Force majeure mechanics

Every house could have flying balloons on their terrace to ride on during earthquake, flood. 

Specially designed helicopters to produce rain during forest fire. 

A machine fitted in specific gaps of a forest to alert firemen much before the fire outbreak. (remote sensing) 

When a house catches fire, a machine that would auto-alert the nearest fire station. (remote sensing) 

Like every flat house has an indicator inside the flat, every building can have a master indicator outside the house that can be switched off when the building catches fire. 

Instead of using water pumps to extinguish fire, there could be some specially designed blankets that could prevent the fire from spreading. Know it sounds weird, but just letting out-of-the-box thinking take its course. 

Evacuation is a major concern during fire. Every house might have en elevator attached outside the building from every floor that helps the residence evacuate during fire. If we could have an elevator inside, we might as well have one outside. Fear of theft could be handled through remote sensing. 

When there's a shipwreck, instead of lifeboats, we could also have para-rise (chute gravitates, rise can help passengers fly), this could come handy during sea-storms too, why get into lifeboats on the sea during storms. 

Villages get most adversely affected during floods. We could have a tower in every village where villagers can take shelter during floods. Help, in terms of food and drinking water can be distributed more easily. Every tower should have the capacity to host the population of its village. At other times, the tower can be creatively used for other purposes. 

Next-gen gadgets

Was wondering

If egg-boilers could pop up messages when it's half-boiled, hard-boiled! 

If a fridge had an in-built stabilizer and an auto power saver that could keep it on even after a power cut, for at least 6 hours! 

If air-conditioners would be as small as mobile and if they could easily fit in anywhere in a room instead of being ceremoniously installed? 

11 steps to cure insomnia, 'Good night sweet dreams'

Insomnia is a disease. Treat it with care. Here are some steps to have a sound sleep. 

Hard factors (the physical ones,external) 

1. Avoid taking medicines. This is a lazy way of curing, sadly it doesn't cure, this makes you dependent on the drug.

2. Have a glass of warm water before going to bed. 

3. Take foot bath for 15 minutes and then go to bed. 

4. Comb your hair (the skull part) for 5 minutes. 

5. Smile, then slowly laugh allowing your belly to move; you should feel the tremor. 

6. If possible, try gibberish for five minutes every day. 

7. Breathe in (10 counts), hold your breath (10 counts), breathe out (10 counts); this is one round, try seven of such rounds.This is called kumbhak pranayama

8. Diet plays an important role in helping an insomniac get good sleep. What you should have is a balanced diet. But how and when you should eat is of extreme importance. Supper should be light.

What

A balanced diet: with balanced diet, one can see almost an immediate effect resulting in good and sound sleep. 

How

How you should eat is of primordial importance. You shouldn't gulp, gobble, and gorge, never eat on the move, never. You should always chew your food, eat as slowly as possible. It should be unhurried. Remember, fasting also helps. But for this, consult your doctor. 

When

There should be a gap of 2 to 3 hours between your supper and going to bed. Ideally, if you could go for a light walk after supper, that would be great. 

Soft factors (the ones that are internal) 

1. Check your anger, see it coming, control by avoiding the company that induces anger. Chant the mantra (anger is not natural, I have let my anger go), breathe rigourously and chant the mantra 50 times until you realise that no situation or person was responsible, anger came because you allowed. So disallow anger. 

2. Check your habit of lying. You have grown up believing lying is natural, you cannot survive without lying. Go the reverse way by feeding the thought 'lying is not natural, I can survive better without lying. Lying is a slow poison, I will disallow it and stop being toxic. I have successfully let go of my habit of lying'. 

3. Chant the mantra, 'everyday I have a sound sleep. My stress has gone, all my diseases are leaving my system. I am completely cure. I have healed myself. Now, I am healing others'. 

Good sleep is still considered as a panacea, a remedy for all diseases. Unfortunately, with complicated lifestyle, insomnia is almost an endemic disease that's spreading the world over across age and gender. Please follow the steps and get back to sleep. 

Disclaimer: Without medicines, 100% effort is required by those who have insomnia. 

The patient, also the writer, had acute insomnia. Now, following the steps mentioned, the patient is out of it for good. Call at 9163472016 or email at supratiksen1@gmail.com for any assistance, guided meditation for absolutely free of cost. 

Good night, sweet dreams! 

Additional steps added by the readers:

You can add few more steps-
1. Drink a small cup of milk (in normal temp) with Haldi (turmeric)
2. Eat small amounts of posto (poppy seed) with sabzi (vegetables) for supper. 
3. Maybe listening to some soothing music and saying a sincere prayer would also make for good sleep.

Ha! Ha! Ha!

All through my life, I have known myself as a black Peter. I had said things that were not supposed to be said. I didn’t realize that over the years I had unconsciously accepted the label as my identity, a black Peter. Here I will tell you a story, in the form of dialogues in bits and pieces. I do hope that if the readers looked at the dialogues, they could make some sense of what the intent of this short story is like. Not calling it a short story, it doesn’t merit it, it’s a plane daft, but it’s definitely the story of all the races of the world, a story that is so deeply written in the minds of all human beings; the story of racism, ‘the original sin’ that is so unfinished; most of the bloody wars we have fought, and are still fighting, originate from the simple and innocuous dialogues that float around at ease. Let’s see if I could pull this through and hold the unstructured text as a broken mirror that is breaking ourselves from the inside.

