Memoirs-ByPakku

campus was always there for anything and everything. Within weeks we managed to adjust to the Grindwell culture and the Mora campus life. All essential needs of a household were available, just a phone call away. I proudly used to say that Grindwell Norton took good care of the employees and their families and it is true! I did not buy a ball pen, a washer for leaking tap, or an electric bulb to replace the fused one in my 22 years of stay on the campus. The luxury of ‘walking’ to your workplace was something only a select few could imagine and find in real life. All the residential places we occupied inside the campus were within 2-4 minutes walking distance from the main gate of the factory. Of course, there were a few hired houses around Uran and were normally allotted to those working in the non-essential category. Production supervisors were expected to attend calls and visit the plant even after office hours. Life in Mora and Uran was pretty different from that of Ambarnath where I stayed for almost 14 years (remember, Philomena was born and raised there). Mora port and the adjoining fisheries village were within 5 minutes of walking distance from our campus and we saw the same crowd every day. Nearly 200 people, both, men, and women from the community worked in the company. Most of the men of the village went out into the sea for fishing in mechanized trawlers and came back to the shores after a week or so. A few fished closer to the shore and returned by evening. The bigger catch would be sold at Sassoon dock Colaba, Mumbai, and small fish, at local markets. Women would travel to Mumbai early in the morning at 4.30 by machhwa (small fishing trawlers), buy fish through auction sale and sell at various popular markets like Crawford market, Byculla, Dadar, Bandra, Andheri. Mora Koli’s is a close-knit fishing community who lived in small, congested but clean houses. Monsoon was a time when their main activity of fishing came to a standstill. The menfolk would play cards and indulge in drinking country-made liquor till late in the night. They resume venturing into the sea after Nariyal Poornima (a day which coincides with the Raksha-Bandhan festival). The entire Mora Koli community was very cordial and warm. Within the first six months of our stay in Grindwell campus, we knew most of the Mora Kolis through their family members and relatives working in the company. The ten days of the Ganapati festival was the biggest event for this village. Almost all the

houses would install Lord Ganesha idols over a well-decorated and illuminated platform. I remember visiting homes of some Kolis during the 10 days of celebration and reaching back home very late in the night with a bag full of fruits, sweets, and other eatables given as prasad. The village weddings too were special. They usually marry within the village. The bride and groom could be neighbors or a few blocks away. During the day both the groom and the bride would go to the village well to collect Ooombaracha Pani (a ritual where the bride and groom along with their close family members go to a village well to collect water and sprinkle some on themselves, symbolic to taking a bath there) in separate groups and different times, carefully planned by the uncles (mamas and kakas) of both sides so that the brides' group while returning from the village well and heading towards the wedding pandal (marriage hall) could be targeted by the grooms' army, just for some fun. Again, after both the wedding ceremony and bada khana would be over, the entire crowd, both invited and uninvited would be on the road ready to join the newly wedded couple mounted on a horse, fully ready to move towards the temple with band, baaja and baraat accompanied by Mora special Koli dance (women dancing with a beer bottle on their head, unsupported!) And men sharing Scotch whisky bottles, throwing them within their group in relay baton perfection. This temple visit normally starts around 10.30 pm and is completed anytime between 3.00 am and 5.00 am. The procession from the marriage hall typically would start on a reasonably sober note but the return would be boisterous. All four of us watched this spectacular show through our bedroom window of the Sea View bungalow facing the NAD road. Philomena, Susanne, and Sydney used to try and copy their dance moves. Our immediate neighbor and Security Officer, AB Gawade’s daughters Jayashree and Rajashree would join too. Besides that many of the Kolis employed in the factory would go out of their way to please their bosses by inviting them to visit their homes for some occasion or other. It was no surprise to find one of them ringing your doorbell early in the morning with a couple of fresh pomfrets or a heap of king prawns. Apart from the Kolis, the Agris of the neighboring villages too were ever willing to keep the bosses happy. There would be many weddings during summer and they would insist on attending the mandav ceremony the earlier evening. Drinks from scotch to country liquor and beer would flow along with fried fish, boiled chana, and bhajia for starters (also popularly known as chakna). The DJ would play select songs from Bollywood films and enthuse people to dance while drinking and eating. Food would be served on patravali (green leaves stitched together and dried). Mutton masala and rice bhakari would be on the menu mostly. There

are about 17 villages known as gaothans around Uran and I believe I have visited almost all of them barring one or two. The East Indian and Koli Christians of Uran have their own identity and unique culture. Without realizing it we became a part of this community within a couple of years in Uran. The Christian Koli dwellings in Uran Koliwada and the East Indians at Chanje village (Christian pada) are well-known places of Uran landscape. Most of the contacts were through the employees of Grindwell and they made it sure to invite us for all their celebrations, right from weddings, baptism, birthdays, Cross feast and anniversaries. It was always a new experience and an honor as we were the only Catholic family in the officer category of the company from among the 60-odd locals who were workmen. They would also feel proud of our presence as we mixed up well with them and learned to speak in Marathi. Very soon the villagers wanted me to be the MC for their wedding parties and other celebrations and I willingly obliged till almost 2010. The then parish priest of Uran, Rev. Fr. FJ Siolkar learned about me from Gregory Fernandes and did not waste time to contact me. There was hardly anyone who could read, write and speak English fluently among the parishioners and he somehow wanted to rope me in to work for the church and the school. He managed to restart St. Mary’s school that was closed for some years due to some misunderstanding between the management, civic authorities and parents. His priorities were clear – to get St. Mary’s School calendar ready and start the KG section from June 1981. It was somewhere in May 1980 that Fr. Siolkar started visiting us with an agenda. He started explaining his plans and how he thought we could help him. Philomena was a high proficiency typist (60 wpm) and he wanted her to type the entire school calendar manuscript on A4 sheets before printing. I then got a typewriter from the company for temporary use on written request for this work. It took almost five months to get the entire calendar material typed, corrected, and retyped to his satisfaction. Since travel between Uran - Mora was only by ST bus or tonga, Fr. Siolkar would visit us once or twice a week. Gregory worked as his emissary throughout the duration of this project. It was given for printing at Panvel and was expected to be ready by March 1981.

Next, he began his ambitious project of restarting the KG school and made a team of the then school principal Sr. Lourdes, Sr. Florence and Philomena for working on the preparations. Eventually, the KG school started on June 1st, 1981 and Philomena had the privilege of becoming the very first KG In-charge. It was some unique coincidence that our daughter Susanne joined this first batch in the very same year. So Philomena and Susanne travelled to school and back together. There were quite a few little girls in KG with Susanne. We still fondly remember a few names even today: Sugandha, Julie, Sapna, Gladys, Prisca, Michelle, Hemangi to name a few. Things were fine for a few months till Fr. Siolkar was transferred. The new parish priest and manager of the KG section was an extremely religious man and did not like any interference in his work. It appeared that some of the parishioners complained to him that Philomena was still on the rolls of a permanent government job at Ambarnath and her employment at the KG school here at Uran was objectionable. Soon she was asked to submit her resignation. Subsequently, we tried hard to get her services transferred to NAD Karanja which did not materialize as mentioned earlier and she finally submitted her resignation. Now that she had already worked in the KG section of St. Mary’s school at Uran she developed a desire to pursue the same line of work and in early 1982 joined a short-term diploma course in Montessori & Kindergarten at Tardeo, Mumbai. She had to travel 5 days a week by boat from Mora to Ferry Wharf and took a bus to Tardeo. It was good that Mrs. Shirley Menon (John Menon’s wife) too decided to join this course and accompanied Philomena. Mr. John Menon, my good friend and colleague at Ambarnath had joined Grindwell in October 1980. They had shifted to the campus in 1981. UES (Uran Education Society) English medium school offered Philomena a job as a teacher and Mrs. Pradhan, the Principal of the school was impressed with her work. She took a break from school during the birth of our son, Sydney in June 1983. Under normal circumstances she would have rejoined the school from the next academic year but a freak encounter of mine with the Grindwell management changed the scenario totally and changed our life for good. I had argued with the General Manager of Grindwell on school fees reimbursement that was given to the workmen but denied to the officers. While my grievance was noted, the timing was not right; it was a production review meeting. At the time, the GM asked me to meet him in the guest house later at 7.30 pm.

