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| My Plant at Joda |
Once in a while I have this huge urge to write. Generally, it starts when I see someone's beautifully-written blog. I feel pangs of guilt and I open my blogspot. I start writing something I have been thinking to write about for a long time. I finish off a paragraph in a frenzy. However, after a few minutes this passion starts ebbing. I re-read what I have written and feel miserable about it, I curse my writing skills and delete all that I have written. That's it. That is the regular drill. That is the reason why my blog doesn't look as great as it should.
Not today. I have made up mind. This post is about certain stories of Joda, the Odisha town where I live. This post is about the spirit of Joda,
So I am going to the plant last Sunday evening. I am on my bike. At an intersection I have to slow down and I stop the bike. Riding a cycle and coming from the opposite end is the helper (Khalasi) of a truck of my section in the plant (factory). On recognizing me, he gives a huge salute, smiles and rides past. It's an impulsive thing that he does. It stays with me for a long time and makes me wonder if I really deserve it.
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| We changed their gear thereafter :-) |
Last month two of my workers sustained burn injuries at work in separate incidents. Though the burns were minor and needed first-aid and light medication only, they traumatised me and shook up my core. One of them, in which a drop of molten iron (at 1500 C) went inside a worker's shoe and caused burn to his left foot hugely agonized me. One, because howsoever minor a burn injury maybe, it is still a burn; and that too from contact of molten metal. If not properly attended, infections arising out of it can be quite severe. Second, it showed that people working out there were still vulnerable and subject to injuries. I had worked very hard and given it my all for workplace safety; but something still turns up to torment me. My worst nightmare is getting awakened by a phone call from the plant at 4 in the morning telling me about a worker's injury.
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| The Hostel |
The hostel here is an asset. Its the spot for gossips about office politics, laments over ex-flames, and despair about current life. There's good food and booze of course, and great parties. Its the place to bond, and have brilliant people alongside you. Everyone aspires to go to super places and have a higher sense of accomplishment than he currently has. So a couple of guys went to ISB this year, one to IIMA, and another to XLRI. There's one who has written UPSC Mains twice and has been very unlucky not to have cleared it yet.
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| The guy at the centre |
There's also this guy - Devdutt of a senior batch from ISM Dhanbad. He bid Tata Steel goodbye to prepare for the UPSC examinations. He worked here for almost 4 years, and resigned since the work didn't excite him and he wanted more out of his life. So he dumped a 70000 rupees per month job and a very comfortable life to live in Delhi in dormitories, study at coaching centers, and work on his dreams. He went back to start life afresh. He showed us how its done - the Jodappa !!
