In anticipation since early morning of the greatest football phenomenon on planet getting underway in the evening, my mind was hardly fixed on matters inside the steel plant. The day being unbearably warm, the cool office room appealed to one like never before. I didn't need to mark my attendance because the secretary was missing from his place, something I found no reason to complain against. So I moved towards the office at Mr Sarkar's behest, to meet the usual suspects, all of whom were already well into the daily rigmarole of the small duties that contributed towards steel making in a big way.
There was nothing extraordinary in the offing today. I ambled around the plant, met the standard set of creatures, exchanged pleasantries with some, scowls with others and a wide smile with the baba, talked at length once again with the boy, and took down notes from time to time about matters both metallurgical and those not so. The same old camaraderie was maintained with Sharmaji and co. Some very important lessons were thrust upon me by them; they seemed somehow more eager than usual to serve the humane cause of my education.
The day thus passed without incidence, and I left half an hour early, taking due advantage of the difficult secy's god-sent absence.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Day 8: Old Man and the Boy
I met the boy near the furnaces. He walked out through a cloud of dust and smoke, with a red band around his head, struggling to support a long and heavy metal handle in his hand which he used to stir the molten contents of the furnace. He smiled and wearily, and without warning, started talking about Joint Entrance Examinations, the IITs and everything else. Slightly taken aback by this, I asked him to tell me his story. It went somewhat like this.
He hailed from a decently well-off middle class family in Bihar. The family was well-off till about some months back- that was when the father, a senior official in the Indian Railways, fell very seriously ill, and was to gradually lose his job that also paid quite well. Then, the elder brother, a trained pilot from Georgia town, USA, happened to be on the same flight that crashed in Mangalore, killing almost everyone on board. Very cruelly, his brother survived and is currently bed-ridden at a hospital in Bihar, having lost both his feet and his cherished dream. All his money is stuck in the bank, inaccessible at the moment by some devious ploy of the devil. The mother, distraught at her husband's misfortune and elder son's tragedy, was helpless throughout. And it was in the middle of this calamitous time that the boy received his entrance exam results, and came to know that he has got a rank of 2246 in IIT-JEE.
The boy came to Delhi to his relatives' house after that, in order to get him some work to earn some money so that he could afford the counseling fees. He got himself a call-centre job during the night, and looking for something for the daytime, landed himself this odd-jobs labour at the steel plant. I was gutted to hear all this, but also incredulous to a certain extent. I asked him a lot of questions, sympathizing with him but showing my skepticism from time to time. But he cared not for my belief as he went about his work, carrying sacks of silica and limestone, knocking down furnaces and re-building them and all the time being ordered around by people who in all likelihood would never have been to high-school, let alone be on the verge of joining the best institution in the country.
I had to recover quickly and ask him more, to make some sense out of this senselessness. Surely there had to be some government grant? Some financial aid for his brother? Some kind of assistance for his father? He couldn't answer any of this with clarity, but he said that he had no qualms whatsoever at doing any work that he could, no matter how menial it was, to earn himself a temporary livelihood and get into IIT without major hindrances. He had to be telling the truth, I told myself, no matter how unbelievable his story might seem. So here he was, a young lad still in his teens, waging the battle of his life all by himself, making sure he could carry his family and his own self out of this ruin without any further scars. This would easily have destroyed a lesser man's resolve. He didn't ask me for money or any help at all, except to tell him all about the IITs that I knew.
After this most remarkable story of the boy with the red band, the old man's tale would seem quite unspectacular, and almost tame and commonplace. The elderly were a suffering breed all across the length and breadth of this nation with the best culture and tradition in the whole world. The present tale was a sad one though- the daughter died early, the wife died soon after, the sons are lost in Asgard, the property is lost, the land is lost and all the money is lost- only pride and honour remain intact. Not willing to ask his fellow villagers for money or a source of livelihood, Baba came to the city and ended up as a labourer quite in the same mould as the boy at this steel plant. He smiled a toothless smile, blessed me with all his heart, and expressed hope that the boy would escape from this hell, realize all his dreams and save his family in the process. I shook hands with him and left, not having any words to say or indeed any expressions appropriate to show on my face.