Mr. Pramod Bapat, the GM was an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad and had joined Grindwell as a management trainee. He was a soft-spoken, kind-hearted and jovial person. He stayed at Mahim, Mumbai and traveled to Mora every day by ML Grindwell, the famous motor launch. [This was the private boat of the Maharajah of Travancore before the Sidhva family, owners of Grindwell, purchased it. It was operational till 1985, ie., until the strike of 86 days by the workmen in 1985 which saw the end of many good things including the decommissioning of ML Grindwell.] So, I went home around 6.00 pm and shared with my wife all that transpired between us during the meeting, got myself ready and reached the guest house in time. The front door was open and Mr. Bapat beckoned me in as soon as I rang the doorbell. There was a bottle of beer and two beer mugs on the table. He started chatting in his usual comforting demeanor and soon came to the point that I raised during the day. He explained to me that comparing benefits given to workmen was not right as staff and officers are covered under gross annual compensation (GAC). Towards the end, he convinced me that it was actually my income that was not enough to meet the needs of my family. And he was so very right in analyzing my financial condition! He then offered to help me in finding ways and means of enhancing the family income. While I was happy with my progress and compensation, it was now Philomena’s role in supplementing the family income. She was a teacher in UES English medium school that time and her salary was about Rs.300 pm. Mr.Bapat informed me that the company management, for the very first time, was considering providing part-time employment to the spouses of permanent employees of Mora and if Philomena was interested she could meet him in his office the following day. I had no words to thank him and my face would have conveyed how grateful I was for his kind gesture. The next day Philomena met him and came back with an appointment letter of part-time employment, four hours daily at her convenience, and a salary of Rs.875 pm. One more lady, Mrs. (Dr) Suhas Pingle too joined on the same day, both becoming the first part-timers of Grindwell. Philomena served in CSD till we decided to avail of the VSS (voluntary severance of service) in March 2001. She was confirmed and offered full-time regular employment in 1986. She enjoyed her work and soon became a popular person not only in her department but also in the neighboring offices. She was known

for her clean and tidy work table. With her becoming a permanent employee our family financial position became much comfortable. What Mr. Bapat stated a few years ago was very much true and he ensured he made it come true! Philomena was an active member of the campus women’s Cosmos Club (the chief patron of Cosmos Club was Mrs. Vera Mahajan, the MD’s wife). They conducted welfare cum entertainment programs for the families of the campus besides the regular activities of Grindwell Norton Staff Club. Cosmos Annual Day celebration was something we cannot forget. Even the children of the campus had their own Rainbow Club and kept themselves active in their leisure time. Staff club was the center of entertainment and cultural activities during the evenings. It was open from 4.30 pm to 10.00 pm and from 10.00 am to 10.pm on holidays with a full- time attendant available during those times. The reading room with newspapers, periodicals, and TV was a quiet place. Carom boards and table tennis were favorites among women and children alike. Playing cards was another favorite pastime of few staff and officers. Some preferred to play football, volleyball, and badminton. Once a week, latest movies were shown on screen as except Doordarshan no other channels were available those days. The staff club used to organize and celebrate all festivals along with a lavish dinner spread and entertainment activities. Holi, Diwali, and Christmas-New Year were big ones. One or two outdoor picnics a year were also organized by the staff club. Goa, Matheran, Ratnagiri, Kihim-Alibag, Pune, and Baroda were a few places that I remember visiting. In short, life after work hours and the social life on the campus was something we miss and fondly remember even after 20 years of separation from Grindwell Norton! Both my children, Susanne and Sydney, were so attached that they would long to come back to the Mora campus whenever we took holidays or went out of Mora. So much so that during the great recession in the mid-1980s when some of the staff members, including me were discussing shifting jobs, both of them started crying. Grindwell Norton was such a nice place to work with and live. I believe, we were amongst the lucky few. Being posted in the medium wheel press department, it allowed me to experiment with new methods and revising time standards yielding substantial productivity improvement. In 1983 I got my first promotion to the next grade of Junior Foreman and within a few months was transferred to Stones & Specialties as the Line In charge. This department was later re designated as SBU-24

(strategic business unit). The entire Mora plant consisted of six SBUs as mentioned earlier. Besides the SBU function and operations, the independent service departments, both technical and non-technical, played an important role in the plant. Every SBU In charge was responsible for achieving the target set every month based on the annual budget and the profitability of the line. SBU 24 that I was heading had a troublesome past and all efforts to bring it in line with the rest of the plant in terms of operating time standards and incentive payment system had failed. The work force of 35 people were lost and desperate. My initial few months in the department were quiet. I spent my time in learning the people and processes. Slowly and steadily I spoke to some workmen in confidence and gathered important information that eventually helped me open up the subject of productivity and their earnings that was deprived for so long. Gradually they started understanding and realized that it was in their interest that they pull up their socks. Within a year, all workmen of the line accepted the new incentive scheme that offered incentives up to Rs. 300.00 a month. It also provided rewards in cash and HMT wristwatches if one maintained their efficiency of 120% for 3 months continuously. It was a plant record that all the workmen of the line achieved this distinction and I became sort of a celebrity in the plant. Of course, I was promoted with a handsome increase in my salary too. The line made remarkable progress in the output and met the target month after month. On the 31st of December, the workforce and the staff of SBU-24 met in the training center and celebrated the success story of the year. In 1987, along with SBU 24, I was also given the charge of SBU 21 - Small Wheels & Mounted Points. Now I had the responsibility of two production lines. The logic, though not written down or explained, was probably that both these lines put together were much less in output volume compared to Medium and Large Wheels. Small Wheels a different ball game altogether. First, it was known to be the headquarters of the Union (half of the union leaders of the factory were in this department). Secondly, it also had many elderly local women employees which made any kind of communication with them difficult. This line was headed by a Parsi gem-of-a-gentleman in his fifties, Mr. Russi Marolia, who never demanded or dictated terms. He was more a friend to them than the boss of the department. He also had the additional administrative responsibility of the company’s motor launch M.L.Grindwell and those who traveled between Mora and Mumbai knew him personally. Most of the workmen knew their daily routine job and did just that without bothering about the departmental priority. Multi-tasking, change of work station or product mix that would enhance the departmental output was not acceptable to them nor was any serious attempt

made by the officers to convince them of the need of this. Mr. Marolia with so many years of service in the department found the new approach difficult to implement. So the easy option to the top management was to induct a new person as SBU head. Cautiously though, I started on the right note and brought in flexibility in machine operations. In case of absenteeism, I ensured that the critical machines would be manned so that the day's output would not get beaten badly. Of course, it was a give and take policy and I had to put up a fresh justification to revise incentive schemes and provide special allowances. Soon the entire SBU workforce was happy that their interest in incentive earning was protected even when they worked on any machine/line. It became the most flexible line in a matter of one year. In July 1991, SBU-21 recorded the highest output after a disastrously low previous month record. In both the lines, supervisory assistants were appointed who would walk in a few minutes ahead of the start of the shift to get an idea of each workstation as some departments worked in two or three shifts. Having seen the status at each of the machines and workstations in their jurisdiction, they could easily plan and deploy first shift workmen without wasting time. The key here was that time lost at the beginning of the shift was a criminal loss as there was always confusion around what the second and third shift left at. So any smart supervisor would walk in a few minutes prior to his shift to observe the machines run in the second and third shifts and hence his plan would be ready before the workmen came to the workstations. I still remember watching very senior staff members PD Rao, PDK Rao, YS Kathe, VR Sule (Sr), and few others walking inside the plant at 7.30 am, half an hour before the beginning of the shift. And they would all say that the half an hour they invested gave them more than two hours of relief during the day. In essence, they would be ready with their action plans for each workstation and workman even before they could come in and ask of the day’s work. Within a few months, most of the recruits started going to the plant much earlier than the shift began and all of them were happy that it saved a lot of time and confusion in the mornings. It would be in the best interest of any production staff that the plant started operating without any waste of time. I had a couple of diploma engineers in each of the lines assisting me and they took care of the basic operational activities

of the departments. This gave me time for planning and coordinating with service departments. The 14 years that I spent in the production line of the company were the finest time of my working life. I achieved every target set for Stones and Small Wheels and was applauded for improvement. Besides regular promotions and salary revisions, was the proud recipient of two Total Customer Service, Long service, and Quality improvement awards. I participated in all important events, both inside and outside the plant. The most remembered and cherished ones are Journey to the Top, ISO Quest, Long Service Awards, Annual Sports Meet, and the Golden Jubilee Celebrations. My work during the 86 days long strike by the workmen in 1985 and during the great floods in Raigad district that ravaged our plant in 1989 were also recognized. I continued working in the production line till ISO certification in March 1993. Grindwell Norton (Mora Works) became the first abrasive industry to be certified in India. It was no doubt a great achievement and there were celebrations, besides financial rewards to the staff, officers, and managers. But this high flying did not last long, at least for me. The new concept of flat and lean management structure was announced in April 1993 and all the department heads (line superintendents) disappeared from the organization chart that included me. My new designation was Planning Head – Vitrified. One Production Supervisor for each department directly reported to the Deputy General Manager and they suddenly became important people in the plant. I was made responsible for planning, executing, and achieving the production target of the vitrified plant. Though it was an important and senior position in any organizational structure, in Grindwell it was used only to find excuses and was made a scapegoat for failures. All this happened with the full approval and knowledge of the Deputy General Manager (Vitrified). In any case I had expected this as the DGM was unhappy with my style of functioning and the way I was stealing the limelight in my earlier position of Line Superintendent. At times he found himself embarrassed during parties when other managers came to my support. Not to be defeated, he managed to lure young fresh diploma engineers, all around 22 years of age, and made them run after the carrot. Within a couple of years, this ambitious project was dropped and the conventional proven method was reinstalled. But, he was the boss and the boss is always right! As our conflicts increased and the boss-subordinate relations reached a new low, I revolted. I confronted him in front of his superior, the Group General Manager. Within days I was transferred to Export Servicing, ie., a new position was created for me. Here I reported to the DGM (Exports) and was expected to coordinate with all departments from Planning to Shipping of export orders. Export

