Employment: The First Innings - I

 

            Employment: The First Innings - I 

Let me turn the clock back a few decades. After completing my Master's in Botany from Kashmir University, I received a call to join the Kashmir Government Arts Emporium (KGAE), a unit of J&K Handicrafts (S&E) Corporation, as Assistant Manager. I had successfully appeared for the written and oral examinations earlier and was placed third in the merit list. However, I had prepared myself for the teaching profession and was attending the B.Ed. classes in Gandhi Memorial College, Srinagar. My father, too, was working in KGAE, and as far as I remembered, had faced a tough time there for almost a decade. Yet he wanted me to join the organisation because the then Managing Director, Mufti Mohd Maqbool, was kind to him. One day, his MD told him that he had come from Delhi after a long time, and his children were suffering on the educational front since the standard of education in Kashmir was nowhere in comparison to Delhi. He asked my father to find a good teacher for them. My father replied, “Sir, my son is a good teacher, but I don’t know whether he will agree.” Mufti told him, “Bring him one day and I shall personally request him.” It so happened that my father took me to his home one Sunday, where his elder daughter, a pre-medical student, requested me to draw some difficult diagrams in her practical notebook. It hardly took me a few minutes to complete the job. She was speechless and quietly whispered to her father to request me to draw all the diagrams in the notebook afresh. I carried the book to my home and did the needful. The next day, when I delivered the notebook, his other four children were waiting for me to teach them. I could not say no to them, as teaching was my passion. I taught them for more than a year without any remuneration. In the meantime, Mufti Maqbool announced many vacancies in KGAE and directed my father to send my application. I refused, but his MD told him to apply himself on my behalf. After this, I received a call for a written examination. My father insisted that I should appear, and I may not need to join if I don’t feel like it. The same words were repeated when the call for an interview was received. In the final merit list, I was placed third, and one candidate ahead of me did not join. 

My father prevailed upon me through his brother-in-law, Pt Sham Lal Saraf, who had served as a Minister in the J&K cabinet for 15 years and was later nominated as MP, Lok Sabha for another 5 years. He had seen life and was experienced enough to be my guide and mentor. He said, “Deepak ji, you know your father is retired and has been given an extension in service. You have three motherless, unmarried sisters. Suppose he doesn’t get a further extension. What do you do? There are no government teaching jobs in the market. It is better to avail oneself of the opportunity available now.”

I explained to him the discriminatory attitude of the employer, as I was offered an Assistant Manager’s job despite having a third position in the merit list, while the candidates far below me were made Managers. Having served as Minister in the state, he was aware of the situation, yet he convinced me not to refuse the offer. He said, “I started my career with just a Rs 10/- per month job after my graduation, but continued to pursue my goals. Nothing stops you from achieving bigger things in life.” 

“Uncle, my educational background doesn’t match the managerial job, because I  am trained to be a teacher. By the time I aspire to be promoted to a Manager’s post, there will be dozens of MBAs standing in line to fill that job in this fast-changing world.”

“I agree, but given the circumstances, you have no choice right now. You can change as and when you get an alternative job.”

I joined my first assignment as Assistant Manager, heading the retail showroom of the Emporium in Chandigarh in April 1971. My basic pay was Rs 140/- pm, and my take-home pay was about Rs 250/-. I rented one room for which I had to pay Rs 60/-. Other daily expenses left no room to save or send some money to my home. As they say in Hindustani, Nanga nahaye ga kya aur nichode ga kya. However, the place had a very soothing effect on my health. The air and water of the developing city, Chandigarh, were clean, and helped me to regain my health. Those days, I was thin and emaciated,  suffering from ulcerative colitis for the previous three years, and blood used to run with my stools. A stay in Chandigarh did the trick. I ate only what was permitted, prepared at home myself and used to have a long walk in the evening up to the lake. I was cured slowly. In addition, I joined art and painting classes next to my residence to pursue my hobby of painting. 

I continued my BEd studies because only examinations were left. Flew for my practical and theory examination from Chandigarh and was successful in due course. 

The organisation did not suit me, and the staff indulged in corrupt practices, which I tried to stop. This resulted in their non-cooperation, but the branch showed progress in sales. Suddenly, the management thought of opening branches in foreign countries, and therefore, shifted me to the Ashoka Hotel, Delhi Branch, so that I could join Spanish classes in Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, KG Marg, Delhi, which I did. Three other officers were also directed to learn the French and German languages. Since they did not report satisfactory progress, the scheme was abandoned halfway. I had completed one semester of 6 months and stood first in the class, which had two IFS officers also. This encouraged me, and I thought let me also compete in the Civil Services examination. I took initial guidance from them; however, some distractions delayed my resolve, though the idea kept knocking at my brain regularly. 

