Hyderabad to Loni Kalbhor
"Why are you so late?"
This was the question of Dr. Vaid, the Chairman of the Selection committee for the post of Head, Materials Test Lab.
I was taken aback ! "Sir, I have asked to come for the interview at 4.00 pm and I have come at 3.00 pm". I showed the telegram that I had received from Philips.
Now he was taken aback !! "We had Dr. Sinha from NCL in the committee; he had left already as the interviews were over. We have shortlisted one candidate for the next stage. I am not sure if we can continue with interviewing you. Still we will give a try". He consulted his committee members and agreed to interview me. At the end of the interview, when I demonstrated my knowledge of analytical chemistry, resins, laminates, printed cirucuit boards etc., apparently Dr. Vaid and Dr. Bhide were impresssed (especially with my work on flexible laminates and phenolic foams) and selected me for the next stage. I am sure I spoilt the day for someone else - but that was not my mistake.
I was taken by Dr. Vaid to Shanbhag who was then the Plant Manager for the final interview; Shanbhag, mumbled something which I did not understand, but agreed to appoint me; while leaving he told Dr. Vaid in an authoritative tone to take care of the candidate who did not make it to the final interview with him. I knew by that who was the BOSS. I was asked to go to Mumbai to meet the HR guy to finalize my salary etc., the next day.
I landed at the Philips HQ at Shivsagar Estate, Worli, in time to meet Mr. HR. After making me to wait for the mandatory one hour (to show who is the boss and who is busy), this guy asked me wherefrom I was coming. On hearing that I was from Bakelite, he told me with empathy: "why are you joining this wretched company from an excellent company? You will regret your decision". It was a shocker....Here I am after 27 years with the "wretched" company, retiring without much of a heartburn. Lesson Learnt 1: Go by your decison; don't get confused by unsolicited advises.
House Hunt and Sheila's move to Pune
I joined the Central Chemicals and Materials Development Laboratory, Philips India, on 18 October, 1982; I left Sheila at Hyderabad and came to Pune alone to search for a place to live. The moment I joined I could see some people looking at me and behaving with me funny; the one to identify now is Hebbare....a "politician" out to create problems for a new entrant. I was also told by people in the lab to be careful about Sudhir Joshi, a hardcore union man. In the meanwhile Ranjan Joshi was helping me to find a place. I also visited Kalyani Athai (Aunt of my mother-in-law) seeking her help in getting an accommodation. Apparently nothing moved...time was flying. Ranjan Joshi offered me a Guest Accommodation at his house as he had a two bed room apartment and he was able to provide one bedroom for me (of course without any facility); I agreed to his offer with the condition that I would pay for the stay. Later I came to know that Hebbare tried to influence Ranjan Joshi not to provide me accommodation....so that he could see the fun of an "outsider" struggling to establish (Later I shall write about each of these characters that I came across at Loni). Lesson Learnt 2: No change is painless; there are people always out there to create hurdles in your way. Go ahead; don't be upset by these hurdles.
My search for a rented house took me to C.R. Venkataraman, Puchasing Manager, Philips Components, Loni. After the introduction CRV talked high of Bakelite and said the house where he lived earlier was ilable for rent in Ravi Bhatia, his assistant and the owner of the house, for further discussion. The house, located at Lulla Nagar, a God forsaken area, was the rear portion of a Bangalow with two bed rooms; it was OK for me and a deal was stuck. That enabled me to bring Sheila to Pune along with Indhu. Sheila was pregnant with Maya at that time and we had not announced the pregnancy to anyone till later in the year.
(Incomplete...published now so that I can complete it later)
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