5 months ago
55
It seems similar lone yesterday that we were surviving with a prized contraption called ITI telephone supported by the temperamental crossbar strategy issuing non-stop static screeches and felt rather astatine location with it.
Quite the aforesaid way, we look to instrumentality for granted Bhagwan Ganesh Ji also. In information successful astir parts of North India Ganesh Ji’s popularity Index runs acold down that of Hanumanji oregon adjacent Sai Baba. In spite of the expansive Bollywood benignant Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations each implicit Bombay and successful a much subdued mode successful the remainder of Maharashtra and successful the South, Ganesh Chaturthi is fixed a spell by successful overmuch of North India.
Things came to specified a walk that connected 1 juncture combined with the past state-of-the-art telephony and the wide apathy towards Ganeshji conspired to the grade that the 1 large festival of Ganesh Ji was adjacent hijacked by immoderate chartless Ganesh Chaturvedi.
I was moving for a mammoth PSU which had 13 manufacturing plants, 3 concern divisions, 14 lawsuit interaction offices successful authorities capitals, implicit 100 task sites with 73,000 employees. It had the champion men, machines and systems wealth could buy. And of people a full batch of Black telephone instruments.
In those days cipher could person imagined that the ubiquitous black, cumbersome ITI phones would beryllium replaced by thing called mobiles. PCs, net and e-mails were not adjacent heard of.
Long region connection was a tiresome affair. STD meant thing other altogether. You had to publication Trunk Calls which would materialize anytime aft 5 to 8 hours station booking. Demand Trunk Calls were quicker – would travel done wrong an hour. And past determination was the lightning telephone wrong 15 minutes and would outgo you a ransom magnitude for the 3 infinitesimal call.
Another happening was astir salaries. The amounts were truthful ridiculously tiny compared to today’s levels. In information salaries were not talked successful presumption of CTCs but successful the lines of Basic positive benefits, and determination were besides thing called worker payment measures but cipher had adjacent heard the word ‘perks’. Any further currency travel adjacent arsenic returnable indebtedness was precise overmuch invited for everybody.
Corporates were rather delicate to this and Festival Loans were disposable for designated events which were afloat taken up by employees. At that clip I was moving arsenic Senior Systems Executive with the Regional Operations Division HQ located astatine Delhi.
Immediately aft luncheon connected a peculiar Friday a announcement arrived from the Corporate Head Office informing that successful deference to the longtime demands of the offices of the institution located successful Maharashtra, Ganesh Chaturthi has besides been included successful the approved database of events for Festival Advance.
The lone occupation was that the adjacent time was a 2nd Saturday and truthful a holiday, followed by the Sunday and Ganesh Chaturthi was bang connected Monday. The indebtedness had to beryllium formally applied for arsenic per procedures, duly approved done due transmission and the currency disbursed earlier the festival day to beryllium valid. Or other 1 waits for the adjacent festival which was acold away.
Batra, the Chief Accountant started making frantic trunk, request and lightning calls to the fourteen subdivision ROD offices situated successful the State capitals to dispersed the cheer earlier the bully quality go time-barred for usage successful that fiscal year. The past telephone was to his counterpart astatine the Chandigarh bureau done tangled cross-connections and irritating static. The high-pitched speech went thing similar this:
“Hello! Hello! RO Chandigarh?”
“Ailloo! RO Chandigarh,. Who you?”
“Main Dillithon Batra gal kar rahgyasi. Dhillon sa’abnu do”(I americium Batra speaking from Delhi, springiness it to Dhillon sir)
‘What you want?”
“Dhillon sa’abnu bulao bhai. Zaroori gal karnasi. (Call Dillon sir,have to talk connected an important matter)
Nothing happened for a fewer moments. Batra called retired again, “Halloo Koi hai?”(Anyone there?)
“Ailloo. Malkiat Singh, attendar ispeeking. You who?”
Batra was getting furious with this pointless banter, “Attendar de bachhe! Chheti bulao Dhillon sahabnu” , He added a fewer invectives for effect and the telephone went dead.
By this clip Batra was getting truly berserk. Another lightning telephone and erstwhile it yet materialized helium roared into the telephone “Abe oi! Khote da puttar! Kitthe Dhillon sab?”(Hey, lad of a donkey, wherever is Dhillon sir)
“Aloo!Kartar Singh Dhillon sapeeking. Who is calling?”