products needed stricter quality control, special marking, labels on boxes, and wooden cases for container freight. It was a great decision by the Group General Manager to create this position and a relief to the export section in the head office, hitherto struggling to meet the export targets as the Production lines would be reluctant to process export orders; they saw it as more pain and less gain. Within months the scene in exports changed and I was rewarded too. In 1997 I was sent to Sri Lanka accompanied by the exports sales engineer to meet our major customers and visit some factories using Grindwell products. In early 1998, I took extended leave to be with Baab who was sick and bedridden. Since it was a long absence on compassionate grounds, I was relieved from the Exports responsibilities and told that my new position would be decided on resumption to work. I had visited my Mangalore home with Philomena and children for Christmas and New Year in December 1997, returned to Mora in the first week of January 1998 and had traveled back to Mangalore alone. I spent almost a month as Mai was all alone at home during that time, helping her. Hearteningly they were the last few days I spent with Baab as he breathed his last in July 1998. On my return from home in February 1998, I was transferred to the Training function within the Human Resource Department. Recruiting trade apprentices, factory trainees, diploma engineers, planning their training schedule, reviewing them, and reporting their progress were few of my new shared responsibilities. It was a no-pressure area and I made good use of my ATS training and experience. During this period, the bitter experience of the Planning - Vitrified days and the sour relations between the DGM (vitrified) troubled me a lot. Yet I knew it was not right on my part to blame the entire organization for one of its manager’s behavior and conduct in dealing with one of his subordinates. Knowing the top management very well I knew they would not subscribe to this type of treatment to me or to any employee for that matter. I had made good personal impressions at the top with my extracurricular and social activities over the years besides my exemplary performance inside the plant. This made me put down everything on paper, make a good document and keep it ready to use at the right time. Of course, I started working on it whenever I found time and saved it.

The next phase… It was sometime at the end of 2000 that the news of a voluntary severance of service (VSS) started floating in the Mora plant. Soon it was officially announced too and feelers were sent to the few whom the management wanted to leave. I was at the age and length of service criteria required to avail this scheme. The last few years had been very lean in terms of salary revision and career satisfaction nor did I see any prospect in the near future. Both Susanne and Sydney had selected their career path by then. Susanne would have found a job soon and Sydney was confident of getting into the NDA (National Defense Academy) at Pune. As it appeared, the time was right for me to opt for the VSS, both at the official and domestic fronts. However, we took our time to make the final decision, consulted seniors, well-wishers, my uncle at Malad, and a few other family elders. Once I decided to quit, Philomena too did not wish to continue. Having made up our minds, we both filled up the VSS forms and submitted. During the period from December 2000 and February 2001, the HR and Administration departments were working at an alarming speed as the management wanted to screen, finalize, execute and close the file before 31st March 2001, the closing of the financial year. Within a couple of days, our application was accepted and we were asked to meet the administration department for our final settlement. During this time we were a bit busy with Sydney’s SSB interview followed by his medical examination in Mysore and his career opportunity in the Indian Air Force. Sydney was extremely lucky in that he applied for the entrance examination to NDA while in XI Std, appeared for the written test in September 2000, and appeared for the SSB interview that followed the medical test in February 2001. I had accompanied Sydney to Mysore and we both were away for two weeks from Mora. During this period a lot of development took place on the VSS front. I was relieved on 09 March 2001 and Philomena on 28 February 2001. In the meantime, I compiled the letter that I mentioned earlier, titled it “An Employee Profile” and sent copies to the top management including Mr. ND Sidhva and Mrs. Vera Mahajan, both not on the Board. In this letter of 14 pages,

I tried to expose the systematic, preplanned, indiscriminate, and vindictive exploitation of a sincere, committed, and result-oriented subordinate by the unscrupulous and selfish superior to demonstrate his clout. Also many senior old-timers knew that he was beating his trumpet at the expense of two or three Vitrified Plant Production Supervisors. Perhaps this could be a case of personal insecurity as I was not a yes-man and could communicate well in English with my superiors and peers. Added to that I was well accepted in social, cultural, sports and entertainment circuits which was something my Superior could not digest and used to deny me permission to participate most of the time. My performance record in key result areas, awards, rewards and appraisals, and promotions with salary revision of 14 years in production were rubbished and labeled as incompetent reviews of the superiors. I also knew that most cases of employee abuse and exploitation do not reach the top management and thereby reflecting a clean and healthy working atmosphere in the company. The victim keeps shut with no option except quitting. I had requested the HRD to take my letter as a case study in their management seminars. Here the point is that the two DGMs in their strategy to suppress and break me with their political game grossly failed to realize that their key result area, big-budget projects with machinery and equipment gathering dust in the plant might become the final nail on their coffin. Though I did not follow up, the rumbling of this letter could be heard everywhere in the company and within six months the perpetrators were shown their right places. One could see them much sobered down and they started keeping a low profile. They also missed the 75 years Jubilee celebration in 2017 and the MD’s farewell in 2020 both which spoke volumes on where they stood in the Grindwell Norton veteran’s group. Back to the VSS - All final settlements except Provident Fund were made by cheque and our service certificates handed over immediately. The least expected was a letter that asked me to vacate my campus residence by the end of March 2001 even after my appeal to allow me to stay till the end of April 2001. To my surprise, Philomena had already started shifting some of the smaller items to our Uran flat with local help before we came back from Mysore and saw the letter. In the following two weeks, we vacated our company residence and officially handed it over without any liability. There were a couple of farewell parties and departmental send-off functions. About 170 employees, both staff (40) and

workmen (130), availed of this VSS scheme. It was the end of our association with Grindwell Norton, a dream that came true and changed our lives! Philomena and I are ever grateful and carry fond remembrances of our life at Grindwell Norton. Sydney and Susanne have their share of cherished memories. From April 2001 we started living in our flat at Uran.

New beginnings…once again. I was 53 years and 10 months old and was interested in pursuing new opportunities and earn some income for the family. However, Susanne announced that she was planning to get married and all our priorities changed. She found her life partner in Mr. Akhilesh Gupta from Agra, an engineer graduated from Visvevaraya Regional Engineering College, Nagpur. He had joined Grindwell as a graduate engineer trainee in 1998 and had resigned just a few months before we took the VSS. We visited Agra and met his family in May 2001. Mr. Kamal Prakash Gupta (Akhilesh’s father), his wife, and their four children lived with his two brothers and their families in a huge British-time villa on an elevated plateau in Agra. Mr. Kamal Prakash Gupta runs the family tailoring shop while Aseem, the younger brother of Akhilesh is into readymade garment business. Both his sisters, Neelu and Shalu are married. Susanne and Akhilesh got married on 9th November 2001 in Agra. A close family group of 15 members went to Agra by train and stayed at the diocesan pastoral center near the Cathedral. This arrangement was made through the kind courtesy of the then Archbishop Oswald Gracias of Agra (now the Archbishop of Mumbai). A Catholic Church wedding was followed by a Mangalorean reception in the morning, a Civil Court wedding in the afternoon and Hindu (Mythili) rites in the evening. The Archbishop had met us during our May visit and given us his approval for this inter-religious marriage. Sydney however, could not attend Susanne’s wedding as he was at the NDA and no leave was allowed during training. We returned the next day by train. On 11th November 2001, we had to attend two weddings, of Don D’Mello and Valley Miranda both at Uran. In short, the year 2001 simply flew by us.

Life at Uran was different from that of the Grindwell campus. For 22 long years it was 8.00 am to 4.30 pm though the closing hours for staff were always extended. Now that we had nothing to do and both the children were away from home within a few months after shifting, it was difficult to imagine how we spent our time. Uran had certainly changed ever since the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust started in 1986 and by this time it had become the biggest container traffic port in Asia. Many Indian and foreign shipping companies started operating there and plenty of job opportunities in the shipping sector were available. However, I was looking for a second career primarily to keep me occupied, meet people and develop contacts in and around Uran. A tight working schedule did not appeal to me and I decided to go for the Financial Consultant training of HDFC Life Insurance Company for a month in February 2002. In fact, before applying for HDFC SLIC, I was interested in and did some freelance training in the area of Manpower Development at the lower rung especially for machine operators, loaders, drivers, storekeepers and even cleaners with two-hour classroom sessions each day, 3 days a week. The following six hours on these three days would be spent at the workplace putting into practice what was learned in 2 hours in the mornings. I have conducted three manpower development programs in Uran in 2002 before I started anything else. The sessions certainly were successful as the attitude and commitment of the people trained was aligned towards the overall goal of the company. However, my confidence level was a little shaky as most of the small companies wanted me to conduct this program in Marathi, especially the slides, notes, and group games. Now, I could only speak fluently in Marathi, not read and write. That’s when a couple of experts suggested that it was far better to join a new upcoming company, that too of the HDFC group in Mumbai. I immediately dropped the plan of the Manpower Development Program and decided to join HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company as a financial consultant. It gave me the luxury of flexible working hours of my choice and both my short- term objectives stated above could be easily met. Got the IRDA license after one month of training to operate as an insurance advisor and started soliciting business immediately. It was just the second year of operations for the company and the right time for any FC (Financial Consultant) to prove himself. My

