improved status of our financial condition. I promised my mother,( on that day) that I will study well, look after every one in the family, make enough money so that we will not take money from others but give to others as soon as possible. I will make sure, that we all will study well, become better than any one from both sides of our relatives, and do everything to achieve this status.

To-day on this Deepavali day, I’m happy that I accomplished what I promised to my mother. Spent a lions’ share of my hard earned income for the benefit of all my brothers, sisters, in-laws and of course parents as well. All the pledged ornaments were retrieved, new ones made, all sisters given education, got them, married; saw them living better than myself. I hardly had a cycle in the age by which my brothers and sisters purchased own cars and send children to the best schools and challenged each other including me and forgot me in the end. It is nice to experience such a status in life, as I no longer need to worry about them, and can give them freedom to upset me or abuse me under the heap of their wealth as they no longer can look back thru the thorny path they walked from. I do so as I love to remember my past and thank GOD for supporting me.
With these thoughts, I’m going to get a treat at the hands of my children, who wanted me and my wife to accept it as their humble gesture towards us – some time in December this year.
My mother would have celebrated her SATHABISHEGAM in the same month, had she not died in 2006.

As remembered on 14-10-2009

Visit to Vaisnav Devi Temple

Visit to the shrine of Vaishnava Devi

I was on my day off from work on Sunday the 21st of April 1974. Ever since I came to Ghaziabad in 1969, I was visiting Haridwar and Rishikesh every summer.

This year I wanted go to a different place for a change. I heard about many places around this region, and wondered which could be economical for travel with an equally cheaper accommodation.

As I was thinking on these lines, I came across the latest issue of The Illustrated weekly of India, with picture of Vaishnava Devi route on its cover page with a caption. The very first sight of this picture triggered an instant desire to go there without wasting any more time.

An yearly trip to Haridwar and Rishikesh was well within my budget- covering - return bus fare, accommodation for three nights and meals at chotiwala restaurant- at Rishikesh, (while I had free food at the AYYAPPA TEMPLE in Haridwar and all it needed was a fair donation to the temple.)- all for Rs.100.00 maximum, besides collecting few pots of crystal clear Ganges water, to be taken home to my native place in Kerala, for giving to people who could not venture to these holy places.

So, Vaishnava Devi trip needed at least three to four times my yearly budget to cover the trip. Having decided to go to J&K for a full circle, I started calculating the various costs involved. I know that my regular monthly remittance to my parents cannot suffer under any condition, no matter what else I do in my routines.

I wanted to find out all relevant information by myself and go for this trip. Leave was not a problem as I already applied for 15 days for a brief holiday cum rest in April 74.

As a first step, I read the whole article in the weekly, and noted all valid points. The guidelines simply mentioned about the buses plying from ISBT,- Delhi and ,Trains leaving from New Delhi, places of interest in Jammu including the temple of Lord Shri Ram etc;

I requested my boss on the next day- 22-4-74 and explained everything to him and requested for a day off on 27-4-74. He agreed and thanked me for letting him know in advance.

As I was counting days towards the end of the month, had no money and so, I borrowed, Rs.100 from my uncle. On the early morning of 27-4-74, I left for Kashmiri gate interstate bus terminal in Delhi. (ISBT)

I could have traveled by train, but my choice was always a deluxe bus as it had seats like those in aircrafts and very comfortable. I went to the counter and requested for a ticket to Jammu. I could get a reservation for 29-4-74, and there were no tickets for the next few days. So, I decided to go for it and purchased it for Rs.33.15 – 15 paisa for reservation and Rs. 33 for the actual ticket.

I also procured a hat for Rs.5.50 – as it was suggested to have one while traveling in the cooler places of Kashmir. (Later I had to spare Rs.10, for my brother for some urgent expenses.)

After booking my ticket, I consulted few people who were also going to Jammu but not along with me on 29-4-74. One of them appeared to be a veteran who had been to the shrine many times in the past few years. I addressed him as Dadaji as I did not want to address him as Mr.Singh as there were so many Sikh gentlemen there.

He told me of the safety precautions needed to be taken while climbing uphill, and advised me to hire all relevant items from the base shop in Katara- from where the actual journey begins. He asked me to carry enough woolen clothing besides a heavy cap. I showed him the hat I purchased and he nodded his head in affirmative.

He suggested that I should take this opportunity to visit Kashmir as well. He suddenly became very happy and told me of the location in Pahalgam where the film Bobby was shot and he was very proud to be there as one of few spectators then. He gave me a budget figure of Rs.350.00, this sounded very high for me in those days.