In the meantime, I registered myself in the Employment Exchange and got offers from private educational institutions. I had some noteworthy experiences during the interviews. When I reported for an interview at the Apeejay School, Faidabad, one of the members of the interview board remarked that he had a very bad experience with the Kashmir University, wherefrom I had obtained my degrees. He said that he had learnt that the University delays payments of evaluated answer books, and therefore, insisted upon payment before the answer books are returned to them. Neither did they send the payment, nor did he return the answer books. The University declared the result without receiving the answer books. I felt that the story put a question mark in the minds of other members about my capability. I had to make an additional effort to win them over. 

I said, “Sir, do you want to assess the university or my ability? If it is me, please ask whatever questions you feel like, and I shall try to answer them.” This restored their neutrality to some extent. Then a volley of questions was put by each member, which I answered satisfactorily. At the end, I asked them, “ Sir, may I know whether I have got the job?”

“There are another 12 candidates to be interviewed, how can we tell you?”

“Sir, I appreciate that. I shall wait till the end of the interview because I have come all the way from Srinagar on my own and can’t bear the expenses further.” After saying that, I left the room.

At the end of the interview, I entered the room again and asked the same question, “Sir, now that you have interviewed all the candidates, may you please tell me the result?”

“No, it is not possible. Though we have finalised the result, we shall have to put it before the top management for approval before it is announced.”

“Sir, that means you, too, are bound by prescribed rules and regulations, as was my university. The rules said that they cannot send the payment until the answer books are received back by them. I hope, Sir, you now understand how the system works. Anyway, if I receive a call once I am back in Srinagar, I fear I may not be able to join unless I am paid for the journey.” 

After a few days, I received a postcard asking me to join immediately. I replied through a postcard myself, informing that since my offer on the spot was not honoured, I am unable to join. This, however, I could afford to do because I already had a job in the Emporium.

I was called for an interview for a Post Graduate Teacher (PGT) post in the Delhi Administration. I had learnt that usually they get candidates with an MSc degree or a BSc & BEd degree, but not MSc and BEd together. This worked to my advantage, and I was selected. While I waited for the order, a Khalsa School organisation called me for an interview at their school in Lajpat Nagar. I reported in the office and met an elderly Sardar with a long grey beard. He sympathised with me and told me to come to his home in the evening, and he would put in a word to the Principal. I suspected his intentions and replied, “Ok, I will see.” In the interview hall, the chairman saw my testimonials and was surprised. He asked, “What is this, BSc (Hon’s), M Sc (Botany), B Ed, and then Adibe-Mahir (Urdu)? 

I replied, “Sir, I completed my education to become a teacher and got the Urdu degree as I write Urdu short stories.”

“Why do you want to be a teacher?” 

He expected me to say that I want to serve my country or children, but I did not oblige. Instead, I replied, “Sir, I am an introvert and teaching is a profession that suits me. His face looked blank as I guessed, so I continued, “Sir, there are two types of personalities, the artistic or Introverts who like creative jobs and the athletic or extroverts who like  

Outdoor and business-oriented jobs.”

“Do you mean you are an artist?”

“Sir, one doesn't need to be an artist; it is merely one’s trait. However, I do write  short stories in Urdu and have painting as my hobby”

He told me to wait outside till the other candidates are interviewed. At the end of the interviews, he personally came out and found me sitting in the office. He directed me to come to the interview hall again. We had a fruitful discussion for almost half an hour. Tea and hot samosas were called for the interview board, and I also had a nice cup of tea. Suddenly, he rang the bell; the same person, with whom I had interacted earlier, came in and was asked to prepare an order for my appointment immediately. He told me that I shall personally come to see you delivering a lecture. But that did not mature as I got a call from the Delhi Administration, which was preferable, being a government job. 

In those days, I was holding the entire stock of my branch personally since my salesman had gone on leave, assuring me that he would come within ten days, because I had told him that I was likely to get a job. But he did not return. I rang up my father and asked him to talk to the MD and get me relieved, but he maintained a stony silence because he was himself averse to the teaching profession. The only other person I could think of was my maternal uncle, who was working as a Principal in a Delhi school but was not reliable. He told me that he is going to Srinagar and will convince my father, but on his return, he said, “Deepak, your father has duplicity of character. He did not want to commit. It seems he has a lot of faith in his MD, who has assured him of making your future. I failed to convince him.” In the meantime, his wife had approached BN Raina, Deputy Director in the Andrews Gunj region to which I had been allotted and got me further posted to the School in Sector 7, R K Puram, which was within a stone’s throw of my residence. All my efforts failed, and I had no option but to continue in the Kashmir Government Arts Emporium. (to be continued)