personal contacts and the goodwill established during my service in Grindwell Norton were my greatest advantages in finding prospects. I could convert most of these prospects into Policy-holders of HDFC LIC. The first-year commission on the premium was attractive and I did quite well. In September 2002, I got an offer to work for an upcoming Merchant Navy Training Institute to be set up in Uran Shipyard at Mora that I could not resist. I joined them as HOD, Marine Workshop and Hostel Warden. The workshop and offices were near the Mora port, opposite the Parsi Fire Temple. The students were accommodated at the officer's housing complex near JNPT. This new venture Bombay Science and Research Institute (BSRI) was started by two young entrepreneurs and attracted many young boys dreaming big in the shipping line. After one year of basic training, they were promised to be sent to Glasgow shipyard in the UK which would make them a Captain or Chief Engineer of a ship in ten years. Both these positions were highly paid and tax-free too. Despite the hefty fee structure about 100 students enrolled for the very first batch mostly from Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. The morning exercise and physical training of the students started at 6.30 am at JNPT sports ground. Theory and practical was at Mora Shipyard premises. Within months the Mora Shipyard premises was vacated as the lease deal with the owner failed. BSRI then purchased land and built a new complex in a remote village in Borkar, about 30 km from Uran. It was a very promising attempt of the two partners, employing a couple of retired captains and experienced men on the rolls to teach. Most of the first batch boys were sent to Glasgow for the second year of training and this impressed the parents resulting in more applicants for the second batch recruitment. Everything looked quite good, the second batch was enrolled, more staff was employed, the institute appeared genuine and professionally managed. Suddenly one morning, both (partners) the directors went missing! They did not come to the center nor could be contacted. It was chaos, uncertainty, and fear around in November 2005. It was a big financial scam. There were police complaints and the legal battle still continues, even after 15 years. In short, the institute came, established itself under the shadow of JNPT, made the presence felt in a big way by registering with DG Shipping & Maritime

University, and disappeared as quickly as it came, within 3 years. I was extremely lucky that I got disassociated from this institute in June 2005 due to a minor heart attack followed by hospitalization or else I too would have been entangled with the court cases. The year 2005 is remembered for two more happy events too in our life besides the two unpleasant incidents above. First, our daughter Susanne gave birth to a baby boy on June 7, 2005, later christened Aman. Second, Sydney was commissioned in the IAF (fighter pilot - flying branch) at the Air Force Academy, Hyderabad on 17th December 2005. Marshal of the IAF, Arjan Singh, was the chief guest and decorated each officer with his rank. Both, Philomena and I were invited to attend this historic event. The following day we traveled back with Sydney. We offered a thanksgiving service in the church and thereafter organized a colorful felicitation function in honor of the newly commissioned Flying Officer. The Holy Cross Group of Uran parish took the entire responsibility and executed this program very well. Sydney left for Bidar in North Karnataka where IAF has its training command, in the first week of January 2006. Of course, I could not devote enough time to the HDFC Standard Life Insurance business from 2002 to 2005 as I was working full time with Bombay Science and Research Institute and it was fine as I continued being a part-time consultant. I took good rest after my discharge from MGM hospital, Vashi where I was admitted in June 2005 for the minor heart attack till we traveled to Hyderabad in mid-December. Starting from early 2006 till the end of 2007, I did pretty well in HDFC SLIC and was happy to become MDRT in 2007, a great achievement and honor for an insurance agent. Very soon all my close contacts were drying out and getting new prospects closer home became more and more difficult. It was then that I started looking for some employment opportunities in the shipping sector around JNPT. Very soon, in January 2008 I joined a container yard called Bhavani Yard servicing empty containers. That included cleaning, repairing, painting and parking till the next call for loading. Container handling at CFS, empty yard, and on a loaded vessel is quite an interesting and exciting

job, especially tracking the container position by its unique numbering system. The containers normally come in two sizes, 20x8 ft and 40x8 ft in length and two heights, 8 ft and 9.5 ft. Most of these container handling companies were from Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Europe with offices known as clearing and forwarding agents near major ports. It is interesting to know that approximately 85~90% of the world cargo is transported through shipping and it is commercially a huge business across the world! I could not continue working there for long and resigned after 10 months due to fatigue. In the allied services of shipping companies, I learned the hard way that there is only reporting time in the morning. Virtually one does not know what time you would reach home, it could be 6.00 pm, 10.00 pm, midnight or 4.00 am. The yard operates 24 hours and there could be innumerable problem situations where you need to rush and solve it whether on duty or not. There was a lot of local traveling involved almost every day in a vehicle provided. Police stations, excise &customs, bonded warehouses, C/F agents, lawyers, petrol pumps, banks, and courts were commonplaces. In between in April 2008, 4 months after I joined I wanted leave for 10 days that was denied yet I remained absent as Sydney got married to Luvana Fernandez, daughter of Lawrence and Meena Fernandez of Pune on 20th April 2008 at Uran. Luvana too was a serving officer then in IAF on a short service commission of ten years. Lawrence is an ex Telco employee, while Meena is a homemaker. Keith and Kevin are younger twin brothers of Luvana. Keith is a software engineer while Kevin is an Lieutenant Colonel with Indian Army. Sydney and Luvana are blessed with two children, Ryan and Hazel. Fr. Ashok Gonsalves, a Capuchin priest, kept his word and came to Uran for the nuptial Mass of Sydney and Luvana. My sisters, Sr. Jyothi, Rosa, Concepta, Hilda, brother Charlie and Mai attended. Arrangements for Mass were out of the ordinary especially for a wedding in Uran, viz., a red carpet from the entrance of the church to the base of the altar, decorated silver color VIP chairs, air

circulators to beat the heat so that the nuptial mass would not get interrupted etc. The reception that followed in the school grounds was simply a class above the normal Uran style; even the beverages, soft drinks, appetizers too made their mark. Round tables with 6 chairs were laid out in the entire ground to appear like design by default from any corner of the ground. Nearly 600 people attended the reception and ate at the buffet tables to their heart's content. Philomena’s cousin Clara and her husband Morgan from Vile Parle had been camping with us at Uran to oversee all arrangements of this wedding and we are still very much grateful for their sincere gesture. Of course, Susanne and Akhilesh were of great support. On resuming work at Bhavani Yard I could notice the changes in the office. Two fresh commerce graduates were recruited and being trained. They would gradually share the work that I was assigned. Though I was not asked to resign, I knew that they would not stop me either. After some four months, I met the MD and told him that I wanted to leave. Health concern was a serious issue along with lots of travel and late hours; hence I was relieved immediately. Of course, both my short stints, first at BSRI (merchant navy) for two and half years and the second at Bhavani Yard (container yard) were quite different from Grindwell Norton (grinding wheels). In other words, grinding wheels are fast-moving industrial consumables in industries such as automobile, steel, railways, defense production units and major engineering factories. 80% of the grinding wheel business in India is shared by two big giants: Carborundum Universal Ltd (Chennai) and Grindwell Norton Ltd (Mumbai). The rest of the 20% is with many small-scale manufacturers across the country. With my 22 years of manufacturing experience in Grindwell Norton, I had also received a couple of offers in the meanwhile. One was from Jodhpur (Rajasthan) and the other from Bhatkal (coastal Karnataka). I had picked up a team for molding, dressing, and packing. Mixing, firing, and inspection rested with a separate team. I met both parties separately. The Ajmeras of Jodhpur joined by their consultants (ex-Grindwell Bangalore process managers, Shashi Mohan and

CN Timmapaiah) met us at Bangalore. They had tons of 37C abrasive grain – primary raw material for black silicon carbide grinding wheels - stored in a huge shed at Jodhpur. Each group was briefed about their role and scope. Everything to convert this stock of grain into grinding wheels was needed to be done and done fast. We were sent back promising appointment letters within 2 weeks but did not receive any till 3 months. After a few days, Shashi Mohan broke the news that the premises was very close to Pakistan border and it was under attack. The immediate decision was to stop any construction in that area; later, it never saw the light of the day. The Nayak brothers of Bhatkal were big-time Mangalore tile manufacturers for generations. They were a bit worried about the dwindling demand for tiles as many builders preferred cemented roof terraces. Gradually they curtailed output in one or two tile plants. Further, they had taken over a medium-sized grinding wheel factory ‘Sharp Wheels’ near Kundapur in Udupi district. Since they got to know that I was relieved from Grindwell, they invited me to visit their plant near Kundapur. There were a couple of more such small factories, one exclusively manufacturing sulphur treated ball-bearing outer-race and inner- race wheels. Their customers were SKF Pune and a couple of other bearing manufacturers in Bangalore and Baroda. I learnt then that these three entrepreneurs were ex-employees of Grindwell, ambitious and ready to take risks in life. [Mr. Haldipurkar is still operating his sulphur-treated small wheel plant in Sasthan, Udupi District.] At Sharp wheels, I met the proprietor and his partner (Nayak brothers) with two of my ex-colleagues from Grindwell, closely looked at their plant, machinery, product mix range, and reviewed their customers. On our return, I submitted a total package deal of doubling their sales in 3 years albeit with our terms and conditions. For unknown reasons I did not receive any response from them nor did I pursue it any further. This of course transpired in 2002, a couple of months before I joined BSRI. After resigning from Bhavani Yard in 2008, I was at home most of the time. HDFC SLIC had become a bit tough in terms of getting business. Since Sydney’s commissioning in December 2005 we were entitled to free medical assistance and our visits to the naval hospital, Asvini, at Colaba, Mumbai were regular. An angiography was recommended for uneasiness during one such visit and it detected 3 blockages. An angioplasty was done on the same table in September 2008. Philomena too had

undergone hysterectomy and EPS in August 2009. Ever since, both of us have been visiting Asvini hospital every month for medication and follow-up. We are extremely fortunate to have our son serving in the Indian Armed Forces or else this would have been an expensive proposition. Our daughter Susanne and son- in-law Akhilesh stay close by at Vashi and rush to our help whenever we needed them. The following few months after the angioplasty were very quiet and we took good care of ourselves after the above procedures. Both Susanne and Sydney too asked me to stop pursuing HDFC SLIC business which anyway was not coming through easily like the earlier years. At this stage, we felt we were totally retired and comfortable in life with no commitment. My other social contacts with Giants International, Parish & School committee, and work at our housing society remained active to keep me occupied. However, we continued traveling a lot between Vashi, Bidar, Gwalior and Mangalore. It was a pleasant surprise to realize that we were actually spending half of the year away from our home in Uran.

