I reached home very late that night and over the dinner, my wife informed me that one Mr. Jha had come to our house in the evening and delivered an urgent message of Mr. S. K. Swamy (Personal Officer of a public limited company at Jamshedpur) and he wanted to wait for the reply for Mr. Swamy’s message. My wife with great difficulty could convince Mr. Jha that my arrival will be sometime at mid-night and that only tomorrow morning it would be possible to get a reply from me.
Hearing this from my wife, I got worried and all sorts of thought started pouring into my mind; what could have happened there, may be the machine we sold to them last month was not working or there could be some other problem. Carrying lots of negative thoughts, I finally went to sleep very late, with so many worries and tension.
The next morning, when I called Mr. Swamy over phone, he sounded very worried and asked me to rush to his office immediately. Over a cup of tea, he explained to me the whole story. A few months back, I gave them one Bio-data of Mr. Alok Kumar Karmchandani, who was then working as a Finance Head in an engineering organization at Ranchi. He was short listed for the post of “Chief Finance Office.” Last week, the Chairman of the company came back from abroad and wanted to meet with this new CFO, to whom they were thinking of appointing, but could not trace him at his Ranchi address because by then he had already resigned from that company, almost three months back, and had not left his contact address.
And when the Chairman enquired about the source of his Bio-data, my name came to light because I had given them the CV. Now Mr. Swamy’s boss: Mr. S. C. Sen (Chief Personal Officer) sincerely wanted me to trace Mr. Karamchandani and bring him to their Calcutta office to meet with their Chairman, who was to reach Calcutta the day after morning by his own plane.
Mr. Swamy happened to be a very dear friend of mine and so was Mr. Karamchandani. I therefore took one day casual leave from my job and proceeded to Calcutta the very next day to try and locate Mr. Karamchandani.
On arrival at Calcutta, first I visited Mr. Karamchandani’s previous company’s registered office and met with all the people in that office who could possibly know his address, but no luck. Nobody could help me out in this regard and I left the office with a heavy heart. While stepping down from the office stair, an old Peon of that office came running after me and said “You are looking for Mr. Karamchandani, I had once seen him near about the Red Building fast food restaurant on Camac Street.” He also gave me a tip that probably Mr. Karamchandani was working with a big builder of Calcutta whose Office was located near the Red building on Camac Street itself.
I thanked the peon and rushed towards the Red Building on Camac Street and started enquiring about the builder’s office near the restaurant. After visiting a couple of offices nearby, I finally located the builder’s office and when enquired about Mr. Karamchandani, the Lady sitting on the reception counter confirmed to me that yes, Mr. Karamchandani was employed there but he had gone to the Bank and would be back after 2.00 P.M.
She then asked me to wait at the visitor’s room and sent hot cup of tea along with biscuits and few magazines to read and relax while waiting. Mr. Karamchandani came back to his office around 2.30 PM and immediately came rushing to the visitor’s room on hearing from the receptionist that I was waiting for him since long. He was surprised and almost in a dilemma and shocking stage, as to what had brought me to his office and more importantly, from where did I get his address.
He came rushing in waiting room and first hugged me and literally pulled me-up, started laughing with great joy and said in an overwhelming tone, “So, at last, you have caught me, what’s up?” He met me as if we were meeting after ages and was so happy seeing me today at his new office. His emotions could not be explained in words and the genuineness of warmth was so clear and visible on his face. He immediately called his staff member to arrange lunch for us and started enquiring about me, my family and my job etc. I then told him about the purpose of my visit. He agreed to meet with the Chairman. He also invited me to have breakfast with him the next morning at his residence and from there he said, we would go together to meet with the Chairman.
We reached at the destination on schedule time and came to know that the Chairman had already reached Calcutta and would be in office within half an hour. On arrival, the Chairman immediately called Mr. Karamchandani and within fifteen minutes their meeting was over. Thereafter, the Chairman called me and first thanked me for locating and bringing Mr. Karamchandani to his office and later told me to meet him at Jamshedpur next Friday morning without fail.
I returned to Jamshedpur same night; and then became busy with my own job and almost forgot about the invitation of the Chairman. As expected, I again got an urgent message from my friend Mr. Swamy that the Chairman wanted to meet me today before dawn, it’s urgent.
I was sitting with a client when I got this message and the Chairman’s office was approximately 45 K.M. away from my present location. First I thought to make an excuse and avoid the visit, but later, I decided to meet with the Chairman; and it was mandatory also for me to visit him because, after all they were my existing client’s.
Therefore, after finishing my work, I rushed to meet the Chairman; and on arrival at his office, Mr. Swamy asked me to proceed to the Chairman’s chamber immediately, because he is waiting for me since morning and also wished me good luck.
The Chairman gave me a warm welcome and again thanked me for my sincere efforts. He then requested me to collect the expenses I had incurred on my Calcutta visit and at the end said: “I would like you to join my company, just sit with Mr. S. C. Sen (CPO Sir), discuss your emoluments and take your offer letter today itself, alright, and welcome aboard.”
I was shocked, stunned and almost fainted, what is he talking about? I never ever thought of joining this company even in my dreams and here the Chairman of the company himself offering me a job. Was I day-dreaming or is it true? After expressing my sincere thanks and gratitude, I came out of his chamber and went straight to Mr. Swamy’s cabin.
Mr. Swamy first congratulated me and said with his big smile “You did it Charan, Chairman Sir is very happy with you, now come and join us fast." He also told me that, the Company was offering me a job in marketing division, which I should accept without any hitch or hesitation. He then asked me to follow him to the CPO sir's cabin, for final discussions on my induction.
On my way back home, I was thinking and wondering about the whole episode. I never thought that I would ever join one of my client’s companies which not only gave me a good salary but also offered a Bungalow with servant quarter, company car with driver, free school bus facilities for children and full medical facilities for my entire family.
Mr. Karamscandani did not join them; instead he went back to Delhi to be with his previous employer. Now, after 23 years, when I think in retrospect, I strongly believe that it was all HIS doing and the blessings of my parents that a dear friend like Mr. S. L. Swamy, came into my life, who happens to be one of the best gifts of God in my life.
With Prayers
Gurcharan
No comments:
Post a Comment