Chairman's Staff Party 2009

In our company all members of the staff hold a get together every year department wise, the expenses for which are borne by the company. This is called the Chairman's Staff Party. Owing to various committments the said party for our department could not be held in 2009 so we organized it on 13 and 20 January 2010 for the Security staff posted in the Muscat region (also known as the capital area). We have around 300 personnel in the capital region so the party was held on two consecutive Wednesdays (last working day of the week) for a strength of approximately 150 on each occasion. This was also necessary to ensure that all shifts could be covered. On both the days, the security staff (nationals as well as expatriates), let their hair down and had a ball of a time. The venue was an outdoor location courtesy a well known restuarant which provided a sumptious fare with a DJ in attendance.

This opportunity was also used to give away prizes to a select few who had shown exemplary dedication and devotion to duty during the year 2009. Following are some photos clicked during the parties :

Prizes being given away by the Chief Guest

A scene of the party
One of the boys literally pulled me on stage !

Free for all on the stage

Fareed Al Balushi and Capt Anand Rawal dancing

to a popular Hindi tune.

Aseem Sharma and Mahfoodh Al Hinai are all smiles.

Benefits of Patrolling in Guarding Operations

Notwithstanding the proliferation of technology in the field of Security Management today, human barriers are still the most effective in a vast majority of security applications. Recently there was an attempted theft case at one of the vehicle yards where the breach was detected by the security guard who was on patrolling duty. The yard has a perimeter of approximately 5 kms and one tour of patrolling takes about an hour. There are contact points fixed all along the boundary wall which have to be physically touched by the ‘proxy pen’ (part of the guard monitoring system) by the patrolling guard. When the said guard reached the location of one such contact point he saw that there was a breach in the wall and four truck tyres were lying on the ground. This happened at 0300 hrs and the intruder(s) fled presumably on seeing the light of the torch which the approaching guard was carrying. On further investigation he could see a car parked on the highway which drove off as soon as he stepped out of the gap in the wall. The guard showed remarkable presence of mind by noting down the registration number of the vehicle which was passed on to the Police investigation team. The area was secured and the boundary wall repaired after the Police team had concluded their inspection of the site.

All facilities such as vehicle yards, warehouses and business premises which are spread out over a large area warrant the requirement of patrolling by the security guards, particularly at night. The above incident brought home a some lessons for us which we are in the process of addressing. These are as follows :
(a) The collusion of some insider cannot be ruled out in this particular case. Action is in hand to sort out this problem.
(b) Reducing the time taken for patrolling. In the instant case the intruders had time to remove four tyres from the parked trucks. They took the toolkit from one of the locked trucks by breaking the window glass. They may have had knowledge about the time taken for one round by the patrolling guard.
(c) The vulnerability of the unarmed security guard who has to confront such situations. A vehicle will shortly be provided for patrolling so as to reduce the time taken for one round as also to provide some measure of protection to the security guard.
(d) Increasing the frequency of patrolling and not sticking to a particular schedule which can be predictable.

Following are some photos taken at the site which will illustrate the above mentioned points better :

The tyres lying near the breach. Each costs nearly

350 Rials (approx Rs 40,000/-) !
The breach viewed form outside. Abandoned tools
are also visible.

The guard monitoring contact point on the sheet

which was damaged.

A view of the area outside the facility which is lonely

and isolated. Ideal ingredients for potential intruders !

UPSS Golden Jubilee - Some More Pics !

Here are some more photos of the UP Sainik School Golden Jubilee celebrations :

Wreath laying ceremony at the War Memorial

Proceeding to the venue for the foundation stone laying

ceremony for the proposed Ampitheatre which will

seat 1000 persons.Just before the start of the AGM. Vice Admiral Paras Nath

can be seen at the bottom right of the pic.

Rakesh Gupta and Anjan Das chilling out - cultural

programme, cocktails and dinner on 19 Dec 2009 Surya Officers Institute at Lucknow Cantt was the

venue for the evening and was suitably bedecked.

Old Boys catching up on lost time !

Back to School after 37 years !!

After I passed out of UP Sainik School, Lucknow in December 1972 I used to make plans every year to attend the annual 'Old Boys' meet and visit the school to refresh and recollect the plethora of memories associated with growing in my alma mater. Something or the other always came up and I could not attend a single reunion till 2009. Somehow, it was never possible for me to attend the annual functions when I was posted at various places in India. It became a reality after 37 long years and that too after relocating to Oman. It was great catching up with old friends and classmates, seniors and juniors, and reliving the cherished moments of our school life. The reception we got from the cadets was overwhelming. The entire school was lined up along the approach road clapping and greeting all the visitors despite the early morning chill of Lucknow. Following are some photographs which will tell the story better (click to enlarge) :

Myself, Rohit Varma, Abhay Dixit and Kushwaha with

the cadets before start of the programme.