I thanked him and came back to Ghaziabad as I had to get my leave sanctioned from next day, for 15 days.

I went to the factory, and applied for leave and got clearance immediately. I told my fellow staff about my forthcoming trip, and each one wanted something from there. One wanted PRASAD from Matha vaishnava Devi, and others, fresh apples from Kashmir. They mentioned walnut which is offered to Devi.


I worked till late night and came home by midnight only.

I had a problem. The bus to Jammu was scheduled to leave at 5.30 AM sharp on 29-4-74. My uncle advised me to stay with any of the family friends in Delhi preferably closer to ISBT.

I wanted to travel very light despite being told of about the harsh / cold conditions in J&K region. I packed one heavy blanket, sweater, two full sleeve shirts, two pairs of pants, inner clothing, shaving set and toiletries a padlock with two keys, and a towel. People usually carried a pad lock of their own to lock their rooms in strange places.My uncle gave me a large size NIVEA cream for application while in colder areas. I also carried with me an empty bag to bring in any stuff from J&K

The next day – on 28-4-74, I went to one Mr.Pazayannoor mama who was living close to ISBT. He enquired about the reason for my sudden rush to Vaishnava Devi Shrine, and I told him that I had a dream to make a visit without any delay. He laughed at me, but could not say much on my answer.

I got up very early on 29-4-74, and completed all my morning routines. I had coffee offered and bade good-bye to them, and rushed to ISBT to catch the Deluxe bus to Jammu.I was early to catch the bus. So, decided to kill the time by reading a news paper – Hindustan Times for 25 paisa.

All passengers were arrived promptly, probably were first timers and excited to visit the shrine. The bus left ion time. The seats were fastened to the chassis firmly and so, there was little vibration though the bus was on full throttle. As we traveled, could see beautiful landscapes on either side and wondered if I was in India. The breeze kept the cool inside the coach, and most passengers were covering themselves with a light shawl and a head gear.

Travel always, increases the appetite of any person even if he or she is a sick one. I could feel my stomach making gestures demanding some stuff to be pushed thru’ my mouth. I saw some people asking the conductor in whispering voice about the stop-over for breakfast- they don’t want others to know of their anxiety for food and want to cover the starving gesture on the face.

The bus finally came to a halt somewhere on the road, and the conductor announced gracefully FIFTEEN minutes for breakfast. Literally every one rushed out and jumped to the closest chair taking one or two on the sides for their friends / relatives. Though I was very hungry, I did not want to rush for food, as I felt ashamed to be greedy for it. So, I went to the available counter and ordered poori baaji and coffee. I got chana instead of potato baaji. I consumed enough to hold myself till lunch time. The coffee was a kind of sweetened brown water. Most people consumed tea only and enjoyed it. So, I decided to go for tea during the remainder part of the trip.
I paid Rs.3.50 for this not so sumptuous food.

There were fruit shops around, and many passengers were purchasing something or the other to keep off hunger till the next meal. I purchased a kilo of oranges for Rs.2 only. I felt this was costly but not costlier compared to shops in Karol Bagh – Delhi.

I kept consuming oranges one by one as we traveled further. I had to do it, for I do not want to rush for the next meal, and also had no carry bag to retain the oranges for long. The conductor was explaining about the neighborhood and informed that the bus will reach Jammu precisely at 5PM. The climate was cool with bright sun. There was Greenery around.

I was falling asleep, but at the same time thinking about my room, home in South India, possible appearance of Devi – as most of the south Indian Goddesses were different in attire and appearance depending which part they were worshipped.

I remember seeing the faces of Devis- Mariamman / Kali Amman all having faces resembling to some of the actresses who took to their roles in films. In fact, my friends always visited the local temples during public celebrations of special days, where many canvases were displayed Devis with faces as I mentioned above. So, I imagined all sorts of designs of faces of Matha Vaishnava Devi, including that of my mother who at times was unbearable and furious.

Suddenly, I heard people rushing out- again for some food. I was having a full stomach and felt not so hungry. Then I decided to taste some samosa with hot tea. Punjabi samosa is very famous and is of fairly big in size. I also procured some fruits for offering in the temple at Jammu. In all I paid Rs.1.55.

We passed thru’ Sonepat, Panipat, Karnal, Kurukshethra, Ambala, Ludhiana,Jalandar and Ludhiana.

We arrived at the bus stop at 5PM. I had no difficulty in reaching the INN which was very close by.