This is my story of the day. I have learnt a lot about metal processing, alloy making, furnace functioning, fire-cutting, continuous casting and roll milling in fair detail in the last few days. But I realized while walking back home that my real education began only today, in the most unlikeliest of ways and forms possible.
He hailed from a decently well-off middle class family in Bihar. The family was well-off till about some months back- that was when the father, a senior official in the Indian Railways, fell very seriously ill, and was to gradually lose his job that also paid quite well. Then, the elder brother, a trained pilot from Georgia town, USA, happened to be on the same flight that crashed in Mangalore, killing almost everyone on board. Very cruelly, his brother survived and is currently bed-ridden at a hospital in Bihar, having lost both his feet and his cherished dream. All his money is stuck in the bank, inaccessible at the moment by some devious ploy of the devil. The mother, distraught at her husband's misfortune and elder son's tragedy, was helpless throughout. And it was in the middle of this calamitous time that the boy received his entrance exam results, and came to know that he has got a rank of 2246 in IIT-JEE.
The boy came to Delhi to his relatives' house after that, in order to get him some work to earn some money so that he could afford the counseling fees. He got himself a call-centre job during the night, and looking for something for the daytime, landed himself this odd-jobs labour at the steel plant. I was gutted to hear all this, but also incredulous to a certain extent. I asked him a lot of questions, sympathizing with him but showing my skepticism from time to time. But he cared not for my belief as he went about his work, carrying sacks of silica and limestone, knocking down furnaces and re-building them and all the time being ordered around by people who in all likelihood would never have been to high-school, let alone be on the verge of joining the best institution in the country.
I had to recover quickly and ask him more, to make some sense out of this senselessness. Surely there had to be some government grant? Some financial aid for his brother? Some kind of assistance for his father? He couldn't answer any of this with clarity, but he said that he had no qualms whatsoever at doing any work that he could, no matter how menial it was, to earn himself a temporary livelihood and get into IIT without major hindrances. He had to be telling the truth, I told myself, no matter how unbelievable his story might seem. So here he was, a young lad still in his teens, waging the battle of his life all by himself, making sure he could carry his family and his own self out of this ruin without any further scars. This would easily have destroyed a lesser man's resolve. He didn't ask me for money or any help at all, except to tell him all about the IITs that I knew.
After this most remarkable story of the boy with the red band, the old man's tale would seem quite unspectacular, and almost tame and commonplace. The elderly were a suffering breed all across the length and breadth of this nation with the best culture and tradition in the whole world. The present tale was a sad one though- the daughter died early, the wife died soon after, the sons are lost in Asgard, the property is lost, the land is lost and all the money is lost- only pride and honour remain intact. Not willing to ask his fellow villagers for money or a source of livelihood, Baba came to the city and ended up as a labourer quite in the same mould as the boy at this steel plant. He smiled a toothless smile, blessed me with all his heart, and expressed hope that the boy would escape from this hell, realize all his dreams and save his family in the process. I shook hands with him and left, not having any words to say or indeed any expressions appropriate to show on my face.
This is my story of the day. I have learnt a lot about metal processing, alloy making, furnace functioning, fire-cutting, continuous casting and roll milling in fair detail in the last few days. But I realized while walking back home that my real education began only today, in the most unlikeliest of ways and forms possible.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Day 7: El Gracioso
I was so early today to reach the railway crossing that I got down from the rickshaw there itself to walk the rest of the way with no hurry whatsoever. It was still well before 10 that I entered the office room. I welcomed the simulated cooling this time- now that the clouds had all vanished into thin air, and the skies were overcast no more, it was the sun's turn to burn away in all its searing splendour once again. I assumed my position and kept busy with writing for a long time, until delaying my foray outside wasn't a polite proposition anymore.
