My interaction with Mr.Anant Dehadrai, the father of Mr.Jai Anant Dehadrai.......... 1981 version.

[madhav kapdi]

                    Sub. : My interaction with Mr.Anant Dehadrai, the father of Mr.Jai Anant Dehadrai.......... 1981 version.

                    You might be aware of the controversy amongst Mr.Jay Anant Dehadrai an Advocate from the supreme court & Smt.Mahua Moitra MP of TMC. Mr.Jai Anant Dehadrai, is a son of Mr.Anant Dehadrai. The latter, i have interacted in early 80s, when he was holding the charge of Bandhu machinery, an offset printing machinery manufacturing organization at Gurgaon. 

 

 

 

                    The company was sharing a boundary wall with Maruti motors and they were our customer for the printing machinery cylinder castings. It was an import substitution we have developed at very short notice on the war footing.

 

                    How the Bandhu machinery has become our customer is a very interesting story as under,

 

                    The company was owned by the Gupta family, who I understand was a prominent politician family close to the corridors of power, and one of the Gupta brothers was the Mayor of Delhi also. The most critical components of the offset printing machine was the printing cylinder duly machined & ground ready for the assembly, was being imported, while rest of the components were developed indigenously. 

 

                    All of a sudden, their overseas vendor stopped the supplies and the Bandhu machinery was in trouble. There were very few foundries who could undertake the manufacturing of such critical castings with consistent quality, and our foundry was one of them, but being a massive organization [with the strength of around 5700] the things used to move at a snail's pace.

 

                    In addition, there were heavy bookings for our captive consumption [machine-tools] and It was our customers who used to suffer in the bargain. This delay was not deliberate but was on account of the age old working style [monopoly] which was not gathering the required momentum, for the customer satisfaction. Knowing our reputation well, with respect to the delays, Bandhu machinery decided to put a steam on us as under,

 

                    Mr.Bandhu Gupta, the owner of the Bandhu machinery, contacted Mr.Bakul Patel [father of actress Amisha Patel] a President of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee [MPCC] to prevail upon the urgency and requested Mr. Patel to take the appointment of Mr.Vinod Doshi our MD. The meeting did take place at Bombay and our DGM attended the meeting on behalf of the works. 

 

                    They have tried with the North based foundry, but failed hence they were in dire need of the castings since that was holding their manufacturing operations. We requested them to supply us the pattern available with the foundry and one OK casting [Imported] for our study and the benchmark. Instead we received the dilapidated pattern being used by the North based foundry and one rejected casting.

 

                    On the visual inspection, it was found that the layout of the Pattern was not suitable to our foundry practice but still we made one casting from the old pattern and simultaneously took up the manufacturing of the new pattern as per our foundry practice. We had no problems with our layout, and the regular supplies were commenced and established, and thereafter the problems started, and our payment was being delayed for one or the other reasons. The castings were being supplied in the proof machined condition, hence there was no scope for the rejection either, on account of the surface defects.

 

                    In normal course, the commercial matters of the North based customers were being looked after by our Delhi office. However, we were informed by our office that, because of the rejections, the payment is not being made. 

As a SOP, such rejections has to come back to the works for the investigations, and the corrective measures, and for the issuance of the credit note also. We would have suspended the supplies but the management was reluctant to take drastic steps because of the political contacts of the customer. However, then I was asked to visit the customer to assess the situation, and submit the report.

 

                    We were not having many customers in the North, but then I was also attending an inquiry from Maruti motors for the S.G.Iron Brake-drums, and I was asked to call on both immediately. I reached Delhi and as per the SOP, one representative from our office was supposed to join me for the visit, but Mr.Parameshwaran our BM asked me to handle of my own but cautioned me about the CEO of the Bandhu machinery Mr.Anant Dehadrai saying he is a tough person to handle. 

 

                    I too was known as a blunt person, and the management was well aware of my personality trait and they must have visualized the flaring up of my temper, but it was their call to select me for this assignment, and face the consequences, since any adverse behaviour from my side, would have gone to our MD. So with all said and done, I too was under pressure then, and such pressure tight situations seasons the person.

