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July 2014 21
20 July 2014
Prabhakar joined Tea by chance, when
the
Employment
Exchange
at
Dibrugarh, where he had registered, sent
his biodata to McNeil & Magor. He
appeared for the interview since the
company was giving TA and DA, with
which he was intent on travelling to
Madras, to visit old friends and his sister
who is settled there. Initially, he was not
keen to join the tea industry but
ultimately decided for it but only as a stop gap, so he could pursue
studying for the Civil Service examination and quit once he got
through. He had appeared for the same unsuccessfully once and said
that that was his first failure in life. However, he liked his new job
and as he says, it soon turned into a passion for him – a passion which
remains strong to date. He follows his late elder brother’s advice, of
doing his best in whatever he undertakes.
His interview was taken by the then stalwarts of the company,
Mr R.L. Rikhye, Mr C.G. Allen, Mr M.L. Rome, Mr B.N. Baruah
and Mr Ghosh (he cannot recall the first name). Some tidbits from
his interview are given below:
Mr Baruah posed the toughest question of the interview, asking him
how, being an MSc. in Physics himself, he would accept being
shouted at by his Manager, who might be only a Matriculate.
Prabhakar’s reply was that he would accept it with bowed head since
his Manager would be older and wiser in Tea than he; but should
he be shouted at for no fault of his, then he would not accept it even
if his Manager were a doctorate holder! Mr Baruah observed that
he had expected this reply! On the other hand, Mr Allen asked if
he had a girlfriend, and he replied that he had had one. When
probed further as to what had happened to her, Prabhakar calmly
replied, “Gone with the Wind!”Mr Allen then asked if he had read
the book and seen the movie, to which he replied in the affirmative,
but said the movie was too
slow.Mr
Allen wryly commented that it
would be so for someone his age!
Prabhakar had gone to school at the Delhi College, Indore; graduated
from Loyola College, Madras and gone on to do his post-graduation
in Physics from Delhi University. As he says, this love for Physics has
stood him in good stead over the years, as he has a very analytical
mind and would go into the nitty-gritties at work.
He attributes all his success to Mitali, who uncomplainingly stood by
him all these years. A perfectly calm foil to his quick temperament,
she has smoothed many a ruffled feather along the way, mainly, as he
says, due to the long working hours he kept. Mitali had developed
warm relationships with all their colleagues, which Prabhakar claims
he himself could not, since he is an introvert at heart.This stood them
both in good stead when Prabhakar went to Vietnam, since
acceptance plays a key role in a foreign country.Mitali was very warm
towards all she met, regardless of hierarchy. It was a very big support
for Prabhakar since she was held in such high esteem by all the people;
so much so that soon, on their holidays in India, Mitali would be
purchasing salwar-kameezes for all the ladies there, which they would
love wearing. The saying, “Behind every successful man there’s a
woman,” holds true in this case. Mitali would send his meals to the
office each day when he would be late, as also for the people he would
be working with.There was no nagging at all. Any disagreements they
had, carried on till the next meal only, on an understanding between
them. He misses her terribly. As he says, “In the storms of life you
may bend but make sure you never get uprooted, as one has to be
strong.” Yes, a strong man with an incredibly soft heart!
Their daughters, Smita and Gargi, are two lovely, strong young ladies,
taking care of their father and being a strong support system for him.
Having studied at Assam Valley School, Balipara and Stella Maris,
Chennai, they are now pursuing successful professional careers. Smita
is working at ACTRACT, Mumbai, a research wing of Tata Cancer
Institute, while Gargi is working with Fidelity Investments,
Bangalore, in the legal department.
An incident which occurred in Vietnam has Prabhakar in gales of
laughter. He had an interpreter named Mrs Them (TH as in ‘thorn’
and EM as in ‘emit’), whom he would call Them. One day she
confronted him, asking why he called her Them, to which Prabhakar
replied that he did so because that was her name! She then told him
that Them meant a greedy man in Vietnamese and that her name
should be pronounced as Th’em (the apostrophe indicating a short
break) which means Pearl! Prabhakar was profuse in his apologies!
As he leaves the gardens after thirty-six years of service, Prabhakar
wistfully says that he will miss Tea life immensely.
Prabhakar Choudhury–
Fond Memories of Life in Tea
– Rupa Saikia
Flamboyant, stylish, superb sportsman and
great company… summarizes this large-
hearted, battle hardened colleague.
As a Trainee, with my very first transfer
order in hand, I met RV and Geeteshwari
as newlyweds at Jainti T.E. I shared the
bungalow with them and, I dare say, RV
was not too pleased! Nevertheless, we had
a blast. Shikaar and drinking ‘rotgut’ rum
was how we spent most evenings. (The
former was an accepted sport at the time.)
Clueless as I was about handling a
weapon, RV would relegate me to either
holding the spotlight or carrying
cartridges as we roamed the estate and
nearby forests on cycles at night looking
for small game. If we got lucky, Geeta
would cook memorable meals for us which
I, as a bachelor with no culinary skills
whatsoever, enjoyed thoroughly.
Playing football with the workers and staff
was the done thing and RV and I never
missed an opportunity to play. A gifted
football player himself, RV coached the
team seriously and did not hesitate to keep
me on the sidelines if I played badly. Come
soccer season and we would be off in RV’s
Ambassador station wagon with the ever
prominent Horse mounted on the bonnet.
It was a different matter that the ‘Horse’
was temperamental and RV ensured that
the stronger players from the workers and
staff travelled with us just in case the old
Horse needed pushing, which was quite
often.There were times when we travelled
in the old Bedford lorry – RV driving with
me as handyman – and the rest of the
team at the back.
RV, very much an outdoors man, would
head to the river and we would spend most
Sundays during the cold weather trying
our luck at catching fish, fueled by beer
chilled in the river water. The villagers,
armed with rudimentary fishing gear and
the local rice beer, would angle across the
river and, more often than not, were much
luckier than us. They would wave their
catch at us while we cursed our fancy
fishing gear!
Golf and Polo were sports that RV
enjoyed. An accomplished golfer and polo
player, RV won many trophies for both in
Kolkata, the Dooars and Assam.
RV and Geeta remain generous to a fault.
They would go that extra mile to help
anyone in need. RV’s sincerity and sense
of loyalty towards his friends and
colleagues remain unquestionable, and he
never hesitates to speak his mind, for
better or for worse.
I wish RV and Geeta all the very best in
this new chapter of their lives, along with
the children Radhika, Akshay and Surya.
– Ramanuj Dasgupta
Bordubi T.E.
In the
Company
of
Ranvijai
Singh …
The Distinguished Trio
Picnic with Friends
Perched on a Tree-Top!