The plant was unsurprisingly brimming with the hustle and bustle of work. I visited all the usual places, but the most memorable visit was reserved for that majestic piece of machinery which they called the CCM. It was the first time that I was allowed to go inside the machine and explore its various parts, albeit under the guidance of Sharmaji. The steaming hot molten metal was being poured in from the top, which went two storeys high, and moving through long winding paths, getting cooled all the time, it would be appropriately shaped. I watched in wonder as the red hot shapes underwent fire-sword cutting and the billets formed collected them at the very end of the machine.
Lunch was an exceptionally special occasion today- all thanks to the idlis, sambaar and coconut chutney that I brought from home. Rajbeerji and Sharmaji looked beside themselves with joy and made merry, inviting a few other fellows too to help finish the mammoth pile of steamed idlis. It was an enjoyable experience, and everyone around thanked me repeatedly. I was offered laddoos by one, a favour I accepted most gleefully with outstretched hands.
That apart, Rajbeerji was at his eccentric best today. He talked and laughed a lot, and had his audience in splits while reciting tales of his drunken escapades. He took his mockery of poor Nagarji a wee bit too far, and there was some bad blood between the two. But it was great, great fun. Thus a very satisfying day came to an end and I stepped out into the heat at 4 in the evening, to go home and take some well-deserved rest.
The plant was unsurprisingly brimming with the hustle and bustle of work. I visited all the usual places, but the most memorable visit was reserved for that majestic piece of machinery which they called the CCM. It was the first time that I was allowed to go inside the machine and explore its various parts, albeit under the guidance of Sharmaji. The steaming hot molten metal was being poured in from the top, which went two storeys high, and moving through long winding paths, getting cooled all the time, it would be appropriately shaped. I watched in wonder as the red hot shapes underwent fire-sword cutting and the billets formed collected them at the very end of the machine.
Lunch was an exceptionally special occasion today- all thanks to the idlis, sambaar and coconut chutney that I brought from home. Rajbeerji and Sharmaji looked beside themselves with joy and made merry, inviting a few other fellows too to help finish the mammoth pile of steamed idlis. It was an enjoyable experience, and everyone around thanked me repeatedly. I was offered laddoos by one, a favour I accepted most gleefully with outstretched hands.
That apart, Rajbeerji was at his eccentric best today. He talked and laughed a lot, and had his audience in splits while reciting tales of his drunken escapades. He took his mockery of poor Nagarji a wee bit too far, and there was some bad blood between the two. But it was great, great fun. Thus a very satisfying day came to an end and I stepped out into the heat at 4 in the evening, to go home and take some well-deserved rest.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Day 6: Employer Strikes Back
This has to be one of the most bizarre days I've seen in a long long time. And trust me, I have seen a lot. I received the it-would-rain-anytime weather early in the morning with disbelieving eyes. It had been like this since day 4 of my intern, and for the heat-habitual Delhiite, this was quite an incredulous fact to accept. A smooth tempo ride took me to the plant, and I was inside my beloved office in no time at all. It was freezing in there, I have to say. The temperature was falling below 25 degrees, and my chair had been placed directly in front of the air conditioner- which would be a most delightful proposition for me on any other day. I almost froze to death before rushing out into the open, forgetting to take even the helmet in my hurry.
I bumped into too many random characters today. Some of them were pleasurable meetings, and the conversations that followed were most enjoyable, but most of the others turned into largely nonchalant talks, while a few became simply too hostile. Miffed by all this, I went about my tasks just the same. I was to be introduced to the grandest machine yet in the plant today, the CONCAST machine. The ladle carrying the liquid metal would travel all the way from the furnaces to this humongous machine that was situated at one extreme corner of the plant. The metal would flow through the top, along the many twisting and winding paths and through to the bottom succession of wheels where the now cooled steel billets would pass and be collected at the end. The system captured my imagination just as all the others.
