The Second Fiddle

As an elder son of a garage owner I grew up in an environment where smell of burnt lubricating oil, soiled cloths and scattered handtools and auto parts was a permanent feature. The truck owners, drivers and cleaners were the variable factors and late evenings and early nights were never uncommon.

I was proud in knowing names and uses of most of the garage tools, truck parts and most important of all ( with the help of a Ford manual ) I also had a fair idea at the age of five about how the trucks and cars really run on the road.

I was first member in the family to get through the highschool successfully. Our definition of success was moderate - just be pass out of the routine exams -with no guidance, no major ambition - everybody was willing to accept what may come after that.

My father had a total view of the situation - he only told me that, he got into this unorganized business by accident and not by choice and he fel that this sort of life was not for his kids and I should select some discipline where I would be working with a descent environment and certainly not amongst the truck drivers, cleaners and like that - his observation was that - these people always live in a compromised manner and its nor advisible for his son.

May be Humanity was not a fashion of the day ( most of the disciplines taken out of it and shifted to other disciplines) and Science, which demanded too much of mathematical orientation - I opted for Commerce discipline after my passing out from high school in 1964. There was nobody to guide me in this decision and with my own selection exclusion criterions I made this decision - like a plung in the dark - the unknown.

Banking was yet to emerge as a good employer, industrial openings were there, but mertorious selection was restricted only to large companies - about which we in our city never had a good idea. Our link to the larger world was only through the relatives and known people spread into the larger cities.

Never a person on the front line in other fields, I opted for first bench in College right from day one. Again never a 'best applied mind', I just preferred to be in good company of friends, expecting them to take me along in the academic travels.

On my graduation I was sent by father to nearby small industry for a clerks post where I was expected to solve number of math problems and with no surprise I was asked to wait for few days - in a small city its meaning was obvious.

Those were the days when the financial accounting function was a secondary activity. In India "diwanji" was responsible for recording the monetary transaction as supported by documents or instructions of the decision maker. The double entry book keeping just added emphasis on documents and a recording them for their worth and treatment - again as directed by the decision maker or a precedent. The culture of advance accounting, analystical use for decision making, management accounting, costing and similar highend applications were far away. Knowing about the total receivables / payable positions was the important end use for the owners / managers. taxation added periodical importance and not surprsingly a practice of set of annual accounts for Banks and other for taxation was a common practice.

Those were the days of private sector banks, industrial borrowings were exceptions in my city and whatever borrowing was there it was mostly oriented in integrity of people behind the businesses. The most popular use of banking services for savings account and security, transfer of funds - that is for the people at large. The Co operative banks were there but I remember failure of onw or two banks had created lots of reservations in minds of families like ours.

Why I do nor know but I was not tempted for any government job, may be it was unwillingness to submit to the impersonal system. So on my graduation I started with some part time job in small gift article shop and thought of studying for post graduation. Some how I felt that getting into normal job was necessary and with the help of some distant relative I went into a job in local medium scale industry - in stgores accounts section. It had a team of four - amongst them two were my classmates. My job was posting goods receipts and issues, balancing and valuation of issues and stocks. Occassionally there was a job of reconciliation with bin stock and once in a year physical stock taking.

I became a cog in a machine employing about 3000 workers of all types. I used to cycle 4 miles morning evening in all seasons - mostly with tiffin packed by my mother early in the morning - eating that food at noon was not my idea of life.
10-10-2008