UP Sainik School, Lucknow - Attention Old Boys !!

This Post is for Fellow Upsainians,

It was indeed a lucky moment for me to find pictures of my school while surfing the net a few years back. I copied them on to my blog later and never thought that this act would help getting in touch with long lost friends and fellow 'Upsainians'. I have very fond memories of the school which I joined in 1968 and left in 1972. My school number was 431 and my house was Tandon House. I plan to recount the tales related to UPSS when I have some more time on my hands in the future.

So any 'old boy' who searched for UP Sainik School on the internet also got my blog address thanks to the pictures and the text posted therein. The biggest surprise was me getting in touch with Rohit Varma (my house type, senior to me in school, but a dear friend) after nearly 27 years. He rang up from New Jersey (US) where he has spent most of his time and we plan to meet when he comes to India next. There is a lot of catching up to do !!

Another one was Suresh Chandra Pandey, (474/Kidwai), who posted a comment on my post 'Fire Training at Nagpur - More Photos' dated 26 March 2007 which I responded. Yet another Upsainian, Ashwini Kumar Tripathi, (938/Shastri), who is also based at Bangalore got in touch with me thanks to the blog. And it was through him that I now have the contact numbers of 9 other 'old boys' in Bangalore. The world is surely a small place !!

So any Upsainian out there (floundering in cyberspace) please get in touch by sending me a mail at nandanbisht@gmail.com

Bonding - RBI style

On 16th August (forenoon) I was told that all BLMC members would be going to see the 7.00 PM show of "Chak De India" at PVR, Forum Mall, Koramangala. The same afternoon a circular was received which confirmed this fact and also required all those viewing the show to put up a note on 'Management Lessons' learnt from the movie subsequently.

Such events are common in the corporate sector but it was a 'first' that I have witnessed during my entire service with the Bank. Its nice to see the winds of change in our conservative organization (even if it happens owing to a friendly push from the top !!) . I hope all you guys are not turning 'green' with envy at we being the first to be put through such an entertaining exercise. Well, I missed the beginning of the movie thanks to the lousy traffic in this city but it was a good experience. I must have watched a movie in a hall after 7-8 years.

The movie is a vibrant tale based on the real life story of M.R.Negi who was the goalkeeper of the Indian team that lost 7-1 to Pakistan in the finals of the 1982 Asiad. The story is all about him trying to redeem his honour and trying to fight the demons in his head. In the movie Shah Rukh Khan dreams to transform a motley group of girls from all over the country who dont see eye to eye with each other, into world beaters. The movie is all about how he does it.

The movie reminds us of our religious, regional, racial and gender biases in a stark manner. These are deeply rooted in our culture and their origins can be traced back to more than 2000 years when caste system was started in the later vedic ages. These prejudices are not going to be removed in a day but it is heartening to note that efforts are being constantly made to eradicate them.

Hearing the crowd clap at various times during the movie also reminds us of 'nationalism' even if it is just for three hours in the dark confines of the hall. Outside the hall the regional divide is very much present in our day to day lives.

It does have a lot of management lessons which I am not going to enumerate over here. The movie is offbeat and a treat to watch. So do yourselves a favour and 'Chak De'.

PS :The only flipside in the whole episode was that we could not watch it with the family. Got a lot of brickbats at home for that !! A sad epilogue to an otherwise enjoyable evening.

Lungar Gupp XXVI

1. The race for filling up the DGMs post at Mumbai is in full swing. Some time back one of the contenders from Chennai was the favourite but if murmurings are to be believed then it is still up for grabs.

2. CPP Exam. Sahni (Chennai), R.M.Bade (Mumbai), Moin Zafar (Jaipur) and M.W.Khan (Lucknow) are all set to take the test in November this year. Here is wishing them all the best. Maj Sahni is most keen to pass the test as he has just got his 'green card' for permanent residence in the US and attaining the certification will land him a $80,000/- plus job for sure. In fact, he is coming to Bangalore for a tete-a-tete with me regarding this.

3. Independence Day. Best wishes to all for the 60th Independence day celebrations tomorrow. We at RBI, Bangalore start the celebrations at 0600 hrs ( no kidding !! ) with flag hoisting at one of the residential colonies followed by another at 0630 hrs and 0700 hrs in the Bank's premises.

CPP Study Kit

Guys,

I am sure this will bring cheer to a lot of CPP aspirants from the Bank. At long last the Central Office is purchasing one set of CPP Study Kit. I got a call from the Central Security Cell last week asking my opinion whether to buy the 'Protection of Assets Manual' hard copy (set of four folders) or to go in for an online version which will be regularly updated. I told them to buy BOTH which our friend Mr Venugopal (AGM at CSC) assured me that he would advise DEAP to do so. Since this manual is the most important (besides being the costliest too) of all the prescribed books it makes sense to go in for both. This should encourage security officers to start preparations to attain the CPP certification. Another set is being purchased by CAB, Pune.

Breaking News !!

It is understood that five additional posts of AGMs in our cadre have been approved. The vacancies in Grade 'B' work out to three as on date after curtailment. It is expected that the regularisation process will be over soon and we may see a new DGM, five new AGMs and three new Managers. For all you know this may happen in 2007 itself. So all you contenders out there - dust your skids, brush up your knowledge and take out that bottle of 'old wine' - rejoice !!