Self, Rohit, Dixit and Kushwaha (Dixit was telling
us outrageous jokes - purportedly true tales)

The old boys with Mr R.P.Shukla (in brown coat) - our

Chemistry teacher who used to bash errant cadets at the

drop of a hat but was also a friend, philosopher and

guide. He retired from service ages ago but he recognised

all of us and even remembered some of the pranks

we used to play.

Class of 1972 - Anjan Das, Rakesh Gupta, S.K.Arora, self.

In front of our old class.

The Academic Block (we never had coolers !)

The 'Toofani' - given a facelift !

Class of '72 with Toofani as backdrop.

Frontage of the school (Administrative Block).

Yours truly !

Statue of Guru Dronacharya.

S.K.Arora and self

UP Sainik School Golden Jubilee Celebrations

On 19th and 20th December 2009 UP Sainik School, Lucknow celebrated its Golden Jubilee. A record number of 'Old Boys' turned up for this historic occasion. There were a lot of other 'firsts' in the conduct various events - the most notable being the Lucknow half marathon which was held on 20th December. The first batch of old boys (who joined the school in 1960) were present in good strength (I think they outnumbered all other subsequent batches !) The 'Old Boys Association' really worked overtime and stretched themselves to the limit to ensure that the programme went off well. The office bearers are to be congratulated for completing this Herculean task in an impeccable manner. Following are some photos of the various events which were held to kickstart the Golden Jubilee year (click on the photo to enlarge):

The programme started with the 'Wreath Laying'

ceremony at the War Memorial.
Laying of foundation stone for the new Ampitheatre
by 'old boy' Lt Gen V.K.Chaturvedi, AVSM, VSM
Cricket match between the old boys and the cadets.

Capt Sunil Chandra Vir Chakra Dwar - the new gate.

Tug-of-War between the old boys and the cadets

(the old boys lost)

Sitting in the Auditorium for the 'Old Boys' meet.

The first batch being felicitated on the stage.

Old Boys (and some spouses) from the first batch

on stage at the cultural programme on 19 Dec. Mrs

Molly Daniel (wife of Late Col H.R.H.Daniel - the

first Principal of the school) can be seen after

cutting the Golden Jubilee cake.

Participants warming up for the Lucknow Half

Marathon on 20 December 2009 at 0600 hrs.

'Prerna' - Lucknow Half Marathon was flagged off

by the GOC-in-C, Central command, from the

K.D.Singh Babu stadium at 0730 hrs.

The Old Boys Association has resolved to conduct

this 'prize money' event every year. The idea is to

bring Lucknow at par with other cities where such

races are held every year as also to create

awareness about the school.

The start of the 5 km race for boys and girls under

18 years of age.

'The Inspiration'

Video of the flag off - Lucknow Half Marathon !

(The response for this event was very good with the

participation of a lot of well known runners from

India and abroad)

Happy New Year 2010

Wishing all the readers prosperity, health and peace in the New Year !

Prepaid Taxi Woes at IGI Airport

The prepaid taxi service at Indira Gandhi International Airport, in my opinion, is the ultimate 'pain - in- the - backside' for travellers. On 21 December I landed from Muscat at around 9.00 PM and the experience I had was nightmarish. The service is suposed to be run by cops (Delhi Police) who only dole out receipts after charging rounded off fares for the farthest point of any area where one wishes to travel. After that the traveller is left to fend for himself clutching his receipt and pushing his trolley trying to find out where the hell to board the taxi from. I was told that the taxi would be available outside Exit No.2 but when I reached that point I found that taxies arriving were already occupied. Enterprising travellers had made a beeline right upto the taxi stand and grabbed the cab there. I found that there were no takers for short distances and foreigners were being given preferential treatment by touts and hangers-on who were helping them find their cabs in the hope of a hefty tip. There was no cop in sight to regulate this chaos. A couple of them were sitting in a kiosk mechanically noting down names of those who were lucky enough to get the cabs. I refused to budge from the point from where I was supposed to get the cab and wasted an hour in the process. When I was sufficiently pissed off by the proceedings, I went back inside the terminal and got back my fare after arguing with the cops for another half an hour. I then rang up a friend and asked him to pick me up - having wasted nearly two hours at the airport. This was the first time I tried to take a prepaid cab from the airport and it will surely be the last.

Flash Floods

On 11, 12 and 13 December Muscat and some other parts of Oman experienced heavy rainfall (by Gulf standards). Muscat received 16 to 18 mm of rain during these days which I think is the annual average. The advent of rain was a welcome sight but it had a sad fallout. Some of the areas which are bordered by hills were hit by flash floods wreaking havoc in their wake. This is a common occurence whenever it rains and the Government makes it a point to issue cautionary notices to be careful and to avoid 'wadis' (dry river beds or runoffs where roads often criss cross each other). At some known dangerous points, the Royal Oman Police even put road blocks to discourage road users. On 11 December some foolhardy people paid no heed to such advisories and ten lives were lost. One of them was an employee from my company who had just spent a month and a half in Muscat before he got swept away and died. Flash floods are very dangerous and can cause untold devastation in a split second. Vehicles of all sizes were tossed around like corks and were battered beyond recognition, a sight I happened to witness later. Rains are a welcome phenomena in Oman but one needs to be wary of the fury of nature.