 

                    So I left alone for the visit, and as soon as I entered his cabin, he said in Marathi `` Are tu Ghati kay re.? " meaning thereby is  " Are you a Ghati.? " Ghati stands for the Maharashtrians residing in the Ghat section of Maharashtra. They are fair in colour with strong built, but my parameters wrt the weight was very poor.

 

                    My average weight  then was 44 kgs for the height of 5 feet 10 inches but I used to put on weight during my touring, while the others were losing it and falling sick also. The management was of the opinion that I am not taking my job seriously, in addition, and they were always worried about my No-Nonsense behaviour, but still I survived for 13 long years, and was relieved 5 months after my resignation, should speak for my standing in the organization.

 

                    The saving grace was I was very methodical and sincere in my work, and was always comfortable with the Non-standard assignments. My meeting with Smt.Protima Bedi [spouse of Kabir Bedi, who ran naked on the Juhu beach] and Ex.Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee & Chandrashekhar were some of them.

 

                    His style of receiving angered me and I flared " Is this the way you receive your prime vendor, who has to travel 3000 kms for due payment.? " He was perhaps taken back by my aggressive response, but immediately sobered down. To be offensive is the best defence.

 

                    I have studied in the municipal school, with the childrens of police constables up to the secondary, hence my behaviour pattern has been aggressive, and the area domination was my guiding principal even today, like the police station jurisdiction. Now it is the aging which has sobered me down a bit.

 

                    In a way, he  failed to judge me correctly, but in the course of our chat, I was happy to note that  he speaks Marathi and I thought, I should control my anger and not rub him on the wrong side and spoil the matter. Our foundry was starving for the critical orders and the Printing-cylinders was falling under that category. We were also supplying the Printing  machinery table for the Polygraph Kolhapur. In nutshell, it was advisable to concentrate on such demanding quality castings, where our higher prices can be justified.

 

                    In the subsequent banter we had, I concluded that he was perhaps from the Doon school and Mr.Atul Kirloskar, one of the Directors of Kirloskar group & Sanjay Gandhi were his school mates. If i am not wrong, Mr.Atul Kirloskar subsequently married to the daughter of Mr.Gupta, the Mayor of Delhi, but this point needs verification.

 

                    I then asked him to show me the rejection, which he was avoiding but little later told me that the castings are excellent but the rejection is an excuse for their inability to make a timely payment. The management has asked me to make the MOM, but he was reluctant to make any written commitment. 

 

                    While living, I told him that " If you can contact Mr.Patel for the castings from us, then we can also contact him for our payment." Political contacts are a double edged sword. It should be used sparingly. On my return, I made a record note of the discussion for the confirmation and posted it.. However, while concluding the meeting, he promised me the bulk payment in a fortnight and honoured it also. 

 

                    In 1986, I changed the line from foundry to valve manufacturing, and during the tenure, I was sent to audite the foundry owned by a leading politician from Maharashtra, with a clear message for the Negative report. In the foundry, I met my Ex.Boss Mr.Jawalkar Saheb, who was a consultant to the foundry. He told the Foundry manager " Fouress engineering is an API stamp holder ahead of L&T, and we can not match their quality standards." He was a God sent person for us

 

                    The Gupta family was also publishing a magazine titled "The Sun.'' It was a magazine meant for the youth and were using their own printing machines perhaps to generate faster feedback. He also took my personal address and arranged to send me the magazine regularly. After reading the same, I used to put the magazine in our Tea club for circulation. We were thus connected with our customer then onwards with the regular flow of the magazine,

 

                    The impacts of such small  gesture [sending of the magazines] for we greenhorns [I was 31 years then] appears superficial, but they have very deep roots, hence I remember those events and also the mercurial Mr.Anant Dehadrai even after the lapse of more than 40 years. Every human being is different, and the successful person is the one who handles them differently, but the rest mismanage, because of their own temper & ego, and suffer in the bargain.

 

                    Bottom lines : As you succeed in your career, a Devil follows you known as the EGO. Those who shirk him, rise further, but the rest follows the Ego.

                    Madhav Kapdi.