The terrace tops was where I had an objectionable and most needless encounter with one of the workers, for no real reason at all. I would be writing in some detail about the same very soon, hopefully. Everywhere I went today, a host of labourers, officers and middle-men seemed to follow me. The plant looked extremely crowded with humans today, too many of whom felt like sharing their ways about matters relevant and irrelevant with me. I hope to mold all these incidents into something readable. In the end, I was very glad to pick up my bag, wave some hurried goodbyes and rush off home.
I bumped into too many random characters today. Some of them were pleasurable meetings, and the conversations that followed were most enjoyable, but most of the others turned into largely nonchalant talks, while a few became simply too hostile. Miffed by all this, I went about my tasks just the same. I was to be introduced to the grandest machine yet in the plant today, the CONCAST machine. The ladle carrying the liquid metal would travel all the way from the furnaces to this humongous machine that was situated at one extreme corner of the plant. The metal would flow through the top, along the many twisting and winding paths and through to the bottom succession of wheels where the now cooled steel billets would pass and be collected at the end. The system captured my imagination just as all the others.
The terrace tops was where I had an objectionable and most needless encounter with one of the workers, for no real reason at all. I would be writing in some detail about the same very soon, hopefully. Everywhere I went today, a host of labourers, officers and middle-men seemed to follow me. The plant looked extremely crowded with humans today, too many of whom felt like sharing their ways about matters relevant and irrelevant with me. I hope to mold all these incidents into something readable. In the end, I was very glad to pick up my bag, wave some hurried goodbyes and rush off home.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Day 5: A New Hope
Why were you absent on Saturday?
That, from the indefatigable creature, the secretary. While Sarkar seemed lost and uninterested for once, his secy unsurprisingly looked eager to begin his day and mine by dishing out some of the old-fashioned spitefulness. Needless to say, I was stumped by the question. I had assumed they would know I signed up for a five-day week job. It never really is upon the employee to dictate such terms, but Mr B has acceded to my humble request readily last week. Convincing the higher powers would be a harder task, I realized. I marked the day's attendance and left the stuffy office with all but an apologetic smile, vowing to re-address the issue come Friday evening.
I got to know today from Sharmaji and Rajbeerji that the steel plant was in fact, a 24 hours production plant. Work took place during the nights with the very same intensity as during the days. So it was that I came to meet a new character who went by the name of Prateekji, and who was on his first day shift in many days. Senior Chemist was how Sharmaji introduced him to me as. Prateekji came across as a very friendly chap too, although a bit quieter and more reserved than the others.
As I sat in the office jotting down my stuff, I felt colder than usual. Room temperature was in the 26 degrees range, even lower than last time. That was courtesy the persistent cool winds and the now heavily overcast skies that could be found outside. It was too pleasant a day to be sitting shivering inside the chilly office room, and I ventured out more often than not. All the processes that together conspired to manufacture steel, were being performed in full flow everywhere, and it seemed with greater vigour and intensity than usual. The mighty furnaces were being used, cleaned, re-laid and re-used in very quick succession. Ladles carrying the liquid metal came almost flying, filling the molds repeatedly. I attributed the sudden frantic activity to the excitement and expectations that came with the first day of the new week.
My training went as planned, in the same typical manner of last week. I met a few more people and interacted with them as much as possible. During yet another delightful lunch conversation I was having with Sharmaji and co., I received a special and not unexpected request. It was regarding idli, sambaar and coconut chutney. I met this with a very warm smile and promised to bring the special preparations for them sooner rather than later. That apart, the day progressed quicker than usual and soon it was time for me to leave.
That, from the indefatigable creature, the secretary. While Sarkar seemed lost and uninterested for once, his secy unsurprisingly looked eager to begin his day and mine by dishing out some of the old-fashioned spitefulness. Needless to say, I was stumped by the question. I had assumed they would know I signed up for a five-day week job. It never really is upon the employee to dictate such terms, but Mr B has acceded to my humble request readily last week. Convincing the higher powers would be a harder task, I realized. I marked the day's attendance and left the stuffy office with all but an apologetic smile, vowing to re-address the issue come Friday evening.
