everything happened according to God’s will and accepted the betrayals. I realized the unpredictability of friendship and never sought special favors during my 36-year career.Result – not a single foreign training assignment in my entire service live.
Soon, I was transferred to Guwahati, and after joining, I was dispatched to a project facing significant commissioning challenges. My colleagues and I spent months addressing these issues and working day and night with the project team to achieve success. Upon returning after successful completion of the job, I was quickly sent to another project to resolve another major problem there. My new boss was a competent and decisive individual, and I couldn’t discern why he favored me. He frequently sought my opinion, and when he couldn’t visit certain work sites, he would send me in his place. My role shifted from a period of personal non grata to a 24/7 commitment, including extensive travel on often difficult roads. My boss’s preferences led to some internal resentment to some of my closed friends, which I brought to the knowledge of my boss but he paid little heed to this , simply laughed away . I proceeded as per his instructions. I felt it is difficult to built a person competent and takes lot of time but very easy to spoil him by a simple act. My belief deepened that performance that only counts in long run and gains received by other means are very temporary.
Promotion interviews took place soon, and while awaiting results, I received a call from the Personal Secretary to our new CEO, who connected me to the CEO. Our new CEO who seems to be a terror to all the senior officers.I was scared to get his call for the first time as I never had any interaction with him earlier . He asked if I could go to a project far from Guwahati that day itself, and I agreed, knowing he disliked hearing “no.” However, I suggested leaving the next morning if the matter is not such urgent , but he wanted me there by noon the next day. To my surprise, he informed me that I was being transferred with a promotion as Engineer in charge of the electro-mechanical works of a major project the company was undertaking. Upon reaching the project office the next day, I was astonished to find that Nina’s name was not on the promotion list, and she had been transferred from Delhi, where she had served for nearly 15 years.
I joined at my new place of posting, My task was to establish my new office since the project was in very initial stage, and I had to take charge from the head of the project who temporarily managed responsibilities of all Engineer In Charges as posting of the new officers is in process then. The engineers and staff were not located at the project site yet, the accommodations weren’t ready, and the road to the site was under construction. We had to work from our office at a small township called Bhalukpong where getting a rental house is a big issue. Fortunately, two of my friends offered me a space in their rented house, making me the third member of their mess.An understanding friend at the time of difficulties are rare but exists.
The road from Bhalukpong to Khuppi (a small hamlet) was motorable, but from Khuppi to Kimi , where the powerhouse site was decided, the road formation cutting was going on, making it a challenging 30-kilometer journey. We established a camp at the 14-kilometer point and would walk nearly 16 kilometers to reach the site, where we focused on investigative work. It was a tough time, with frequent landslides, poor road conditions, and the constant threat of falling boulders.
Life was very tough , we all were staying in bachelor hostels temporarily made till the quarters are ready. We all work the whole day , but we were a very closely knit team taking food together , spending life in total isolation from the world and families. All are helping each other at the time of ones problem .The problem faced by all were similar and there was no probability of a transfer soon. It has given me the reason to belief that when all are having similar threat perceptions, the friendship grows , survives and can be easily interpretable.The friendship which was based on to face similar problems together, normally survives longer and dependable .However, the same group of people will behave quite differently under different conditions.
Gradually, the road stabilized, and we started moving to our temporary accommodations and hostels, but we were totally cut off from the outside world. It took nearly two years to convince a service provider to establish temporary voice communication. Within three years, we managed to establish grid power supply, cable TV, and temporary voice communication, overcoming the challenging terrain.
I soon got a promotion to General Manager and was appointed as the Head of the Kopili Hydro Electric Project. I was instructed to shift immediately, but my colleagues there insisted on a formal farewell. The emotional farewell showed the strong bond I had with my team. They were dependable and trustworthy, and I was grateful for their support. Friendship sometimes coming from persons where you expect the least.This is pure from the heart and without any gratifications.
Rajat chandra sarmah
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