Some random… We had a small car then, Maruti Alto, gifted by Sydney and I used to drive up to Vashi, Panvel, Ambarnath and at times Pen, Alibaug too. Anywhere beyond Vashi towards Mumbai it was always radio cabs as they are convenient and cost- effective too. Both Philomena and I have visited a few places in India and abroad. Dubai, France and Italy were unforgettable experiences. We still occasionally look into the carefully maintained photo albums of these trips and cherish the golden moments. In between our visits to Mangalore increased too; sometimes I traveled alone. Our ex-ATS Alumni Association meetings annually are a great opportunity to meet all old friends. Susanne and Akhilesh being settled at Vashi, our visits to Vashi became more frequent. They have a fairly big house and since Akhilesh is fond of good food, drinks and is passionate about his barbeque and grills, organizes instant parties on weekends and on special occasions. His sister Neelu, her husband Manish and their daughter Dhanvi, stay close by and meet often. Philomena’s niece Kavita, her husband Nachiket and son Haarsh too join in. Kavita and family too stays in Navi Mumbai. We too have organized a few gala get- togethers at Uran on few important occasions and all of them have dropped in and enjoyed. The most remembered ones are the Christmas celebrations in the recent past.

While at Uran, our daily schedule was almost clockwork precision. Wake up at around 7.00 am, have a glass of warm water, prepare tea, sweep, clean, dust, and swab the floor, all of this work was shared between Philomena and me. Next, I used to go down for a small walk and en route back home fetch milk and newspaper. It is interesting to know that we had to stop the door delivery of milk and the newspaper around 5 years ago as the vendors had a reasonable grievance that we were away from home almost half of the month! This made me go out for milk and newspaper which had become a routine. Once back home, I spent around 15 minutes doing some simple exercises followed by a shave and bath. Philomena typically finished her routine before I reached home with milk and newspaper. She then prepared breakfast by the time I finished bathing and we wrapped up breakfast by 9.30 am. After that we normally recited our family prayers at around 10 am for about 20 minutes. This was followed by reading newspapers, watching a couple of recorded Marathi TV serials of previous night and morning dose of medication. We took a break at 11.00 am and that’s when I normally went out to get the daily supplies from the market and Philomena went to the kitchen to prepare lunch for the day. Most of the time we cooked once a day. Washing utensils and cleaning the kitchen slab was all done by both of us as we did not have a maid at home for years. Lunch was around 1.00 pm followed by watching some more TV or reading some periodicals like The Week, The Examiner and Jesus Calls which are regularly subscribed. I stopped subscribing to Readers Digest since the last two years. It was a painful decision nonetheless as I was reading it since 1965. [At that time, a single copy of the Readers Digest cost Rs.3 and of late it is Rs.100.] Usually, we took afternoon siesta between 2.30 pm and 5.00 pm. Evening tea was at 5.30 pm followed by a quick walk to church for the prayer service and evening Mass at 6.00 pm except on Sundays. On our way back, we walked through the marketplace and picked some items required for the next day. But, with Covid-19 SOPs in place from 22nd March 2020, we (above 65 years) could not go out and hence it affected our health overall. We were completely indoors till 31st May 2020! Our neighbors helped us procure milk, bread, and other essentials. These were the most difficult months for all senior citizens, especially

those who were sick. It was very kind of Susanne and Akhilesh to come from Vashi with online Police permission to pick us up from Uran and take us along to her place to our great relief. We recuperated there for a month and she dropped us back to Uran. On our return, it was back to the old routine. Mostly TV was switched off at 10.30 pm and Philomena went to bed by then. I typically spent a couple of hours on the laptop, almost thrice a week after dinner, before calling it a day at around 11.30 pm. Mobile was (and still is) the most indispensable commodity during the whole of the day. However, we in the 70s are no match to the younger generation in using various apps and games but are content with calls, SMS, WhatsApp and google news. Being a member of the Giants International group, I met many important people from other cities. The annual convention of Giants International in different cities used to be a great occasion to meet people and develop personal contacts. Within two years of moving to Uran home, I established some very good personal contacts with most of the professional and business communities of Uran. Besides, I became a member of two informal friends’ groups in Uran and we met once or twice a month. The first group is of 20 members consisting of professionals and businessmen of Uran, most of them members of Giants International group. Second, a group of 8 members, all catholic, a couple of them retired and the rest still in service. This smaller group used to meet more often during weekends and for family celebrations. I still fondly remember the four of us - Gregory Fernandes, Napoleon Miranda, Stany D’Souza and me sitting at Rajpal Restaurant and sharing two-by-four masala tea after the evening Mass, a practice now discontinued since a few years. A few close friends in Uran on whom I can bet for any assistance 24x7 are Edward D’Souza, Napoleon Miranda, Arun Pathare, Ashok Shetty, Abhay

Deshpande, Sudhakar Poojary, Girishbhai Rawal, C. Ramalingam, Cedric Brindley, Franky Koli, and Sunil Koli. Though we used to be away from Uran with our children for almost half of the year, coming back to Uran was always back to sweet home. The fact that we have stayed at Uran (Grindwell campus included), for 42 years is almost a lifetime. Someone once asked me why I chose Uran to settle down after retirement. The answer was simple that I had read somewhere some years ago - One should ideally stay and call it home where he or she had spent the prime of his/her life and I applied that logic to back my decision! Looking back, I could have joined the New Panvel group in the Grindwell Cooperative Housing Society in the 1980’s but it was a bit early for me in service and my priority was my family. My parents and siblings, all younger to me, badly needed the financial support which continued almost up to 1990 till my younger brother went to the Gulf and started supporting the family. So, it was only in 1993 that we had bought this small flat in Uran and had rented it out to Grindwell itself for four years to cater for the additional demand of staff housing and is definitely helped us earn the extra income. My mother-in-law Mrs. Bridgette D’souza, sister-in-law Priscilla and her son Darryl stayed in our Uran flat from 1998 till we shifted in April 2001 after taking VSS from Grindwell Norton. They continued to stay with us for some more time and shifted back to Ambarnath in 2003. Philomena’s younger sisters - Margaret, Benedicta, her brothers Pascal and Norbert are settled in Ambarnath. Eldest brother Francis, resides at Mira Road. My father-in-law passed away in July 1980 just before retirement and Norbert was given employment in Ordnance Factory on compassionate grounds. We used to drive down to Ambarnath very often to meet them. Philomena’s mother passed away in October 2019 and her brother Pascal passed away in October 2020.

Currently Priscilla, Benedicta and Darryl stay in our apartment at the Maharashtra Housing Board [MHB] quarters in Ambarnath. Philomena was fortunate to get this one-room kitchen tenement built for LIG (lower income group) by MHB in a lucky draw in 1977. In 1980 Sr. Jyothi had returned from Rome on completion of her Masters in Theology and had stayed with us at MHB quarters for a few days. She returned to Mangalore along with Jacintha who was with us from May 1978. Since I mentioned that Jacintha did not want to stay in Mumbai and wanted to go back to Mangalore, it now makes sense to speak about my family. My parents and siblings were and are very interesting characters and perhaps some of them would be role models to many. The fact that our parents were 3rd and 5th standard dropouts respectively and yet their children shaped their lives to the positions they are in, is certainly commendable. Baab was the village head, an honorary position for many years and was known for his social outreach. There were numerous times where after attending a celebration, he rushed to help an accident victim and then reached in time for a funeral of a distant relative. Mai was a homemaker and enough is already written about her. The last big occasion that all siblings met at our Mangalore home was on her 90th birthday celebration at the new house, Anjali in March 2019.

It is more interesting to know about my siblings, 13 - including me, all living and doing decently well in life. I have spoken about Philomena and myself in detail in the earlier chapters. Though Susanne and Sydney are mentioned reasonably well, a small write-up on them appeared in the souvenir of St. Mary’s High School and Junior College, Uran would augur well before I mention about my 10 sisters and 2 brothers.

