The Old,Old Wine

" Once there lived a rich man who was justly proud of his cellar and the wine therein. And there was one jug of ancient vintage kept for some occasion known only to himself. The Governor of the state visited him, and he bethought and said, "That jug shall not be opened for a mere governor". And a bishop of the diocese visited him, but he said to himself, "Nay,I will not open that jug. He would not know its value, nor would its aroma reach his nostrils."

The prince of the realm came and supped with him. But he thought, "It is too royal a wine for a mere princeling." And even on the day when his own nephew was married, he said to himself, "No, not to these guests shall that jug be brought forth."

And the years passed by, and he died, an old man, and he was buried like unto every seed and acorn. And upon the day he was buried the ancient jug was brought out together with other jugs of wine, and it was shared by the peasants of the neighbourhood.

And none knew its great age. To them, all that is poured into a cup is only wine."

KAHLIL GIBRAN

The above passage is from "Selected Works of Kahlil Gibran". I used to be an avid reader of Gibran once upon a time. He was a mystic and artist of Lebanese origin who came to prominence in the early twentieth century. His writings were in Arabic but it seems nothing has been 'lost in translation' and they are timeless in their essence and relevance. How many of us keep that 'jug of ancient wine' which we will not let anyone partake ? Things kept for someone special or some occasion ? Gifts which were never given away ? Items which we have never used and will not let others use too ? Contemplate on this guys !! And take out that special jug before the peasants have it.

Greener Pastures

Andhra Bank has invited applications for Senior Manager Security in MMG Scale III grade. There are a total of 11 posts and the starting pay offered is Rs 18,400/- basic (gross approx Rs 26,000/-). Preference will be given to Security Officers working in Banks/PSUs. This is the first time I am seeing posts in Scale III in Commercial Banks for Security Officers. It is understood that the Chief Security Officer of Andhra Bank was instrumental in convincing the Bank's management to offer this grade to Security Officers as most used to leave in frustration. For those of our colleagues who are nearing 5 years of service and are hunting for greener pastures - this is not a bad deal if one gets his station of choice. The last date for receipt of applications is 06 August 2007. Details are available on the Bank's website.

Lungar Gupp XXV

Promotion. At long last Capt B.Muralidharan has got the long awaited letter informing him of his promotion to AGM (P&S). The best part is that it is effective 11 Jan 2007. Congrats Murali ! When and where are the celebrations ?

Postings. Connected to the promotion above was Capt Amarnath's posting to Kolkata. It is understood that his marching orders were issued by DAPM last week but Amar has represented to be retained at Hyderabad. Another posting in the offing is that of one of the youngsters (Ghosh) from Kanpur to Kolkata.

Career Progression. The case regarding additional AGMs in our cadre has still not been cleared by the top management. It is believed that some queries have been raised so it may take some more time.

CAIIB Exam. Results for the said examination were declared recently and it is really heartening to note Vidyasagar (Bangalore), Dolly Kushwaha (Jaipur) and R.M.Bade (Mumbai) have passed the CAIIB exam. Congratulations to all of them. I dont know if there are some more whom I have missed. It is always better to know more about the industry you are working in besides getting additional increments, knowledge enhancement, ego satisfaction, etc, etc .

CPP. Capt M.W.Khan has finally made up his mind to appear for the said exam in November 2007. He has sent his request to HRDD to allow him to take the test under the Bank's incentive scheme. Well done Khan !! Trust an old horse to try out new tricks - shame on you youngsters - you slowpokes !!!

Professional Development

Guys,

I wonder how many of you have visited RBI, Nagpur website and clicked on the "Security Management" tab on the left sidebar ? Well, do it now if you haven't already done so !! Capt Shailendranath has posted some excellent powerpoint presentations on Bomb Threat, The Fallout of 9/11, Disaster Management (for RBI, Nagpur, Additional Office Building, in Hindi and English) and Fire Fighting. A lot of hardwork is evident in his effort. This should encourage presentations on similiar lines which can be made for every office and posted on the related websites. Well done Shailendra !!