I got to know today from Sharmaji and Rajbeerji that the steel plant was in fact, a 24 hours production plant. Work took place during the nights with the very same intensity as during the days. So it was that I came to meet a new character who went by the name of Prateekji, and who was on his first day shift in many days. Senior Chemist was how Sharmaji introduced him to me as. Prateekji came across as a very friendly chap too, although a bit quieter and more reserved than the others.
As I sat in the office jotting down my stuff, I felt colder than usual. Room temperature was in the 26 degrees range, even lower than last time. That was courtesy the persistent cool winds and the now heavily overcast skies that could be found outside. It was too pleasant a day to be sitting shivering inside the chilly office room, and I ventured out more often than not. All the processes that together conspired to manufacture steel, were being performed in full flow everywhere, and it seemed with greater vigour and intensity than usual. The mighty furnaces were being used, cleaned, re-laid and re-used in very quick succession. Ladles carrying the liquid metal came almost flying, filling the molds repeatedly. I attributed the sudden frantic activity to the excitement and expectations that came with the first day of the new week.
My training went as planned, in the same typical manner of last week. I met a few more people and interacted with them as much as possible. During yet another delightful lunch conversation I was having with Sharmaji and co., I received a special and not unexpected request. It was regarding idli, sambaar and coconut chutney. I met this with a very warm smile and promised to bring the special preparations for them sooner rather than later. That apart, the day progressed quicker than usual and soon it was time for me to leave.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Day 4: Routine
As I walked out of my house in the morning, my first thoughts were that it would most definitely rain today. I could almost feel the blessed drops kiss my parched skin as I made my way through the overcast skies to the plant. For a change, the secretary wasn't scowling. And Sarkar was smiling very gladly at me for some reason. The day had begun on an exceptionally bright note, and promised to get better as it progressed. The temperature inside my office, I noticed was at an all time low of 27 degrees, much to the delight of Sharmaji. Mr B was present to greet me today, and I enjoyed a 10 minute informal chat with him before commencing upon the day's work.
None of the operations taking place around the plant were a novelty to me now. I just went through the motions, visiting all the places, conversing with the workers, making notes (both mental and written) and grasping in all the facts. I walked the walk with Mr B and talked the talk with Sharmaji and Rajbeerji.
There was another workman present in the spectroscopy lab today, a random character whose name I'm still missing. He hung around me all the time to satiate his curious fascination for engineering education and its students, especially those from the IITs. He asked me everything he could think of related to it, proving to be quite a bit of a chatterbox but a useful companion nevertheless whenever things got dull. Apart from that, today was also a day of special bonding with youngest worker there, Prateek, who worked on afternoon shifts each day.
Walking around the plant, I would see many labourers hard at work, and each of them in turn would stare at me with keen probing eyes. I was a stranger to them, and hence a source of intrigue and wonderment. I met a young engineer near the furnaces while ambling through the area, a mechanical engineering pass-out who was in charge of the plant maintainence. He seemed extremely frustrated with life, and hard at ease with his work and surroundings. I lent my ears reluctantly to his doleful whining for a while, before shaking hands with him and moving on to the truck delivery area.
That is where my eyes fell on the first female I had seen inside the plant. She was just one among the labourers, and her broad shoulders and sturdy gait made her look most manly. I thanked the heavens for this feeble attempt at gender parity and went home having gained another day's worth of metallurgical enlightenment and having made many new friends with hard-working and respectable men.
None of the operations taking place around the plant were a novelty to me now. I just went through the motions, visiting all the places, conversing with the workers, making notes (both mental and written) and grasping in all the facts. I walked the walk with Mr B and talked the talk with Sharmaji and Rajbeerji.