-        What is a pet name, ha ha ha!!! You bongs have ‘pate naames’, like cats and dogs.

-        No, we have two names, one for the inside world and one for the outside world. That’s it.

-        Heard that the bong brahmins also eat non-veg? what kind of brahmins are you? Ha, ha, ha!

-        And in your case, you marry your cousins, you are endorsing incest relationships, it’s such a crime. Your real estate advertisements are an eye-opener… so and so is a brahmin and wants to sell his plot to a brahmin only, how racist of you, ha, ha, ha!

-        All your ladies are bad, they smoke in public, what a shame; not like our ladies, that’s why we hire heroines from your part of the world because we don’t allow our ladies to work in films.

[ if you keep your ears open, you could hear these dialogues everywhere, in offices, even in learning organizations whose vision/mission statements have diversity, respect for the individuals, in the public spaces, and in the drawing rooms]

…

 

-        They are foreigners, they came from outside India. They are so uncivil, arrogant, cannot stand them. They can’t even talk slowly; they have to shout at the top of their voice. I belong to the original India and I don’t mix with them, even though I am coming from the US. Such rogues they are, ha, ha, ha!

-        You know what, our epic the Ramayana must have modeled the rakshasas accordingly. They are mean, selfish, never took part in the freedom struggle, always stick to themselves. We are broadminded and good looking, they use coconut oil for cooking, something we apply in our hair, ha, ha, ha! Their language is so weird, it’s as if you have put a stone in a can of coconut oil and shaking it to get a sense of their language, ha, ha, ha!

Our effort to throw stones at each other is so sincere that we leave no stone unturned

-        What? How dare you call me that? Do I look like Bihari? I am a UPite, please remember this going forward.

-        What? I am not a Bihari, I belong to Jharkhand!!!

-        What? I may speak Telugu, but I belong to Telangana, not Andhra, no, no, please don’t confuse.

-        I am a Rajasthani, I cannot stand a Jath.

-        I am a Jath, I cannot stand those sissy Bongs, ha, ha, ha!

-        I am a Punjabi, don’t confuse. West Bengal is a poor state and ours is a rich state, it’s strange that we belong to the same country, ha, ha, ha!

-   If you see a snake and a mallu, kill the mallu, not the snake, they’re so dangerous, ha, ha, ha!

-  You are saying this for a mallu? But this is also applicable for a telugu yaar! Ha, ha, ha!

….

But hang on, it’s not only in India that we have this mental block, it’s a global headache. We see that in every country, viz. Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Japan; in all the continents, viz. Europe, Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Australia. But we don’t realize that this meaningless divide we have so strongly built in our minds thanks to civilization is preventing us from looking at the real challenges. We are busy calling each other names, sometimes as chicken roasts, sometimes as ghosts, and whatnot. We are much too occupied laughing at each other, when will we consider laughing with each other. When? Will this pandemic help us look at ourselves as similar human beings or as dissimilar extra-terrestrials? Holding a mirror might help us in finding out how this delinquent factor is robbing us of all the pleasures of being together in our sufferings and pleasures alike. 

Bengal means business

I chanced upon an article written in Bengali by my very good friend Apurba Mondal. His intent seemed very sincere and honest. In the article, he highlighted one of the remarkable qualities of the Bengalis that is often brushed under the carpet – their exceptional expertise and significant contribution in the area of mainstream businesses. Over the centuries, Bengal had produced many business tycoons as it is, even today. Looking at the article, I proposed to translate the article into English so the message reaches out to a larger audience. So here it is.

Despite having a remarkably successful presence in all sectors of business, Bengalis have always been stereotyped as those babus who would either while their time in ‘baiji bari’ (bagnios for the affluent zamindars, or overlords), or engage in the art, culture, language, and poetry.

‘The problem with the stereotypes’, says Chimamanda Adichie, a Nigerian novelist, ‘is that they are not untrue, but they are incomplete.’ Their exceptional talent in businesses has somehow gotten stampeded by other communities, mostly by the Marwaris. We all remember Prince Dwarka Nath Tagore as the grandfather of the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. But have the Bengalis forgotten him as one of the first Indian industrialists to form an enterprise with British partners and entrepreneurs; as the founder of the Jorasanko branch of the Tagore family?

There was a time in Bengal, not so long ago, when knowledge and prosperity went hand in hand. The prosperity of Bengal stretched beyond their jurisdiction; so much so that the state had once colonized the other states, viz. Bihar, Assam, and Odisha. These states were developed by the Bengalis. There was a time when the land was beaming with art, culture on one hand and, on the other, with enterprising entrepreneurs and monied industrialists. This article aims to bring back the memories of the past and the present to break the stereotypical image of the Bengalis. Their contribution to mainstream businesses has been phenomenal.

This article also tries to lay bare by listing some of the most glorious and industrious Bengali businessmen who, with their assiduous effort, acumen, and sincerity, flourished in India and abroad. 