Flying High - Sky is the limit! Wing Commander Sydney Fernandes, a student of Maharashtra State Board batch of 1999 from St. Mary’s Convent School stood 1st in the Board examination, and pursued his dream of becoming a Fighter Pilot in the Indian Air Force. He joined the elite National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla- Pune in the year 2001 for a 3-year rigorous inter-services training. It was here that basics of military life like discipline and dedication to service before self were instilled in the young soldier. Apart from academics, he was introduced to swimming, horse-riding, shooting and cross-country running. He excelled at football and hockey at the NDA. Later, he bagged the prestigious title of Mr. NDA in 2004. The next step was basic flying training at the Air Force Academy, Hyderabad. During the course of the one-year at the academy, he graduated from the propeller driven HPT-32 aircraft to the indigenous jet propelled Kiran aircraft. He was commissioned in the IAF as a fighter pilot in Dec 2005. During the post commissioning advanced flying training at Bidar, Karnataka, he was selected for combat flying training abroad. Sydney was later deputed to the Royal Air Force Valley in North Wales, UK, a mark of distinction for any pilot to be trained on the HAWK - the latest breed of fighter trainers bought from UK. He won 4 trophies there out of a total 7 on various parameters, including the esteemed Bishop's Trophy for \"Most preferred IAF pilot by the Royal Air Force to go to war with\". On his return from the UK, he was posted to the prestigious Mirage 2000 fighter squadron. As part of the 'WOLFPACK', his first frontline squadron, he learnt the ropes of fighter flying from the very best in the IAF. He progressed through various roles like visual combat, practice interception, night flying, instrument flying, air-to- air refuelling, air-to-ground armament and laser guided bombing to name a few. Upgradations included Beyond Visual Range (BVR) combat and grueling lead checks to gain two-aircraft and subsequently four-aircraft leader status. He consolidated on the Mirage 2000, the French fighter till 2015.

He moved to Tambaram, Chennai for training as an instructor where he graduated in Nov 2015. He was thereafter posted as a QFI (Qualified Flight Instructor) at their Training Command in Bidar, Karnataka. Life had come full circle and he was now an instructor on the HAWK aircraft! Teaching rookie pilots the nuances of handling a fighter was an interesting challenge. 2017 saw him selected to undergo the prestigious Defence Services Staff College at Wellington, Tamil Nadu. This was a step towards higher echelons within the defence setup where wargaming and strategic planning on the tri-services level were at the forefront. Having secured a MSc in Defence and Strategic Studies, he bade farewell to the abode of defence learning in the Nilgiris in 2018. Sydney got back to Bidar in Apr 2018 where he trained batch after batch on the HAWK aircraft, this time in combat roles too. After a strenuous two year tenure, which included deployment post the Galwan incident with China, he was tasked with Aerospace Safety duties at a frontline fighter base in September 2020. Married to Luvana Fernandez of Pune, they have two kids, elder son Ryan and daughter Hazel. As a matter of fact Sydney was groomed to join the armed forces from his early childhood. On his very first birthday, in 1984, he was dressed in a 5 star General’s uniform (of General Idi Amin of Uganda) specially airlifted from Dubai. As a child most of his toys were aeroplanes and guns. He is straight forward and tough with lots of instant humour. He never hesitates to call a spade a spade right from his school days. I vividly remember an incident. Once, while he was in Junior college, I was summoned by the college Principal. There I saw 7-8 boys standing outside the office. The Principal told me that unless I control my son, we will soon see one more ‘George Fernandes’ (famous union leader and later defense minister) in the making. The boys led by Sydney were protesting a latest fee hike that was disallowed by the education department as reported in the news paper of the day and a paper cutting was readily available with the boys. While his grit, determination and hard work, he has achieved his dreams of becoming a fighter pilot with the Indian Air Force.

But firmly on the ground too! Susanne, elder sister of Sydney was born in 1978 at Ambarnath. A student of the 1993 Maharashtra State Board batch of St. Mary’s Convent School, Uran, went on to complete her Post Graduation in Human Resources. She was inclined towards something to do with ‘people’ right from her school days which shone right through when she conducted and led various social and cultural programs in the Grindwell Norton colony where we resided. Susanne is an experienced and versatile Human Resources professional with proficiency in Business Partnering, Change Management, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Operations, Policies & Processes, and Employee Relations. She has won several accolades in her 17+ year journey. She received the '101 Top HR Minds in India' (Feb 2019) by the World HRD Congress, was ranked top '100 under 40' HR professionals in India (Jan 2018) at the Jombay-Leading from Behind Summit from a pool of around 650 HR professionals pan India. Susanne is also a Bronze Stevie Award winner in Nov 2013. She is known as someone who specializes in creating and sustaining a vibrant, rich, and inspired work culture that employees can be proud of. She currently heads the HR function for a subset of Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong. Susanne has also been awarded ‘SIESCOMS Women Achievers’ on International Women’s Day for recognition of her work in the HR arena by her alma mater, SIES College of Management Studies, Nerul, Navi Mumbai. Susanne’s passion is to touch lives in whichever way she can while being true to her organization. Her motto is “Genuine empathy and effective communication always works and has helped her reach where she professionally is”. And this, she believes is something that has been inculcated in her right from her formative years in school and college, not forgetting the very conducive atmosphere in the Grindwell colony.

Susanne is married to Akhilesh Gupta, settled in Vashi, Navi Mumbai. Akhilesh worked at Accenture for 14 years before joining CLSA, a Hong Kong based investment bank. Here he rose to become the Managing Director (of the India business segment). He left CLSA in 2019 to join his brother in readymade garment business, Riya Fashions, at Agra, and are known by the brand name ‘Lagnotsav’. Susanne and Akhilesh have a 16-year-old son Aman, smart, intelligent, football crazy who secured 93.9% in ICSE board exams this year (2021). He is also passionate about the armed forces and has secured admission in the well known Bhonsala Military School, Nasik after his 10th grade. We are all hoping and praying he does well there and continues the tradition of his uncle, Sydney 

Now let’s move to my siblings: Before I begin, I must state that we are a family that created a record of sorts and re-wrote the history of our village! You’ll get to know ‘why’ once you pore over the below write-up. Since I am the eldest, I shall start from the second, Sr. Jyothi and continue in that order to the last, the youngest, Dr. Nancy. 1. Sr. Jyothi, earlier known as Juliana, her baptized name, may well be understood through a small write up that appeared in The Examiner, a Mumbai Archdiocesan English weekly in April 2020 when she celebrated the golden jubilee of her religious life. Quote 50 Religious & Joyful years Serving the Lord – Sr. Jyothi Fernandes, UFS Jyothi Fernandes, UFS will be marking the 50th year of her religious life on 10th May 2020. A grand celebration along with nine other batchmates was planned at Bogadi Mysore on 14th April 2020 but canceled due to the Covid 19 lockdown. Born on 27th May 1949 in Mangalore diocese to Raymond and Christine Fernandes, God-fearing and loving parents, she had a very spiritual and moral upbringing from early childhood. Her grandfather, Antony Fernandes, a retired teacher and sacristan at the local parish taught catechism and told Bible stories to the children at home. She joined the congregation of the Ursuline Franciscan Sisters [UFS] at Mangalore soon after her SSLC and after 2 years of Novitiate, made her first profession on 8th May 1970. Her aunt, Sr. Alphonsa, UFS who is still active at 84 years of age in pastoral ministry at Hunsur has been a pillar of support to the family, inspired little Juliana (Sr. Jyothi) to choose the religious way of life and to her younger sister Irene (Sr. Ivy) to join the same congregation couple of years later. Soon she completed her BSc, B.Ed. and taught in a rural high school besides managing a

boarding home for poor children. She pronounced her Perpetual Profession on 8th May 1975. Impressed with her zeal, she was sent to Rome (between 1976~1980) and obtained her master’s degree in Theology from the prestigious Gregorian University. On her return, she taught for some time before being assigned the task of formation of novices at Somarpan Novitiate, Mangalore, and was Novice Directress for 11 years. In 1992, Sr. Jyothi was appointed as the Regional Superior of East Karnataka region and later in 1998 when Mysuru province was erected, she became its first Provincial Superior. She served the province for 15 years as its superior and her priority was the spiritual formation of religious sisters and secular education. As a major Superior, she was elected to the executive council of CRI and Karnataka Regional Conference of Religious. She is a founder member and later Secretary of the Association of the Franciscan Family of India. In 2006, she was appointed as Principal Director at the Pontifical Institute - Mater Dei at Old Goa for 4 years. In 2009, she represented National CRI at the FABC conference on Consecrated Life in Bangkok. From 2013 onwards she worked as Secretary – Women’s Commission of Mysore Diocese and was appointed as Jt. Secretary for Karnataka Regional Commission for Vocations & Formation (priests & religious) by the Archbishop of Bangalore. Currently, she is a member of the retreat team of the UFS congregation and devotes her time giving retreats to the sisters and novices, animates a local unit of Lay Associates (ULFA), and takes classes. Today as we thank the Lord for the marvelous things that He has done to Sr. Jyothi we, the Fernandes family thank all the people who came in her contact and helped her in one way or other to live her vocation to the full, grow in fidelity to the Lord and in the service to His people. Sr. Jyothi is a simple, humble, and noble person besides, a great source of inspiration to our family to witness our Faith.