There was another workman present in the spectroscopy lab today, a random character whose name I'm still missing. He hung around me all the time to satiate his curious fascination for engineering education and its students, especially those from the IITs. He asked me everything he could think of related to it, proving to be quite a bit of a chatterbox but a useful companion nevertheless whenever things got dull. Apart from that, today was also a day of special bonding with youngest worker there, Prateek, who worked on afternoon shifts each day.
Walking around the plant, I would see many labourers hard at work, and each of them in turn would stare at me with keen probing eyes. I was a stranger to them, and hence a source of intrigue and wonderment. I met a young engineer near the furnaces while ambling through the area, a mechanical engineering pass-out who was in charge of the plant maintainence. He seemed extremely frustrated with life, and hard at ease with his work and surroundings. I lent my ears reluctantly to his doleful whining for a while, before shaking hands with him and moving on to the truck delivery area.
That is where my eyes fell on the first female I had seen inside the plant. She was just one among the labourers, and her broad shoulders and sturdy gait made her look most manly. I thanked the heavens for this feeble attempt at gender parity and went home having gained another day's worth of metallurgical enlightenment and having made many new friends with hard-working and respectable men.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Day 3: Clouds of hope
The new day dawned cool and unusually pleasant, with a slight hint of impending rains in the sky and the trademark heat wave absent for once. I entered through the large gates of the plant at quarter past nine and went to the office, where I was greeted by the secretary's customary scowl. Which meant that coming 10 minutes early on the day couldn't make up for being late the previous day. I proceeded to my work place to meet the familiar faces, all sans my boss Mr B. Very much in sync with my routine by now, all of them went back to doing their jobs after exchanging quick smiles with me. I settled down and braced myself for the day's education.
Mr B was mostly missing from the office today, so I was with Rajbeerji and Sharmaji all the time. I was given a flow chart to study, prepared by Sharmaji, enlisting all the major processes being carried out in the steel plant in sequential order. I hung around the cool office for as long as possible, soaking in the theory in great detail, but had to eventually venture out into the now familiar heat once again. I noticed that the plant was kind of quiet today, and not much activity was in progress. The reason, I gathered from Sharmaji was that it was time for the furnaces to be revamped from the insides following the furious applications they had been subject to in the past few days. Without the melting of the metals, there was no question of casting taking place. So only the laboratory analysis of the scrap iron samples was happening on the day.
The rebuilding process of the furnace lining was also an interesting job. The present lining was being scraped out using pointed metallic sticks and new material was being plastered in along the sides. And at the distant end of the plant, an end I hadn't found time to explore yet, the rolling mill was in operation. Long red hot rods could be seen snaking their way through the sliding machines, where they were being cooled and formed into the required shapes and cut into desired sizes. As always enthralled by the sights, I stood watching and talking to the workmen for a long time.
A relatively quiet day thus passed, and I ran back home at quarter to 4 with a silent prayer of rain on my lips.
Mr B was mostly missing from the office today, so I was with Rajbeerji and Sharmaji all the time. I was given a flow chart to study, prepared by Sharmaji, enlisting all the major processes being carried out in the steel plant in sequential order. I hung around the cool office for as long as possible, soaking in the theory in great detail, but had to eventually venture out into the now familiar heat once again. I noticed that the plant was kind of quiet today, and not much activity was in progress. The reason, I gathered from Sharmaji was that it was time for the furnaces to be revamped from the insides following the furious applications they had been subject to in the past few days. Without the melting of the metals, there was no question of casting taking place. So only the laboratory analysis of the scrap iron samples was happening on the day.
The rebuilding process of the furnace lining was also an interesting job. The present lining was being scraped out using pointed metallic sticks and new material was being plastered in along the sides. And at the distant end of the plant, an end I hadn't found time to explore yet, the rolling mill was in operation. Long red hot rods could be seen snaking their way through the sliding machines, where they were being cooled and formed into the required shapes and cut into desired sizes. As always enthralled by the sights, I stood watching and talking to the workmen for a long time.
A relatively quiet day thus passed, and I ran back home at quarter to 4 with a silent prayer of rain on my lips.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)