According to Indian wisdom traditions, knowledge and prosperity go hand in hand. Therefore, the Goddess of learning, Goddess Saraswati, and the Goddess of prosperity, Goddess Lakshmi are also siblings, born of the same mother, Goddess Durga, the Goddess of power. Bengal has a plethora of such worthy children within whom coexisted both the goddesses.

Out of scores of examples, here are eleven shining chronological examples of the Bengali gems of Bengal that had made an outstanding mark in their metier as leading businessmen for many decades. The same legacy is continuing even today.

1.    In 1890, Mr. Rajen Mukherjee co-founded the Martin & Company with Thomas Martin. Later, his worthy son Mr. Biren Mukherjee took charge of Martin Burn. His economic empire was engaged in the mainstream business, viz. construction, railway, engineering, and steel industries. Mr. Rajen Mukherjee aka Rajendra Nath together with his son Sir Biren, as he was popularly known, were both students of the Shibpur Engineering College. This institution is the most successful among the Bengali-run institutions so far.

2.    In 1896, Gokul Chandra Mandal, a lawyer in the Calcutta High Court, along with JK Fox, set up a legal firm in Kolkata called Fox Mandal. This FM is currently one of the best legal firms in the country.

3.    Prafulla Chandra Roy, a renowned chemist and a proverbial professor at Presidency College, founded a public limited company called Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceutical Workers [BCPL] in Kolkata in 1901. The reputation of this company for medicines and other chemicals spread all over India. In 1949, Bengal Chemical had a total of four factories. For two decades, it grew from strength to strength. Unfortunately, it was declared as a sick industry in 1970. The company was nationalized on 15 December 1980. BCPL returned to profitability in the financial year 2016-17.

4.    Birendranath Sircar returned to the country after graduating in engineering from London. At that time, Talkies had just started in America. In 1931, he set up a film production company in Kolkata - New Theaters Studio. Gradually, this company became the only company in the country to produce Bengali and Hindi films. Pramathesh Barua, Devaki Bose, Bimal Roy, KL Saigal, Kanan Devi, Nitin Bose, Leela Desai, Prithviraj Kapoor were salaried employees of the Birendranath Sircar or Biren government, as the word Sarkar meant government in Bengali. At the same time, great Bengali musicians like Raichand Baral, Timirbaran, and Pankaj Mullick were in the limelight. Until 1955, this institution was at its peak of fame.

5.    An incredible story of a resilient captain of the business world who rose from a farmer’s family and became a pioneer in the world of machinery. Alamohan Das was born in a peasant family in Khila-Baruipur village in the Amta zone of Howrah district. But he did not have a mind for agriculture. During his teens, he went to Kolkata and saw himself as a hawker of indigenous bangles, puffed rice, and so on. As a young man, he invested money in the Kolkata stock market emulating the affluent Marwaris. He also spent some time in Burma on business. He returned to Kolkata and established Bharat Jute Mill in 1936. At that time "Mother Machine" (lathe machine, milling machine, shaping machine) used to come from England to make engineering parts in India. Alamohan bought 620 acres of land near the city of Howrah and set up "India Machinery" there in 1930. Gradually, the lathe, shaping, and milling machines made by this factory spread all over India in the engineering construction industry. Later in the forties, he set up industries one after another - Dash Brothers Managing Agency, Howrah Insurance Company, Asia Drug Company, Dash Sugar, India Steam Navigation, Arti Cotton Mill, etc. In the sixties, Alamohan's India Machinery fell ill for various reasons. This famous institution was closed down in the eighties. The second generation of this entrepreneur was not his worthy successor. The industrialist, whose life was ‘stranger than fiction’ passed away in 1969. His popularity as a businessman and a philanthropist reached such a peerless height that a railway station, in his hometown was named after him, the Dasnagar Railway Station.

6.    He was a student of the Scottish Church College in Calcutta. One day he left behind all his material comforts and family, his wife and son to seek the life of Vanaprastha. On a rainy afternoon in 1975, the seventy-year-old Abhaycharan De arrived in the Americas on a cargo ship from Khidirpur in Kolkata. He started preaching Krishna's name of Vedanta and Gita. Despite his weak body, with an indefatigable effort, he set up the ISKCON (The International Society for Krishna Consciousness) with indomitable enthusiasm. ISKCON currently has more than 600 branches around the world. This institution has been playing an important role in the propagation of the Hindu religion and philosophy. Sri Prabhupada is a conscientious example of an amazing combination of commerce and spirituality.

7.    Sadhan Dutt graduated from Banaras Hindu University with a degree in Electrical Engineering and took over as the chief of the American company Kuljian Corporation.

In 1960, as a scientist-entrepreneur, he went on to become the founder-chairman of Development Consultants Private Limited (DCPL), a member of the Kuljian Group of Companies. Although it started its journey as a consultant in a thermal power plant and basically being an engineering consultancy. it gradually diversified into other areas such as cement, mining, petrochemical, and other services. At present, their activities are spread over 70 countries of the world. The Kolkata-based firm is currently the second-largest engineering consultancy firm in the country.