I went to the INN and approached the INN-keeper for a room. I was given a very large hall. I enquired about this, I was told a large group had just cancelled the booking and the whole place was available.

I paid an advance of Rs.10.00 for the room. After completing a mini bath, I locked the room with my own padlock and left for the temple with the fruits I procured for offering to Lord Rama. Actually the accommodation was by Jammu government and available free of charge. My payment was actually a kind of deposit for safekeeping my belongings.

The temple was of North Indian Architecture and quite different from temples in South. Looked around and the place was quiet as there were only few people around. I quickly gave the fruits to a person appeared to be the priest. I requested him to conduct a formal pooja and give away the fruits to poor people around. I paid 25 paisa for this holy act.

Then, I went into a close by restaurant. This was a turning point in my tour. The restaurant was crowded and still, there were special space for family or group of people. While I was trying to find my way to such private place, an elderly gentle man introduced himself and enquired if I can join him for dinner upstairs. I learnt that he was a retired director of J&K tourism and was on a visit to Jammu from Kashmir.

While waiting for dinner, we spoke of many things needing improvement in the Tourism sector. He told me that he had give a very vast proposals and suggestions before his retirement – like proper care of pilgrims at the Temple side of Matha Vaishnava Devi.
He was returning to Srinagar on the First of May and offered a seat in the same bus. He told me that the state Capital workforce relocated their offices twice a year-Srinagar being Summer capital and Jammu for winter. He also, gave me a reference of a tourist operator for me to meet the next day and go round for a tour of Jammu.

He asked me to meet him at the Jammu bus-stop by 11AMon 1-5-74. He offered to pay for my dinner and I declined it politely. I paid Rs.1.50 for my dinner and left.

I went to my room and retired for the day, once again thinking about the events of the day.



I woke up the next day – Tuesday the 30th of April. I got up early, completed all my routines, and went to meet the tour operator. He saw the note by the Ex-Director of Tourism and straight away added me to his entourage leaving at 8AM.

He did not take any charges for the tour. We went to the Amar mahal Palace and many temples, and forts around Jammu -Including art galleries. During the break, I clarified with the tour guide in the bus, what is the best way to have a quick Darshan of Vaishnava Devi. He told me to go to Katra in the evening and leave for the shrine at 6 AM in the morning. He told me that it is possible to come back to the base by 10AM.

The tour was over well before 5 in the evening and I came to my room, vacated after a quick shower. Then I left for Katara and reached there by 7PM. Here also, the room was spacious and clean. I met a guide who was available just opposite to my accommodation. In fact, all the help was there in the form of shops with guides.

One could get human carriers for sick and aged people who cannot walk on their own, pony for carrying old but healthy people and material for other people- such as rope, canvas shoes, walking stick, shawl etc; I booked for a pair of canvas shoes – as I had only leather shoes. I had to procure a soap and snow. I did not want to consume the entire box of expensive Nivea – made in West Germany.

On the first of May, 1974, I was standing at the entrance of one of the base camp shops at 5.30 AM.I had breakfast for Re.1.00 and hired the items for my climbing expedition.

One has to believe that I did not feel tired of my running up-down, but was getting stronger by every minute. I was at the entrance of the shrine by 8 in the morning. I was asked to have a dip or at-least sprinkling of water from the fountain at the entrance of the temple. Then I went inside the cave bare footed, and could see star like lights all around and above me. The priests – I think there were three of them in all, forced me to leave fast, but I just sat down and refused to leave. There were hardly any rush and I kept looking all over the place.
Then one of the poojaris, asked me to offer something and put it on the plate he directed. I had items for pooja, procured from the base camp for Rs.3.00 and gave it to him. He then asked me to donate some money for poor people. I refused telling that I too am a poor person and will only share food with equally poor people. The funniest part is, the few people around me were also watching and agreeing with a smile.

Then the Head priest – who introduced himself so, asked me to finish my darshan and go quickly. This gave me a second chance to see the interior of the cave.

The whole worship was over in minutes and I came out very happily. Took breakfast and gave away food – Chapattis only- to few poor people who were on the way back to Katara. (Cost 5 Rs. only)

Coming down was very easy, as it was down trend. I was thirsty and consumed juices to the value of Re.1.50.

I was at the base camp at 10 AM. I took a bus to Jammu for catching my transport to Srinagar – deadline of 11 AM approaching fast. Buses to Srinagar were not allowed to leave after 11 AM for safety reasons as the entire road was contour and with many hairpin bends.