Lungar Gupp XXIV

1. “Lungar Gupp” – Defined. Some of you may be wondering why the title of this post is being defined at this belated stage. Well, someone from a ‘non-fauji’ background happened to ask me the meaning of this title recently. I told him that “lungar” in army parlance meant the cookhouse where hungry soldiers got together to have a quick meal and share some gossip. Lungar Gupp referred to the ‘gossip’ doing the rounds. In my blog this means gossip, unconfirmed reports, rumours, hearsay, etc, etc. It is all meant to be taken with ‘generous’ helpings of salt. No offence meant – it is all in a lighter vein. So guys, please take this as a disclaimer, no further clarifications wil be given.

2. Career Progression . It is believed that 7 additional posts of AGMs are likely to be created which will take the total to 12 posts. The flip side is that these seven posts will be reduced from the 40 or so existing Grade ‘B’ posts. Another feature which is likely to be done away with is the erstwhile ‘barsati’ designation of AGM (though running scale will remain). So this is bad news for those of you who had got two sets of visiting cards printed (one for outsiders and one for insiders !!). In case this proves to be true, our friends in Grade ‘A’ are not going to like it (reduction of Grade ‘B’ posts). Well, let us wait and watch !!

3. Addendum . Apropos ‘Lungar Gupp XXIII’ Sumit Upreti had called me up last week to say that he would be reporting to Delhi office today (16 July 2007). Here’s wishing him all the best.

4. Unity in Diversity . A serving Army officer has sent me a photo which I must share with you all. My ‘fauji’ colleagues will remember seeing such slogans by the Border Roads Organisation in field areas :

Lungar Gupp XXIII

1. Musical Chairs. I believe there is a solid game of ‘musical chairs’ going on for the DGM’s post which will fall vacant on the superannuation of Capt Kaushik on 31 August. On last count there were 5 contenders who are willing to circle the solitary ‘chair’. Who will ultimately get it is anyone’s guess. So here’s wishing ‘Happy Clawing and Scratching’ to all the contenders. May the maddest scramble begin and the most agile win !!

2. Career Progression. Another bit of news that I heard just today is that the Central Security Cell has taken up a case in writing regarding promotions of Security Officers. With the murmurs of grade ‘C’ posts being increased already doing the rounds, I only hope that this new initiative does not backfire and the powers that be do not take it as an affront. Let us hope and pray that the two cases will be not construed to work at cross purposes.

3. RBI Shimla. Our friend Capt Jaswal was in the thick of things (enjoying the cool climes of Shimla) while he was helping set up the new office at Shimla. He spent a week over there helping the GM incharge get things going. Some people have all the luck !!

4. Postings. It is understood that Maj Neelesh Tiwari from Kanpur office is being expected at RBI, New Delhi. Maj Sumit Upreti from Patna (also posted to New Delhi) has not yet been relieved. Seems like some movement is inevitable to these centres from 'house full' places. Lets see what happens and who the hapless blokes are !!

5. Quotable Quote. Here is an original quote from one of the youngsters with me :

"Living in Bangalore is like living in Heaven (provided you have NOT seen hell) !! - Capt Neeraj Dobhal

That’s it till next time. Keep smiling.

Testing BlogJet

I have installed an interesting application - BlogJet. It's a cool Windows client for my blog tool (as well as for other tools). Get your copy here: http://blogjet.com/

"Computers are incredibly fast, accurate and stupid; humans are incredibly slow, inaccurate and brilliant; together they are powerful beyond imagination." -- Albert Einstein

PSP Exam - First Time in India

There is good news on the ASIS certifications front. As awareness about these globally recognised certifications is increasing in India, more and more profesionals are becoming interested in getting certified. ASIS New Delhi Chapter has added another feather to its cap by getting approval from ASIS International,USA, to host the 'Physical Security Professional' (PSP) exam at New Delhi in November 2007. The exam will be held in conjunction with the CPP exam already scheduled for November. Details about this certification are available on the ASIS website. Certification from ASIS offers career enhancing benefits and recognition within the industry which is much sought after. So start studying and take your pick of the certfications available.