8.    He is the second generation of Bengali expatriates in America - Amar Gopal Bose. After completing his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from MIT, he joined the teaching profession at that institution. In 1984, he started his own organization, Bose Corporation, with the financial support of his dear teacher Lee. Gradually, the fame of the Bose Speaker spread all over the world. Bose Speaker now is reckoned as a valuable product of high quality. In 2016, his company had 11,600 employees. In 2011, his wealth was one billion dollars.

9.    India has been at the forefront of BPO operations in the world for the last two decades. In India, BPOs are everywhere, viz. Gurgaon, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata. At the same time, this sector of the economy is a vehicle for huge employment. The journey of BPO in India started with the hand of a Bengali resident of Delhi. Raman Roy, a student of Economics and a qualified chartered accountant at Sriram College of Commerce (SRCC) in Delhi. He is known as the "father of BPO services" in the country. In 2000, he set up his own BPO in Gurgaon - Spectramind. This organization served GE Capital of America. When it handed over Wipro to its company for Rs 406 crore in 2002, the company had 9,000 employees. He later set up a new BPO company called Quatrro in Bangalore.

10.By 1981, a student of Taratala Hotel Management in Kolkata had joined the Taj Hotel in Mumbai. He left his job and opened a small fish shop in Mumbai in 1985 - "Only Fish". Gradually, Anjan Chatterjee's restaurant business spread to all large and medium-sized cities of the country. Some of his well-known brands like Mainland China, Sigri, Haka, Flame & Grill, Machan, Sweet Bengal, are catering to the taste of a wide range of customers, comprising the gourmet and the gourmand. At present, the annual sales of this organization are more than ₹ 355 crores.

11.But the name of the most successful Bengali in the last three decades is undoubtedly Mr. Purnendu Chattopadhyay. This mechanical engineering student of IIT, Kharagpur completed his Ph.D. from Stanford, USA. He founded his own organization - The Chatterjee Group (TCG). Purnendu's activities include investment banking, real estate, petrochemicals, biotechnology, and biochemistry. Most recently, TCG has been investing in two giant petrochemical projects at the Subarnarekha port in Odisha and Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu. In five years, they are going to set up ₹ 8 trillion integrated refineries in Orissa and ₹ 50 trillion naphtha cracker units in Tamil Nadu.

I had a colleague from the Punjab who told how he had imagined West Bengal based on the stories he had heard of the state, he had imagined it to be essentially poor; a poor state was the single-story he had of Bengal. Of course, Bengal had had its share of poverty, it had seen many famines that had snatched the life of millions, but that does not define Bengal. Like poverty, Bengal has other stories too, stories that talk of its opulence, its expertise in the field of business. The famous Victoria Memorial of Kolkata and The Howrah Bridge were both entrusted to Messrs. Martin & Co of Kolkata led by Sir Rajen Mookerjee. These are also stories that need to be told so a holistic image of Bengal could emerge.

I hope that my friend, Apurba’s article, would help many Indians and foreigners change their image of Bengal. Bengal, as it were, means business.

For a better understanding, I am honored to include the original article in Bengali written by Apurba Mandal.

বাঙালির সরস্বতী যোগে লক্ষীর সাধনা

 

বিগত আড়াইশো বছর ধরে বাঙালীরা শিল্প ও বাণিজ্য উদ্যোগে উল্লেখযোগ্য সাফল্য দেখিয়ে এসেছে। 

যদিও শিল্প,সঙস্কৃতি,কাব্য ও সঙীতে বাঙালীদের সুনাম ছড়িয়ে পড়েছে,কিন্তু সমসময়ে বাঙালী উদ্যোগপতিরও কোন অভাব ছিল না। দ্বারকানাথ ঠাকুরকে মানুষ রবীন্দ্রনাথের পিতামহ হিসেবে মনে রাখলেও তারা বিস্মৃত হয়েছে দ্বারকানাথ ছিলেন প্রকৃত অর্থে প্রথম আধুনিক ভারতীয় উদ্যোগপতি ও ঠাকুর পরিবারের জোড়াসাঁকো শাখার প্রতিষ্ঠাতা।

      খুব বেশী সময় আগের কথা নয়,যখন বাঙলীদের জ্ঞান ও অর্থের কোন অভাব ছিল না।তারা কার্যত প্রতিবেশী বিহার,ওড়িশা ও আসামে উপনিবেশ বিস্তার করেছিল।এই নিবন্ধের উদ্দেশ্য অতীতের সেই গৌরবময় ঐতিহ্যকে ফিরে দেখা ও আধুনিক ভারতে শিল্প বাণিজ্যে বাঙলার অবদানের মূল্যায়ন করা।এই নিবন্ধ সেই সব বিস্মৃত ব্যক্তিত্বকে তুলে ধরবে যাঁরা তাঁদের কর্মদক্ষতা,পরিশ্রম ও দূরদর্শিতা দিয়ে বাঙলা ও বিদেশের মাটিতে সফল হয়েছেন।

লক্ষী ও সরস্বতীর সাধনা যে একই সঙ্গে করা যায় বাঙলায় তেমন দৃষ্টান্তের অভাব কোনদিন ছিল না,আজও নেই।