I was in the Jammu bus-stop precisely at 10.55 and met the gentle man who was waiting for my arrival, as I have not paid for the ticket.
The bus was not full, had few more seats left but I was the last person to board for Srinagar.I paid the fare of Rs.17.50 to the conductor who gave me a ticket in return.

The trip was very pleasant, and the coldness of the breeze intensified as we approached Srinagar. My Ex- director friend bade farewell to me at the Srinagar bus-stop. e recommended one Gujarat Bahwan – a totally vegetarian hotel and lodge in the middle of the market place ( lal Chowk). The city was quiet in the evening and those who were walking were fully covered with shawls / blanket.

I enquired about the Gujarati Bahwan and went there. There was a person by name Moorthy. He told me that the lodge is totally vacant, as all the trains were cancelled due to some strike. This lodge was always booked by agents for people arriving from southern part of India including Bombay.

The facilities were very good for the value of money I paid only Rs.10 as advance rent. Moorthy told me that t5his lodge belonged to a minister who wanted all visitors be taken care and given a good impression about Srinagar.

I had the best Gujarathi food that night, and was very happy about the VIP treatment I had there and thanked the railways for canceling all trains to Jammu.

I woke up very early in the morning – 2nd of May 74,– 5.30 AM. Hot water was kept in a very large container almost the size of a 200 liter drum. I found it to be at near boiling point and called Moorthy and accused him of trying to evaporate me. He very coolly said, please don’t waste your time, just take your bath and other needs or else, the very same water will be changing to near freezing point in few minutes.

I used the water for all my routine and believe me what Moorthy said was true and I could feel the hot water turning into cold water faster than I thought. I had breakfast again, I insisted for chapattis / pooris or kachoris with hot tea – as many cups as I could get.

Moorthy guided me to the bus stop from where I could get buses to various parts of Srinagar. I took a bus to Dal lake. / Chasmasahi gardens etc;

I was alone shouting and making all sorts of joyful expressions from the middle of the garden. The garden was so large; no one could have heard me at all. There were apple trees behind the garden. The apples were just getting the shape of lemon, and too early for consumption. I asked the gardener if I can get good Kashmiri apples else where. He gave me the location in the market.

I walked a lot and consumed plenty of fragrant Kashmir tea by cups of larger size.

In the evening, as I got down near the city – with an intention of seeing the surroundings, I came across one Mr.Sharif – an exporter of Kashmiri handicrafts. He was a fair young person, well behaved and very decent. He was looking for an associate, who was to come by one of those cancelled trains.

When he realized, the cause, he was very disappointed and felt very sad. He asked me if I can join him to see a movie named GET CARTER. In Srinagar, cinemas have only one show in the evening – 7P.M. so, we went for the movie. During the intermission, we spoke of mutual matters of interest. He was surprised that I’m a Brahmin from South and did not attach my surname – Iyer to my name. I told him the same explanation to him as well. - That I want to be a Brahmin by good manners and not having a surname and practice everything odd.

The picture was over before 9PM, and Sharif offered me a drink followed by dinner. Since he knew by now that I’m a vegetarian, he took me to a bar and then to a place where I could get only chapattis.

I joined him for a quick sip of whisky- about two pegs in all, with some salted nuts. Then we had our dinner. He gave me his address in Delhi and we bade farewell to each other and departed to our own places.

I reached my Hotel, and Moorthy was waiting to see me and already made dinner. He told that I was the only guest in the Hotel and he made everything special for me. So, I had dinner with him

Moorthy reminded me of the routines for the next day morning and asked me to be cautious on hot water from getting it colder. Moorthi offered me help min booking my ticket back to Jammu and I agreed for it.

One more day was over and it was 3rd of May 74. I wanted to see the Dal lake area again as I could not cover it the previous day. I went to a different location of the lake. The lake was far cleaner and there were several shikaras for hire.
I got into one of the big ones nearby. The owner wanted me to take me for a ride. I was not in a mood to go for one. I gave his son Re.1 for any necessary expenses.

I had rice for lunch – Dal and Kashmiri Vegetarian pulav. I returned by evening and this time, no other engagements.

My dinner at the Hotel was ready. Moorthy had booked for me to leave for Jammu on 6th May 74.

I had, two more days and decided to visit, Pahalgam and then Sona Marg and Gulmarg.

I went to Sona Marg on the next day- 4th of May 74. The place was in full snow, and I could not bear the cold there. I kept consuming hot tea and chapattis. There are no words available in any dictionary to describe the beauty of the valley of Kashmir. I could not go for skewing, but could enjoy the beauty of the whole place. I came to my hotel room and had food.