Unquote I do not think I could have done justice to Sr.Jyothi had I written on her and hence pasted the article directly from The Examiner. 2. Sr. Ivy, UFS, was born on 3rd May 1952 and baptized as Irene. She is intelligent, always helping, and keeps a low profile. Both Sr. Jyothi and Sr. Ivy completed their school education in the boarding school of Ursuline Franciscan Sisters of Mangalore as our parents found it difficult at home. Sr. Ivy is remembered for her innumerable sacrifices. She has always come home in time to be of help to our parents and siblings in need. So much so that she rushed home to take care of our ailing Baab and to send Mai (our mummy) to Mysore in 1995 to attend the Silver Jubilee of Sr. Jyothi. She is known for her thrifty ways, saving whatever little she can from her limited pocket money, and helped Mai and Anju (our other sister) in difficult times. She serves in Mysore province and is currently associated with their hospital at H D Kote. 3. Catherine, born on 5th September 1954, was one of the siblings who mattered the most at home when Baab started wearing out and looked for support from his children around the late 70s. She had just finished her Teachers Training from Capitanio, Mangalore but failed to get a job at our parish school despite Baab's influence around. That’s when Baab revolted and took out our three other siblings studying in the parish school and enrolled them in a local private school at Kemundel. Eventually, he managed to get a teacher’s post for Catherine in the same school. She worked for some time at Hubli before returning home to join the local school. She was the eldest one at home with Sr. Jyothi, Sr. Ivy, and I out of home much earlier and was groomed to take charge of the family tradition and practices both inside the home and outside. She still believes and

demonstrates her leadership position in every single aspect of Chris Ray and Anjali. After she started working, the much-needed additional income added some cheer at home. However, destiny chose to put her through some cruel test with our ancestral home razed to the ground in the devastating monsoon fury of July 1977. Even in the gloomy situation, she demonstrated that she was no less than a responsible son of her father and walked every step with him. Of course, her younger siblings Rosa, Jacintha, Vincy, Anju, Concepta, and Hilda too contributed as much together during the construction of a new house within two years. The house was ready in 1979 and the next big event was her marriage in 1980. Her husband Mr. George Castelino of Nakre, near Karkala town, was a teacher at a local school and later down the years received the prestigious National Award from the President of India. Soon after her marriage, she managed to get herself transferred to the same school at Nakre where her husband taught. George and Catherine have three children, two sons, and a daughter. Eldest son Roshan is an SJ priest and is currently in Belgium for higher studies. Younger son Ranjan is an automobile engineer, married and employed at Mercedes Benz, Bangalore. The youngest daughter Shaman, an Indian Forest Service officer, is married and employed at Madikeri in Coorg, Karnataka. George and Catherine are now retired and engaged in full-time social work nearer home at Nakre. George is well known as an MC and event manager of traditional and local functions. Catherine is an elected representative of the local body of their village. 4. Rosa was born on 30th August 1956. She studied in the same school before joining the Teachers Training at Mangalore with Catherine. It was not a secret that Sr. Alphonsa was always there in Mangalore to take care of these two sisters.

Back home it was the most difficult time for any farming family. Lot of hard work and low income from the farm produce! There was no cash inflow except when I started remitting home from 1969 onwards. School and college expenses mounted as the younger siblings grew up and our parents wanted them to study come whatever may. Besides my remittance, Catherine and Rosa too contributed whatever they earned, keeping the bare minimum for their personal needs. After Catherine, it was Rosa who witnessed the most difficult times of our family. In 1983 Rosa got married to Gregory D’Souza, also from Nakre but working in Mumbai. He had his black & yellow metered Taxi and used to drive himself. Taxi owners were counted among the reasonably well-to-do crowd in Mumbai and all were happy that she got married and set off to Mumbai. They stayed at a small place at Khar (East) for a couple of years before shifting to an one room kitchen flat on the fourth floor in 1986, a few months after Glenda, her daughter was born. They stayed in this apartment for almost 30 years where both their children, Glenda and Reema grew up. Both daughters are very sharp and intelligent, both completed MBA in Marketing and HR respectively and are now decently employed. Reema is married to Abhijeet Thakkar, and resides nearby. Glenda is more focused on her career, traveling, reading, and running marathons across Mumbai. Rosa worked as a teacher for Bombay Municipal Corporation school and is now retired. They have shifted to a bigger apartment in Santa Cruz (East) in 2018, a few months before Reema’s marriage. Gregory aka Geeru, a person who knew every nook and corner of Mumbai being a taxi operator for more than 40 years is now confined at home due to poor health.

5. Jacintha was born on 12th July 1958 and was the first in the family to complete XII Standard under the new 10+2 pattern. She too has seen the difficult times of the family, worked with her elder siblings and parents in farming activities before and after school. It was a conscious family decision to bring her to Mumbai with me soon after she finished XII in May 1978; first, to be of some help at home in Ambarnath as Philomena was due for delivery very soon and also to look for a job after learning typing and shorthand. Somehow, she did not find it to her liking here at Ambarnath besides some minor misunderstandings between three of us adults at home. Sr. Jyothi had just returned from Rome after completing her master’s in theology in December 1980 and stayed with us for a couple of days at Ambarnath. Jessy decided to go back home with Sr. Jyothi and this made me feel a bit guilty. Young boys and girls with only X standard and typewriting skills could easily find clerical office jobs those days. Jessy, a XII pass girl could have succeeded if she had the desire and ambition in life. Post going back to Mangalore till of late there have been numerous unfortunate episodes where I have been blamed for her misery but all of that is past now with me putting forth my side of the story a few years ago. Our younger siblings were too young when all of this transpired and hence are not completely aware of the facts. Nonetheless, that is the past and I do not wish to delve into it. As of now I’ve been given to understand that Jessy resides alone in a flat in Mira Road, Mumbai, and keeps in touch with a select few. 6. Vincent was born on 3rd January 1961 and his birth made everyone in the family happy as there were five daughters before him. I had joined Admar High School just a few months before his birth. As a child, he was a bit delicate and physically weak. He took a little longer to be on his feet but appeared normal as a child when his younger siblings Anju, Concepta, and Hilda arrived in the family. He went to the parish school initially and completed X standard at Admar and XII standard from Palimar about ten kilometers away from home.

Vincy tried his luck in Mumbai with some small-time jobs and stayed with us at Uran for some time and at Rosa’s place in Mumbai for a year or two. He did some short-term training course from Fr. Agnel’s, Bandra and went to the gulf in 1986. This was a great support to our family and some relief to me too financially. He continued this contribution and spent most of his earnings on the family till his marriage in 1992. His wife Deena and daughter Denveera stayed with our parents till early 1998 after which they moved to a rented place nearby. None of our siblings were at home during her time except Charles for a couple of years. By then Baab was almost bedridden and someone had to attend to him. Vincy visited home whenever he came on vacation and continued his remittances. During the time Deena and Vincy shifted, the maid too was on leave on account of Christmas and our Mai was all alone at home. My family and I too were scheduled to return to Uran in the first week of January 1998. Since there was no one to assist Mai I decided to come back to Mangalore on one month extended leave after dropping my family back. This was the most intimately connected time that I had ever spent with my parents at the age of 51 years besides my early days as a child. Soon the maid came back and I returned to Uran. By this time Charlie too managed to go to Dubai and started sending money. The days of acute financial hardship were finally over but the bigger worry for our parents now was that there was no one by their side during this stage! However during Baab’s last few days, the youngest of our siblings, Nancy, was at home awaiting her MBBS results and that was a great relief! To his good fortune, she was at his bedside when he breathed his last. Baab’s funeral in July 1998 was the only occasion when all the thirteen siblings came together ever; never has it happened before and not sure if it’ll ever happen again! Mai continued to stay alone at home with the full-time maid. Siblings close by visited her occasionally. Anish, Anju’s son then started staying with Mai primarily for schooling. Couple of years later Anju too joined Mai. The full-time maid was discontinued soon as Anju started staying with Mai. Vincy continued his remittances to Mai and so did Charlie. Denveera completed her graduation went to Dubai through her aunts and found a job. She got married in May 2019 and her husband too works in Dubai.

7. Angeline (Anju) was born on 30th March 1963. She grew up like any of her elder siblings at home but was a bit weaker and sickly. She collapsed in the school which was later diagnosed as epilepsy. As she grew up the episodes of fits increased in frequency though she was given the best treatment available. This affected her studies and sadly she could not continue beyond high school. She was taken to Mangalore city and spent some time in self-supporting courses like tailoring etc. but could not cope up with the course content and came back home. Few years later in June 1992 Anju married Ignatius Castelino, hailing from a simple farming family from Palli-Kanajar about 15 km from our place. Thankfully her medical condition improved somewhat after her wedding. Her son Anish was born in 1994. Anish started staying with Mai for his primary schooling and soon Anju too followed. The arrangement worked well as Mai too was looking for some company and a helping hand in work. Our agricultural land though remained barren with no produce at all from the late 80s. In 2006-07 Karnataka State Industrial Development Board notified that a part of our land would be acquisitioned for a power plant to be set up. It was nonagricultural land not affecting our residential area and the compensation was paid to Mai after all the siblings signed a declaration to that effect. Mai kept part of the compensation amount in fixed deposits and utilized the remaining to buy land to build a new house, Chris Ray, near Mudarangadi town in 2011. Parallely since Anju expressed that she wanted to move back to her husband’s home, after numerous discussions, all the siblings agreed for her to have a new house built on the project affected rehabilitation site to herself including all movable assets of the East House, a permanent job for her son in UPCL besides her share of the compensation. Mai too was convinced to shift to this new place with Anju as this house was more open and all Mai’s previous neighbors of East House too had their houses built close by. Currently Anju, her husband Ignatius and son Anish stay with Mai at Anjali, the new house built in 2017-18.