১) ১৮৯০ সালে রাজেন মুখার্জি টমাস মার্টিনের সঙ্গে যৌথ উদ্যোগে প্রতিষ্ঠা করলেন "মার্টিন এন্ড কোম্পানি"।পরবর্তী কালে তাঁর সুযোগ্য পুত্র বীরেন মার্টিন-বার্ণের হাল ধরেন। নির্মাণ,রেলপরিবহন, ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং, ইস্পাত শিল্পে ব্যপ্ত ছিল তাঁর অর্থনৈতিক সাম্রাজ্য। রাজেন্দ্রনাথ ও স্যর বীরেন পিতা-পুত্র দুজনেই শিবপুর ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং কলেজের ছাত্র ছিলেন।এই প্রতিষ্ঠানটি বাঙালী-পরিচালিত প্রতিষ্ঠান গুলোর মধ্যে এতাবৎ সফলতম।

২) ১৮৯৬ সালে কোলকাতা হাইকোর্টের আইনজীবী গোকুলচন্দ্র মন্ডল জে.কে ফক্স কে সঙ্গে নিয়ে কোলকাতায় প্রতিষ্ঠা করলেন একটি লীগাল ফার্ম " ফক্স মন্ডল"।১২৩ বছর অতিক্রান্ত এই বাঙালি প্রতিষ্ঠানটির দেশে সব মহানগরে কার্যালয় রয়েছে। বর্তমানে দেশের সেরা লীগাল ফার্মের অন্যতম এই FM.

৩) বিশিষ্ট রসায়নবিদ ও প্রেসিডেন্সী কলেজের প্রবাদপ্রতিম অধ্যাপক প্রফুল্লচন্দ্র রায় ১৯০১ সালে কোলকাতায় প্রতিষ্ঠা করলেন "বেঙ্গল কেমিক্যাল এন্ড ফার্মাসিউটিক্যাল ওয়াকর্স " নামে একটি পাবলিক লিমিটেড কোম্পানি। ওষুধ ও অন্যান্য রাসায়নিকের জন্যে এই প্রতিষ্ঠানের সুনাম ছড়িয়ে পড়ে গোটা ভারতে।১৯৪৯ সালে বেঙ্গল কেমিক্যালের মোট চারটি কারখানা ছিল।১৯৬০ এর পর থেকে এই প্রতিষ্ঠানের রুগ্নতার সূচনা হয়।

৪) লন্ডন থেকে ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং পাশ করে দেশে ফিরলেন বীরেন্দ্রনাথ সরকার। সেসময় আমেরিকাতে সদ্য টকীর চল হয়েছে। ১৯৩১ সালে কোলকাতায় প্রতিষ্ঠা করলেন একটি চলচ্চিত্র নির্মান সঙস্থা - নিউ থিয়েটার্স স্টুডিও।ক্রমে এই প্রতিষ্ঠানটি হয়ে দাঁড়াল দেশে বাঙলা ও হিন্দী ছবি প্রযোজনার অদ্বিতীয় প্রতিষ্ঠান। প্রমথেশ বরুয়া,দেবকী বোস,বিমল রায়, কে এল সায়গল,কানন দেবী,নিতীন বোস, ফণী মজুমদার,লীলা দেশাই,পৃথ্বীরাজ কাপুর- সবাই ছিলেন বীরেন সরকারের বেতনভুক কর্মচারী ।

সেই সঙ্গে সঙ্গীতে ছিলেন রাইচাঁদ বড়াল,তিমিরবরন,পঙ্কজ মাল্লিকের মতো গুণীজন।১৯৫৫ পর্যন্ত এই প্রতিষ্ঠান ছিল খ্যতির মধ্যগগণে।

৫) তিনি ছিলেন কলকাতার স্কটিশ চার্চ কলেজের ছাত্র।পারিবারিক কাপড়ের ব্যবসা ও সঙসার স্ত্রী-পুত্র পেছনে ফেলে একদিন বানপ্রস্থ জীবন বেছে নিলেন। ১৯৬৫ র এক বর্ষার বিকেলে সত্তর বছরের বৃদ্ধ অভয়চরন দে কোলকাতার খিদিরপুর থেকে এক মালবাহী জাহাজে পৌছলেন আমেরিকা ভূখণ্ডে। শুরু করলেন বেদান্ত ও গীতার কৃষ্ণ নাম প্রচার। অশক্ত দেহ সত্বেও অদম্য উৎসাহে স্থাপন করলেন- ISKCON. বর্তমানে বিশ্বে ইস্কনের ৬০০ র অধিক শাখা রয়েছে। হিন্দু ধর্ম ও দর্শন প্রচারে এই প্রতিষ্ঠানটির গুরুত্বপূর্ণ ভূমিকা পালন করে চলেছে।বাণিজ্য ও আধ্যাত্মিকতার আশ্চর্য সমন্বয়ের দৃষ্টান্ত-শ্রীপ্রভূপাদ।