UP Sainik School Golden Jubilee Celebrations

Following is a news item published in TOI on 11 Dec 2009 after the Upsainian OBA convened a press conference regarding the subject at Lucknow.
Marathon to celebrate Sainik School landmark
TNN 11 December 2009, 05:54am IST
LUCKNOW: The UP Sainik School Old Boys Association (UPSAINIANS), a body of alumni of Uttar Pradesh Sainik School, Lucknow, is organizing the 21.097 km half marathon in Lucknow on December 20 to commemorate the 50th year of the establishment of the school.
The school was established in 1960 with the objective of increasing the number of students joining the armed forces. The school has achieved this objective of sending more than 800 cadets to National Defence Academy/Indian Military Academy which trains the officers of Indian Armed Forces.
The school has the rare distinction of having produced the bravery icon, Param Vir Chakra awardee (Late) Captain Manoj Pandey, who made the supreme sacrifice during the Kargil war and a host of other bravery award winners. UPSAINIAN undertakes activities for supporting the children aiming to join armed forces besides organising other social activities.
The marathon will be the first such run in state. The events on the day will be half marathon, a five km run and a 1 km run. The run is being branded as `Prerna 2009' with an intent to inspire the people of Lucknow. More than 3,000 people are expected to be participating in the run which will be starting from the KD Singh `Babu' Stadium at 7:30 am and traverse through the main areas of the city. The run would be flagged-off by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Command.
It will carry a first prize of Rs 1,00,000, second prize of Rs 50,000 and third prize of Rs 25,000. The dream run of 5 kms will carry following prizes, first prize of Rs 15,000, second prize of Rs 10,000 and third prize of Rs 5,000. This dream run will have separate prizes for male and female categories.
The run will also showcase winners of Delhi marathon who will be the star attraction at Prerna 2009. As a special treat to youngsters a special adventure zone is being created by the Indian Army and will feature attractions like hot air ballooning amongst others.
The registration for `Prerna 2009' will commence from December 12 and forms will be available at Dr Mobile, Sri Ram Towers, Hazratganj; Modern Communication, Mithai Walla Chauraha, Gomti Nagar; Mukesh Modern Bazaar, near Punjab & Sind Bank, Alambagh; Vikendra Mobile World, Main crossing chowk amongst others.

A post from 'faujnet' !

Following is a post I came across while browsing through 'faujnet' (of which I am a member -www.faujnet.com ). Those of my 'fauji' friends who are not yet aware of this may like to visit the site and become members. Coming to the subject post, here it is :

Carrear in Banking post Release/Retirement
Dear Friends,
I am Captain Bhaskar Bhattacharya (Retd) from 74 Armoured Regiment, left army in 1992. I am 41st SSC was commissioned in Mar' 1986.
I am presently employed in DENA BANK, one of the nationalised banks and working as Sr. Manager Securirty and Estate. DENA BANK is having majority of their branches in the state of Gujarat and Maharashtra. I thought it is appropriate for me to inform my fauji colleagues about carrear in banking after defence service .

The banking sector though advertises for filling up vacancies of Ex defence officers but the job has following short comings:
1. No initiative at any level for ex officers.
2. No residential accomodation,
3. No infrastructure to perform, No assistant to work for you,
4. Excessive expectation to perform
5. Our post is for support system hence no clear career path
6. No vehicle to perform your duties, except for 2 wheelers which is rather demoralising after leaving defence force in certain authoritative position,
7. Salary is also not to match with the market CTC offered by MNCs.
8. NO family life, no social life as security is not looked upon in high esteem.
9. The people wish to be friendly for canteen facilities otherwise do not care.
10. Dealing with guards directly which otherwise being done by Havildars/JCOs in units.
11. Growth in reaching higher scale is limited to Chief Managers provided vacancy exists.
12. Lateral movement/shift in other department is practically impossible.
13. One is provided with a chair and a table with computer no cabins even after 2 decades of bank service.
Financial, positional, emotional or in all parameters the banking carrear is not rewarding except for RBI openings.

Through this forum I wish to inform one and all to weigh all pros and cons and then select banking as carrear post defence job.
I may be contacted on brc161965@gmail.com.
Thanking you & Regards
Bhaskar
PS : There were some comments appended to this post which I have not attached here. Capt Bhaskar says banking 'carrear' is not rewarding except RBI openings. Must say 'ignorance is bliss' for this remark !