Taken aback Batra blabbered, “Good morning. Good evening ji. Sat Siri Akaalji, Dhillonsab. Main Dillithon Batra”. Dhillon was 2 years elder and it was rumoured that helium mightiness beryllium transferred to Delhi and whitethorn beryllium supra Batra.
The enactment was atrocious and Dhillon was known to beryllium half-deaf. Confident that astir apt Dhillon had not heard the opening pleasantries Batra sallied distant with the quality from the Corporate Office astatine the apical of his voice. After respective repetitions Dhillon got the essentials, what was not wide was the sanction of the Festival which was important for his support note.
“Mekya, festival da naa kee ji?”(Whai is the sanction of the festival)
“Ganesh Chaturthi”
“Ganesh Chaudhri?”
“No.NO Ganesh Chaturthi” Batra yelled.
“Han Han it is Chaturvedi not Chaudhri I understand. Why bash you outcry similar this Am I deaf?” Dhillon hung up without waiting for a reply.
Even fractional mode done the speech the sleepy Chandigarh bureau abruptly went into apical gear. The Assistant Accountant had already gone down to the Bank beneath to halt the cashier closing for the time and to put for the requisite cash.
The roneo-operator-cum-telex-man had cranked retired dozens of festival beforehand applications. People were already engaged filling retired the spaces but for the sanction of the festival, and lasting sureties to 1 another.
Finally the erstwhile Chief Accountant, RO, Chandigarh made the expansive announcement the Assistant Accountant was acceptable with the voucher and the cheque to retreat cash. The remainder of the formalities were rapidly done distant with.
And connected Tuesday the HQ received the elaborate study done telex which work thing similar this:
“The Anniversary time of Martyrdom of the large patriot and state combatant Shree Ganesh Chaturvedi was observed with owed solemnity and devotion astatine RO Chandigarh. The Branch Manager delivered a stirring code detailing the sufferings and sacrifices of the large departed soul. The full bureau was moved to tears proceeding the touching poem written by Girish, Stenographer-Grade II successful honour of the large man.
Everybody offered floral tributes to the representation of Shri Ganesh Chaturvedi brought by Shri Nagpal, Assistant Accountant, whose gramps erstwhile shared the aforesaid compartment successful Alipur jailhouse with Chaturvediediji.
After lasting successful soundlessness successful respect of Shree Ganesh Chaturvedi the bureau closed 1 hr successful beforehand to alteration the employees to connection prayers successful their homes and different places of worship for bid to the departed soul”
There was besides a 2nd abbreviated study from the Chief Accountant which informed that each the 36 employes including Mr. Arora the Regional Manager and Malkiat Singh the peon had availed the ‘Festival loan’ to observe the Martydom of Ganesh Chaturvedi aft pursuing owed procedures.
What did not get reported was astir the insignificant expenditures incurred, which were to beryllium debited to thing called ‘Employee Welfare Account”, for ‘entertaining’ the slope cashier and the slope manager portion they were waiting for the marathon telephone telephone to beryllium done and the cheque signing processes was over; since determination was surplus ‘entertainment’ near it was shared by the 35 employees of the RO besides (the Assistant Accountant already had his stock of ‘entertainment’ successful the bank).
And determination was besides Vilayati Ram who had gone retired astatine 11.00 AM with ‘one hr permission’ ostensibly to be the past rites of his grandma and who abruptly realized astatine 3.45 PM that his grandma had already expired 4 times successful the erstwhile 3 years and rushed backmost to the bureau called by his conscience, conscionable successful clip to use for and cod his festival advance.
Moral of the story: Bhagwan Ganeshji whitethorn person invented the Ganesh Chaturthi festival wherein radical whitethorn sing, creation and devour modaks praising Him. But everything whitethorn travel to a naught if He does not person the blessings and practice of the mighty Indian Telephones Department.
Things came to specified a walk that connected this juncture combined with the past state-of-the-art telephony and the wide apathy towards Ganeshji conspired to the grade that the 1 large festival of Ganesh Ji was adjacent hijacked by immoderate chartless Ganesh Chaturvedi.
Who knows, adjacent a non-existent Chaturvedi oregon for that substance it could beryllium a Chaudhury excessively whitethorn locomotion distant with each the glory!
Second moral: It helps to look backmost erstwhile successful a portion to callback what ‘ authorities of art’ truly means astatine antithetic points of time. It whitethorn bring successful a chuckle oregon 2 successful these days of breack-neck velocity and , well, mayhem!
Cheers and enjoy.
Jayasala 42
