Hello Mr.Mody

Pique the Mexican Mascot

The summer of 86 was probably the last true summer holiday I had. It lasted for a good 3 months from Apr to Jun. College was over. Most of us at ISM were spoilt with choices and I had offers but had time to decide. .

Back home in Coimbatore it was holiday time but I didn't have an answer to the question what next? The soccer world cup was on the cards in Mexico in June to keep the nights young. It was the first time we could watch world soccer live - it was the Maradona era and who can forget the 'Hand of God' goal.. It was thrilling to see the games, the packed stadium, the marketing blitzkrieg, the Mexican hats and Mexican waves by the spectators. 

I had dropped plans of going to US and decided to look for what one can do in India. This meant a course correction from pursuing MS in US to what seemed as the in thing in India - to go for MBA. I decided to earn first and then go for the MBA. To work I wanted to get into the private sector, which was limited in the mining sector. Tata Steel came only for its collieries division and I didn't want to go and work in underground coal mines and my eyes were set on their iron ore mines in Noamundi but that division did not come to campus and sending word through the collieries division did not work. The ISM placement machinery has already got us all placed and had little appetite to support individual preferences. I got back home mulling what to do.

My school mates in Coimbatore had also finished their degrees and started towards jobs or US for higher studies. Some of my friends from ISM got to work as soon as the course got over. I took at shot and wrote to Russi Mody then chairman of TISCO seeking an appointment with the iron ore mines division. Though this was unsolicited it worked and they called me over for an interview at Jamshedpur. The other private sector jobs were with explosive companies like IEL (part of ICI) etc. IEL had the MNC angle and they also responded.

In July hopped off to Jamshedpur and then to Gomia to see if ICI  would have a career that also makes me develop into a explosive specialist involving me in research etc. but that was not to be and all they had then was a sales or business development job and I opted out and decided to head to Noamundi. The GETs (the Graduate Engineer Trainees) in TATA companies were a privileged lot with special hostels, a extended 18 month training and orientation program and well taken care of. The best facilities were in Jamshedpur but the mining divisions even if remote had good facilities. Noamundi the still in Bihar was also in the heart of Jharkhand agitations. 

A passenger from Jamshedpur or a bus ride covered the 100km distance from Jamshedpur and once in the township in Noamundi it was great. Noamundi was Tata Steel's largest iron-ore mine (an open cast mine), is picturesque and complete with a GET hostel, play facilities, a executive club, medical center etc. There were a bunch of engineers and non engineers who also started along with me or from the senior batch. Gabrial, Sriram, Rajnarain, Chandru, Palaniappan, Jayanto, Sahu, Rajeev, Visakh and a few more flocked with Jodu the Jeeves at the hostel takign care of all our needs. The first 6- 8 months went at going through various departments, mines across locations in bihar and orissa. We were asked to do standby duty or Sunday duty etc. the usual bane of freshers. A particular phenomenon then was Mahabharata on Sundays. Sunday duty at mines meant extra wages but the work will start at 7 in the morning and halt at 930, all operators will change go home see Mahabharata and come back by 1130 , resume work and finish by 130 or so. such was the power of the serial then and it was an accepted practice.

Noamundi had few  interesting getaways

Evenings and weekend was club time. A well equipped club with a library, snooker table, bridge/ paploo, pool, bar, weekend movies the works it was a great balancing factor and really picked billiards, learnt swimming finally etc. weekends we could take a drive into the neighboring jungles, where there were streams, small waterfalls. The water was nice and cold, could cool beer and beverages as we stood in the falls and later refreshed, basked in the sun and drove back in time for lunch. After dark it was risky to get out of township with fear of elephants and leopards roaming the jungle roads, Visakh was my room mate keen on crossing the Atlantic, preparing for GMAT and I got into seeing what needs to be done for CAT which I planned to take after a year.

We then had our orientation in the Steel plant and the TMTC, the Tata management and training center at Jamshedpur which attached to XLRI, was again elaborate, detailed and the organisation invested heavily in the trainees and preparing them. TISCO and TELCO competed to woo trainees and frequent comparisons on who got what would be there. Such was the importance that surprise visits of Russi Mody or some of the VPs would take place to the GET hostels or TMTC etc. to see how they were. Each TATA organisation then had a strong leader and TISCO was all about Russi Mody then.

Back home father had started building our first own house in Coimbatore, something I could not be a part of separated by a great distance. He sent across our Almbretta scooter for my use in Noamundi and while it struggled the hilly terrain was a great humsafar when I was there. It looked like I followed diamond jubilees and after ISM now Noamundi was going to have its diamond jubilee.