৭) সাধন দত্ত বারাণসী হিন্দু বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় থেকে ইলেকট্রিকাল ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং পাশ করে আমেরিকান সঙস্থা কুলজিয়ান কর্পোরেশনের হাল ধরলেন।১৯৭০ পৌছে কোলকাতায় প্রতিষ্ঠা করলেন নিজের সঙস্থা- ডেভেলপমেন্ট কনসালটেন্ট ( DCPL). এটি মুলত ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং কনসালটেন্সি। তাপবিদ্যুত্ কেন্দ্রে কনসালটেন্সি দিয়ে যাত্রা শুরু করলেও ক্রমশ সিমেন্ট,খনি,পেট্রোকেমিক্যাল ও অন্যান্য পরিসেবাতে ছড়িয়ে পড়ে এই বাঙালি পরিচালিত সঙস্থাটি। বর্তমানে এদের কর্মকান্ড ছড়িয়ে আছে বিশ্বের ৬০ টি দেশে। কোলকাতার এই সঙস্থা বর্তমানে দেশের দ্বিতীয় বৃহত্তম ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং কনসালটেন্সি সঙস্থা।

৮) তিনি আমেরিকা প্রবাসী বাঙালিদের দ্বিতীয় প্রজন্ম- অমরগোপাল বোস।MIT থেকে ইলেকট্রিকাল ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং এ পি.এইচ.ডি শেষ করে ঐ প্রতিষ্ঠানে অধ্যাপনায় যোগ দিলেন।শিক্ষকতার সমান্তরালে স্পীকার প্রযুক্তি নিয়ে গবেষণা শুরু করলেন। ১৯৬৪ প্রিয় শিক্ষক লীর অর্থসাহায্যে সূচনা হলো নিজের সঙস্থা- বোস কর্পোরেশন।ক্রমশ বোস স্পিকারের সুখ্যাতি ছড়িয়ে পড়ল গোটা বিশ্বে।বোস স্পীকার মানেই উচ্চ গুনমানের বহুমূল্য পণ্য।২০১৬ সালে তাঁর সঙস্থায় ছিল ১১৭০০ কর্মচারী।২০১১ সালে তাঁর সম্পদের পরিমাণ ছিল এক বিলিয়ন ডলার।

৯) গত দু দশকে বিশ্বে BPO অপারেশনে শীর্ষে ভারত।গুরগাও,ব্যাঙগালুরু,পুনে,হায়দ্রাবাদ,চেন্নাই, কোলকাতা- সর্বত্রই বিপিও সঙস্থার ছড়াছড়ি। এক ই সঙ্গে অর্থনিতীর এই ক্ষেত্র বিপুল কর্মসংস্থানের বাহন।ভারতে BPO র যাত্রা শুরু দিল্লি নিবাসী এক বঙ্গসন্তানের হাত ধরে। দিল্লীর শ্রীরাম কলেজ অব কমার্সের অর্থনিতীর ছাত্র ও চার্টার্ড একাউন্ট্টেন্ট রমন রায় দেশে " BPO পরিসেবার জনক"। ২০০০ সালে গুরগাওতে প্রতিষ্ঠা করলেন নিজস্ব বিপিও সঙস্থা - স্পেকট্রামাইন্ড। এই সঙস্থা আমেরিকার জি.ই ক্যাপিটাল কে পরিসেবা দিত। ২০০২ তে উইপরোকে যখন নিজের সঙস্থা ৪০৭ কোটি টাকায় হস্তান্তর করলেন, সঙস্থা কর্মচারী ছিল ৯০০০. পরে ব্যাঙগালুরুতে কোয়াত্রো নামে নতুন BPO সঙস্থা স্থাপন করেন।

১০) ১৯৮১ নাগাদ কোলকাতার তারাতলা হোটেল ম্যানেজমেন্টের এক পড়ুয়া যোগ দিল মুম্বাই এর তাজ হোটেলে।ক্রমে তার উপলব্ধি হল সে প্রকান্ড এক যন্ত্রের এক ক্ষুদ্র নাট-বল্টু বই কিছু নয়। চাকুরি ছেড়ে ১৯৮৫ তে মুম্বাইতে খুললেন এক ক্ষুদ্র মৎস-বিপনী- "ওনলি ফিস"। ক্রমশ অন্জন চট্টোপাধ্যায়ের রেস্তরাঁ বাণিজ্য ছড়িয়ে পড়ল দেশের সব বৃহৎ ও মাঝারি শহরে - মেনল্যান্ড চাইনা,ও ক্যালকাটা,সীগরি, হাকা, ফ্লেম এন্ড গ্রিল,মাচান, সুইট বেঙ্গল,মোবিফেস্ট।তাঁর " স্পেসালিটি রেস্টুরেন্ট লিমিটেড" দেশে প্রথম রেস্টুরেন্ট চেন, যারা মুম্বাই স্টক এক্সচেঞ্জে লিস্টেড।বর্তমানে এই সঙস্থার বার্ষিক বিক্রী ₹৩৫৫ কোটির অধিক।দেশের বাইরে তানজানিয়া,লন্ডন ও বাঙলাদেশে ও শাখা খুলছে অন্জনের সঙস্থা।

