Seven years ago, on 24th July 2010, I was taking a small nostalgic trip of my own. Having spent 20 years in different sections of the Power System Department of Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), SAIL, I thought it would be pertinent to re-visit those places where I had worked. Post-lunch I had to join the Education Department as Senior Principal of BSP Senior Secondary School, Sector-10 (SSS-10) - which later turned out to be the most remarkable phase of not only my career but also my personal life.
I started the day by finally handing over the last technical assignment to my boss in the morning. I decided to go over to Sub-Station-4 (Pump House-2) which was one of my first areas along with Blast Furnaces when I joined the then Distribution Networks Department in August 1990. A trip to MSDS-I Control Room where I had spent six years as Shift In-Charge and 11 months as Shift Manager ( a newly created post in 2007) was like a pilgrimage. In fact when I was on night shift duty in the Plant Control on 31st December 2015, I had spent some time there again.
After completing the mandatory tours, I landed in the Town Administration building post-lunch for joining formalities. "We have great expectations from you", said Shri D M Jaltare, GM (Town Services). For me, who was taking a risk by moving from technical stream to an area I had absolutely no idea about, these words still ring in my ears. The management had been looking for a person with technical background for the expansion and modernisation of the school (SSS-10) for almost two years. I was the seventh or eighth candidate to be precise. The project, conceived by Mr Sanjay Kumar way back in 2004-05, had been on the back-burner for five to six years. Making SSS-10 a Model School required expanding the school infrastructure to which the top management had accented by then.
When I look back on that momentous day in my career and life, I am filled with a lot of emotions. It was the start of the most remarkable journey for me personally. Apart from the technical, academic and administrative part of the roles that I had to perform as head of Bhilai's most iconic school, what I gained in my association with the institution was life-long relationships with if not thousands, at least hundreds of students who still care, and teachers with whom I worked for five years, and a few parents who still recognise me even if I don't. In a Public Sector Undertaking, it is the perfect example of leadership with a vision with elements of mentoring thrown in in large measure. That the top management of BSP had a vision about making SSS-10 a Model School and persisted in its quest would look so preposterous today. Results of such endeavours take years to fructify, more so in the academic arena. And it is no wonder that SSS-10 has recorded its ever-best academic performance in 2017.
I would like to dedicate this post to my loving students, my teacher friends and all those who guided me in what was and perhaps will remain the best part of my life (and career). I promise to return with more tales from my repertoire as and when I get a stimulus.
I started the day by finally handing over the last technical assignment to my boss in the morning. I decided to go over to Sub-Station-4 (Pump House-2) which was one of my first areas along with Blast Furnaces when I joined the then Distribution Networks Department in August 1990. A trip to MSDS-I Control Room where I had spent six years as Shift In-Charge and 11 months as Shift Manager ( a newly created post in 2007) was like a pilgrimage. In fact when I was on night shift duty in the Plant Control on 31st December 2015, I had spent some time there again.
After completing the mandatory tours, I landed in the Town Administration building post-lunch for joining formalities. "We have great expectations from you", said Shri D M Jaltare, GM (Town Services). For me, who was taking a risk by moving from technical stream to an area I had absolutely no idea about, these words still ring in my ears. The management had been looking for a person with technical background for the expansion and modernisation of the school (SSS-10) for almost two years. I was the seventh or eighth candidate to be precise. The project, conceived by Mr Sanjay Kumar way back in 2004-05, had been on the back-burner for five to six years. Making SSS-10 a Model School required expanding the school infrastructure to which the top management had accented by then.
When I look back on that momentous day in my career and life, I am filled with a lot of emotions. It was the start of the most remarkable journey for me personally. Apart from the technical, academic and administrative part of the roles that I had to perform as head of Bhilai's most iconic school, what I gained in my association with the institution was life-long relationships with if not thousands, at least hundreds of students who still care, and teachers with whom I worked for five years, and a few parents who still recognise me even if I don't. In a Public Sector Undertaking, it is the perfect example of leadership with a vision with elements of mentoring thrown in in large measure. That the top management of BSP had a vision about making SSS-10 a Model School and persisted in its quest would look so preposterous today. Results of such endeavours take years to fructify, more so in the academic arena. And it is no wonder that SSS-10 has recorded its ever-best academic performance in 2017.
I would like to dedicate this post to my loving students, my teacher friends and all those who guided me in what was and perhaps will remain the best part of my life (and career). I promise to return with more tales from my repertoire as and when I get a stimulus.