Moorthy, some how saw my NIVEA cream tin and asked me if I can spare it for him. In return, he offered to waive the food cost and rent for two days. He explained that he needed such a cream as he had to stay during the up-coming winter. I found the offer very attractive as I was draining my pocket faster than planned. So my boarding and lodging was literally free.

On Sunday the 5th of May I went to Pahalgam, and spent the whole day there. I visited the place where shooting for film BOBBY took place. I also took a photo using the services of a tourist photographer, I were advised to collect it from their studio in Srinagar the next day. I paid Rs.40.00 for six copies. Two of them were to be hand colored.

Here is a wonderful experience. In Pahalgam, as I was walking around the open area beautified by nature, few people were posing a challenge to others. There was a stream of water passing in front of us. The width was about THREE METERS. All one has to do is just walk over it step by step. It sounded easy. The reward was Rs.100 for any successful person.

I thought it is probably the easiest, challenge for any one. NOT, exactly. I removed my shoes, socks and got ready to cross the stream. In the meantime, many tried and came back running within few steps.
I stepped into the stream – taking my right foot – a belief before taking a new step in a new place. There were about a Dozen people watching me silently. I could not put down my right leg for the third time, as it was already getting frozen, and I rushed back fearing frostbite which could paralyze my leg for ever.

No one was able to accomplish the challenge. Then the person, who initiated this challenge, told us that many have tried in the past and could not succeed. Only, persons from colder countries could take up similar challenges. This stream is in the photo, I took at this place.

I spent the whole day walking around all areas. I was warned not to go further, as there was menace of wolves. I returned to my hotel room and had dinner as usual. My lunch was at Pahalgam, in another Gujarathi hotel. I paid Rs.4.50 for a full lunch – unlimited quantity. The side dishes were served in very small stainless bowls, but were refilled as many times as one wanted – but not to waste. I had poori as main dish and small quantity of rice towards the end. The pickles were sweet in taste and delicious.

I came back to Hotel by 7 P.M. Moorthy wanted me to give him the NIVEA container as promised. He provided me with the best food again.
Now, I thought of my return trip to Delhi. I checked my balance and assured myself that I will reach Delhi safely.

The next day – Monday the 6th of May, I was once again ready by 6 AM, but this time going back to Delhi. I had to wait till 9 AM – to collect the photos from the studio. In the meantime, I had my simple breakfast. Moorthy told me that, the Railway strike was over and the first batch of tourists for his Hotel were expected in the evening. This was an assurance for me that I will get train to Delhi from Jammu.
I thanked all the Gods- known and unknown for making my trip most economical and best under the prevailing conditions.

I settled all my bills with Moorthy and left for my return trip to Delhi. I collected the photos, and kept them safely. I had in my luggage, a kilo of Kashmiri apples, walnuts and some literature about J&K.

I took my bus to Jammu which reached the destination by 6PM. I had dinner at the railway station. (I.R.R) I could get a reserved berth for Delhi, in the Jammu Tawi Express which left late at night.

I reached New Delhi station around 10.00 AM on Tuesday, the 7th of May 1974,completing my first ever trip to Kashmir Valley.

I checked the balance amount in my possession, and found it to be 25 Paisa. Now, I needed to find a way to reach Ghaziabad before too late.

I had a novel idea. There was no time to find any relatives, and so, decided to take help from the SHO-(Station House Officer) working in the police station just close to New Delhi station. This is located as you come out of the station on the right side, and above the bridge.

When I entered the station, the SHO was sitting there and no one was around. I explained everything to him and requested for Rs.3 Rupees. He gave me Rs.5 and, I promised to give it back to him on my next off-day which a working day for the SHO.

I came back to New Delhi Railway station and took a train which was leaving for Ghaziabad at 11.30. I was home by 2PM. There was no need to inform any one as I was still on leave.

I slept well till the evening and got up before sun-set. I got up and started my daily evening routines once again, under the shadow of my ever green trip to Vaishnava Devi and, Kashmir Valley.

The cost of my whole trip came to Rs.355.00 (Rupees three hundred and fifty-five only)

During the next week, I went to New Delhi and met the SHO. He was shocked and surprised to see me that too with an intention of returning his FIVE RUPEES borrowed a week ago. He thanked for my honesty and refused to take the money back. On the contrary, he offered me any more help any time in the future.

After few years, I learned that he was transferred to a different place elsewhere in the union territory.


Above article is based on my notes kept during the trip in 1974. which is available with me.
There is only one picture that too taken by a way side photographer as above.