১১) কিন্তু গত তিন দশকে বাণিজ্যে সফলতম বাঙালির নাম- পূর্ণেন্দু চট্টোপাধ্যায়।খড়্গপুর আই,আই,টির এই মেকানিক্যাল ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং এর ছাত্র আমেরিকার স্ট্যানফোর্ড থেকে পি.এইচ.ডি সম্পূর্ণ করেন।পরে ম্যাকিনসে ও জর্জ সোরসের কোয়ান্টাম গ্রুপে কাজের অভিজ্ঞতাকে পুঁজি করে ১৯৮৬ তে নিউইয়র্কে স্থাপন করলেন নিজস্ব সঙস্থা- দি চ্যাটার্জি গ্রুপ (TCG). পূর্ণেন্দুর সঙস্থার কর্মকান্ড ছড়িয়ে আছে ইনভেস্টমেন্ট ব্যাঙ্কিং,রিয়েল এস্টেট,পেট্রোকেমিক্যাল,বায়োটেকনোলজি ও জীব রসায়নে।বর্তমানে হলদিয়া বন্দরে পূর্ণেন্দুর সঙস্থা পরিচালিত তিনটি সঙস্থা রয়েছে - হলদিয়া পেট্রোকেম, মিৎসুবিসী পি.টি.এ ও পলিমার প্ল্যান্ট।

অতি সম্প্রতি TCG ওড়িশার সুবর্ণরেখা বন্দরে ও তামিলনাড়ুর কুড্ডালোরে দুটি অতিকায় পেট্রোকেমিক্যাল প্রকল্পে বিনিয়োগ করতে চলেছে। পাঁচ বছরের মধ্যে তারা ওড়িশায় ₹৭৮ হাজার কোটির ইন্টিগ্রেটেড রিফাইনারি ও তামিলনাড়ুতে ₹৫০ হাজার কোটি ন্যাপথা ক্রাকার ইউনিট স্থাপন করতে চলেছে।

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আনন্দম

প্রতিটি মানুষের মধ্যেই লুকিয়ে থাকে এক পরম পবিত্র শিশু। সেই শিশুটি ধনী, গরীব, নারী, পুরুষ, শিক্ষিত, অশিক্ষিত, আস্তিক, নাস্তিক বোঝেনা; সমস্ত সুখ দুঃখের বাইরে, বার্ধক্য, যৌবনের বাইরে সেই শিশুটি লুকিয়ে থাকে, সচ্চিদানন্দ রূপে।
অসাধারণ এই লুকিয়ে থাকা শিশুটিকেই নানারকম নাম দিয়েছেন নানা লোকে যুগযুগ ধরে, তবে অধিকাংশ মানুষই শিশুটিকে ধরতে পারেন না। এর জন্য পরিশ্রম লাগে, পুরুষকায় লাগে, অনুশীলন লাগে। যদি কোন ব্যক্তি মনের চিন্তা, কথা, আর কর্ম একই রকম ভাবে চালনা করতে পারে, তবে সেই শিশুটি নাচতে নাচতে কোলে এসে ঝাঁপিয়ে পড়ে, আর ঐ শিশুটিকে কোলে নেওয়া ব্যক্তিটি অনুভব করে সকল সুখদুঃখ ছাপিয়ে যাওয়া এক অপরিসীম আনন্দ। আমাদের শিক্ষাব্যবস্থা, যদিও শুভচিন্তক, তবুও এই শিশুটিকে যেন চিরন্তন নিদ্রায় আচ্ছন্ন করে রেখেছে। সবার মিলিত ও ঐক্যবদ্ধ প্রচেষ্টায়, এক নবীন চিন্তাধারার শিক্ষাই কিন্তু এই শিশুটিকে প্রতিটি ব্যক্তির মধ্যে আবার জাগিয়ে তুলতে পারে। তবেই ধীরে ধীরে সমগ্র ভুবন নতুন ভাবে জেগে উঠবে, স্বস্তি পাবে পৃথিবীর অন্যসকল উদ্ভিদ প্রাণীসমূহ। শান্তি পাবে আমাদের বায়ুমণ্ডল। 

The absolute bliss

There is always the presence of an innocent child in every person. The child knows no distinction; rich, poor, man, woman, literate, illiterate, theist, atheist; beyond all this, it rests quietly as a supremely innocent essence. Many scholars have tried to regard this exceptional child under different labels; however, very few have been able to experience its presence. It is a skill that needs practice, persistence, and effort. If an individual is able to align their thought, word, and action in the same way, then the child comes running into the arms of the individual at ease, who then experiences, beyond all their conditions, either sad or pleasant, absolute happiness.

Our education system, although very well intentioned, was, unfortunately, unable to awaken the child in the individuals, in fact, it had put the child in an eternal slumber. With engaging efforts and out-of-the-box thinking, it can create a new education system that helps awaken the child to come to fruition. Slowly the world will change, all sentient beings on earth, the flora and the fauna, will be relieved.

Le bonheur absolu

Il y a toujours la présence d'un enfant innocent dans chaque personne. L’enfant ne connaît aucune distinction ; riche, pauvre, homme, femme, lettré, analphabète, théiste, athée ; au-delà de tout cela, il repose tranquillement comme une essence absolument innocente. De nombreux savants ont essayé de canoniser cet enfant exceptionnel sous différents noms ; cependant, très peu ont pu faire l'expérience de sa présence. Pour cela, il faut de la pratique, de la persévérance et des efforts. Si l’un individu est capable d'aligner sa pensée, sa parole et son action de la même manière, alors l'enfant vient courir dans les bras de cette personne à l’aise, qui éprouve alors, au-delà de toutes ses conditions, soit tristes, soit plaisantes, le bonheur absolu.

Notre système éducatif, bien que très bien intentionné, était malheureusement incapable de réveiller l'enfant dans les individus, en fait, il avait mis l'enfant dans un sommeil éternel. Grâce à des efforts engageants et à une réflexion originale, il peut créer un nouveau système éducatif qui contribue à éveiller l'enfant à se réaliser. Lentement, le monde changera, tous les êtres sensibles sur terre, la flore et la faune, seront soulagés.

HP failed an unsatisfied customer

 HP unable to deliver what it professes

The true face of HP is ruthless. However, they cover it with ample useless and kind words like ‘you are our valued customer’, ‘we are at your service’, and many such redundant words that never get applied when they are required to be delivered, at least in my case, it had not been.

A full-time writer, I pushed myself into retirement; like most others belonging to my day and age, I take pleasure in communicating with the virtual world; I am connected to some international websites that encourage people to write and express their experiences and concerns on pressing social, political, and personal issues. Since I stay alone in Kolkata, my family in Hyderabad, I thought it would be great if I could buy a laptop so I could connect with my daughter and her mother on a regular basis. But unfortunately, I couldn’t’. I am not so much of a technical guy so I entirely missed that I wasn’t able to use any audio facilities on my machine. No Skype, no Hangout meet, no camera, no video, nothing. The only connection with them was through WhatsApp. Unfortunately, it took me one whole year to look at the ordinates of HP support pasted on my laptop. My mistake agreed.

HP hiding behind their words

When I approached them on their WhatsApp support number yesterday (Monday 8 February 2021) at, +1 786 482 6615 I got a prompt reply from their technical support specialist. I gave him all the details of the problems that I was facing. All he wanted to know was my HP device serial number. When I gave him the number, he said that my warranty had expired and directed me to a service center near my location. The nearest location was miles away from where I stay but that’s not the issue here; the issue here was money; that I have to pay for the things that were not delivered to me in the first place! Today, I chatted with Rishabh, then with Mandeep Singh; well, they all spoke the same language; polite and eager to close the case with a statement like this: ‘Thank you for contacting HP WhatsApp support. You are our valued customer, and for a seamless service, you may also reach us through Virtual Agent and ….” then in the end, “In order to provide you with an invaluable service, we are continuously upgrading our existing system and processes. Thank you.”

Creating an irate customer

In between, I connected to their service center in Kolkata through WhatsApp who asked me to call in between 9 am to 6 pm. He said I have to pay Rs. 1770 for their service engineer to visit my place, if it is within 40 km. I said it could hardly be 10 km to which he said the charge would be the same even if it were 2 or 4 km away. Moreover, if the engineer found out defects in any parts I would have to pay something extra. When I told him (Mr. Mukul Ghosh) if I could visit their center, he discouraged me saying that there would be a huge rush beyond 10.30!

Escalation

I told each one of them that I felt wronged and deceived and that I didn’t even know if the problem existed or was it because of some technical issues I wasn’t able to solve, and because of this I would escalate it. They didn’t address the issue at all, they were constantly highlighting where I was wrong, they were not in the least worried about my concern.

The disproportionate price structures

First of all, I don’t understand how they decide on the price? Who lets them decide that just to visit and look into the machine, they will charge something as exorbitant as Rs.1770? And do words mean anything to them? “Valued customer? Continuously upgrading our existing system and process.” They are penalizing me for the things they haven’t delivered in the first place, why? It is because I missed out on their ordinates within the stipulated time? They are looking at my mistake, their valued customer’s, but are overlooking the fact that they gave me a defective machine?

Is this how learning organizations such as HP operate?

The objective of sharing this is to let the management of HP know how their ideals that are put in words in the vision, and mission are applied in ways that question the integrity of the company. Sad.

It is also for several valued customers and prospect customers out there to know how valued you really are when it comes to delivering what the company claims.

Conclusion

Every day, ordinary mortals like us have to face issues and challenges, some get solved, some forgotten. My issue remains unaddressed. Don’t know if the HP management that had groomed their workforce into dealing with unsatisfied customers would speak any differently. Paying the price for something that was beyond my scope is certainly not acceptable.

On Netaji's birthday, a humble request

I have a humble request to make on the auspicious birthday of a forgotten leader, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. 

The songs in the link are those that were dear to Netaji and his numerous followers of Azad Hind Fauj, and to the majority of Indians. Netaji's India and the India that we have now are not the same. We have separated. Three countries. Three flags. Three national songs. It's perhaps never going to change. 

Still my humble request is this; please do not use these songs against each other, Netaji would have been extremely sad had he known that we had become each others' enemies. His dream was to free India, not to have it severed. 

If we could at least become the best of neighbours, Netaji would be really happy. 

Until then, please don't use the songs in the troubled borders that he never ever dreamed of. In the name of the Hind he fancied, Jai Hind.