8. Concepta (Concy) was born on 8th December 1964 some eight months after my leaving home for Mumbai. The bonding and affection of a brother-sister is missing between us right from the beginning as she never saw me home. We only met when I used to come home on annual leave or for some urgent visits. She started her schooling at our parish school and later shifted to a local school at Kemundel. She fared extremely well in her studies besides being active at home. Concy went to Admar High School and Junior college and passed out in distinction. She accompanied Baab in the family get- togethers and social celebrations and became quite popular around. Like Catherine who was outgoing and a respected teacher around, Concepta was very resourceful and managed things around home. She did her BA from Roshni Nilaya and MA from Mangalore University. She was employed by All India Radio and posted at Mangalore. Later she was transferred to Madikeri and is now at Bangalore. Concy was much involved at home from a young age right from the time our new East House was rebuilt in 1978-79 and Baab never felt the absence of a boy at home. Of course, Vincy and Charlie were at home those days but Vincy was very mild and a bit weak, Charlie was a small child. I was away from home anyway since 1964. In other words, the sons of the house were not available at home when needed the most. Fair enough, the daughters filled this gap and demonstrated their caliber. During the mid-80s and early 90s till her marriage in January 1992, Concy managed the home front almost single-handedly. She is married to H.R. Alva a chemical engineer employed at MCF Mangalore, originally from Pangala, near Udupi. Some years later he resigned from MCF and started his advertising agency in Mangalore and took up LIC agency as well. Concy is a well-known face in the social and cultural scene of Mangalore and has won many accolades. AIR also has conferred a national award for her meritorious service.

Concy has two children, a son Harsha, postgraduate in engineering and employed at Mercedes Benz, Bangalore, and a daughter, Heera, who has completed her MBA in Marketing and is employed with L&T. Concy continued to be a big support at home during Baab’s sickness and later too. During the construction of Chris Ray, her contribution was significant. Her contacts and communication skills ensured that the entire process of land acquisition and compensation procedure got completed without major hiccups. Concy is intelligent, smart, and very capable. She has good command over languages and communicates well. Well, I have voiced this many times earlier and I reiterate - all my sisters are pretty intelligent, very capable and I am very proud of this fact! 9. Hilda was born on 27th November 1967. As mentioned earlier, my bonding and affection with siblings born after 1964 was much less, almost missing as I had to leave home much before they were born. I remember Hilda as a very enthusiastic child doing small things around the house especially for me whenever I visited home on leave. She was fond of combing my hair and finding lice on my head whenever I lay down for an afternoon siesta. She joined Philomena and me during a couple of visits to our close relatives soon after my marriage despite objections from parents. Hilda was (and is) sharp, intelligent, and very good in her studies. She too passed out from Admar Junior college in distinction. She expressed her desire to become a doctor and joined KMC (now KIMS) Hubli and completed her MBBS. The constant support of the two elder religious sisters and some scholarships made her dream come true as our parents could not afford the expenses that come with medical education. Hilda worked for a couple of years near Mangalore before going in for MD. In between, she married Clement Suresh D’Souza in January 1995.Clement is also doctor, an Oncologist, from Chitrap, Mulki. They were in Hubli for some time, essentially to help Hilda finish her MD in Pathology while Suresh worked as a Surgeon in a

cancer hospital. They both were fortunate to get employed in Fr. Muller’s Hospital, Kankanady, Mangalore and currently stay in Mangalore city. With their service and experience, both have been promoted as HOD of Pathology and Surgery respectively in the recent past. They have two daughters Frana and Frizzell. Frana just finished her MBBS and Frizzell studies architecture in Bangalore, besides being passionate about music. While all my siblings show a lot of care and concern for Mai, a special mention about Hilda in this context is a must. Hilda is much more attached to Mai, she visits Mai more often and now after Mai’s brain stroke in June 2019, she practically visits her every week. Besides, she has taken over the responsibility of Mai’s health and hygiene requirements. And there is a fascinating real-life experience that she has witnessed in her childhood that keeps her motivated in doing this -when Hilda was a child of around 8-10 years, Mai used to visit her elderly mother carrying specially made food in the late 80’s. Mai’s mother stayed around 6 kms away from our old home. Mai used to spend a couple of hours with her, bathe her, wash her clothes and feed her before returning home in the evening. Of course, there were people to take care of her, but a daughter’s love and concern is very special! Hilda at that tender age has seen all of this and wants to continue that legacy. It is indeed heartening to see Hilda bring loads of fish, meat, fruits, and other consumable items on her visits home and take care of Mai, spend time with her. I being the eldest of the siblings, sincerely thank and salute Hilda for this noble gesture. 10. Charles (Charlie) was born on 2nd March, 1970. He grew up like the rest of us at home but was pampered a bit more by our parents. He took seriously ill with meningitis, a rare infection that affects the brain and spinal cord when he was about 4 years old. He was treated and cured at Fr. Mullers hospital. Sr. Alphonsa and our two elder religious sisters were of great help during his hospitalization. His illness and subsequent recovery was the major reason why Charlie was pampered and protected from any heavy work at home; most of the work was

shared by his elder siblings. After finishing his XII standard he joined Vijaya College, Mulki and finished his B. Com. Charlie tried his luck around Udupi with odd office jobs for some time but did not see any prospects and decided to come to Mumbai in 1992. He pursued his M.Com privately from Dharwad University while working. He stayed with Rosa for some time and later managed by himself. After struggling for some four years in Mumbai he managed to go to Dubai. With his job in Dubai, he could afford to send money home to Mai which helped the financial situation. He got married to Thelma Mascarenhas in 2000 and they have two daughters, Chelsy and Reyona. The family lives in Dubai and visits home once a year. Charlie has built a nice house at Udyavara near Udupi and his in-laws take care of the place. 11. Janet (Bayya) was born on 11th September 1971. The most difficult days for the family by then were behind us and the younger siblings had a better childhood at home as compared to their elders. Bayya too was very smart, intelligent, and good in her studies. She completed her XII with flying colors from Admar Junior College and joined Visveswaraya College of Engineering in Bangalore and completed her BE. She worked in Bangalore and Pune for some time. She got married to Shrikant in 1999, an engineer from Shimoga, who worked in Siemens India, Bangalore. Soon they shifted to Germany through the company and have permanently settled there. They have two sons, Saurabh and Ishaan. They normally visit home once a year.

12.Nancy (Chimmi) was born on 27th August 1975, four months after my marriage. She grew up in the company of her immediate elder sister Bayya and they were always together. Chimmi too was quite intelligent and good in her studies. She passed XII with merit and wished to pursue medical education. With the help from elder siblings, close relatives, and scholarship, she managed to complete her MBBS from Kempe Gowda Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangalore in 1998. Baab was fortunate to be the first beneficiary of her services as a doctor. He received all the attention during his last few days when Chimmi was at home awaiting her results. She was at his bedside when he breathed his last! Chimi worked at St. Martha’s Hospital Bangalore for some time and alongside passed the DNB (Diplomate in National Board) in Obstetrics & Gynecology. She got married to Jayaprakash, a doctor from Bangalore. A couple of years later they decided to shift to England and are settled in Manchester now. They have two daughters, Sanya and Riya. They too visit home once a year. --------------------

In conclusion Here I come to the end of this story of a unique and struggling-to-survive kind of a family of thirteen siblings and their parents. This is purely a memoir. Most of it is my interpretation of the events as experienced and confronted in life, with some inputs from close family members. Offense, if any, is unintentional and very much regretted. It is an attempt to show how the parents of thirteen children struggled to educate them despite the hardships faced and put them on the right path to lead a reasonably good life. If Baab was alive today, it would have been a crowning glory to his tireless efforts and of course for our Mai, who is 92 years old has rejoiced on this achievement of her children. Being the eldest of the siblings, I have seen all the twelve of them transform from their childhood days into what they are today. I therefore believe that I can take the liberty of expressing my opinion and observation on my siblings with the hope that they will accept this in good faith. All the same, a major part of this story has been around my own life from childhood days till the age of 74 when I started compiling this memoir. I take great pride in praising and thanking my parents for all they did in raising us during a time when both, nature and society, were not very kind. Today as I am battling this dreadful disease, I simply pray that all my siblings stay happy and healthy always and whatever bitterness still between us, if at all, is put behind us. Take care. Stay safe. And thank you for leafing through my journey.

Some pics from the extended family album A young Fr. Augustine with his parents and siblings Fr. Augustine currently at The Vianney home in Varanasi Our trip to Mangalore in Dec 2016. It was the last time we saw/stayed at the East House.

Somewhere in the 1990’s (before Chimmi and Bayya left home for further studies) Philomena and I with our children and grandchildren, and our pet Pluto during New Year 2021. Christmas 2021 at Vashi. L-R. Standing: Manish (Akhilesh’s BIL), Sydney, Luvana, Susanne (with neighbor’s daughter), Akhilesh & Neelu (his sister) Sitting: Ryan, Philomena with Hazel on her lap, Dhaniv (Neelu’s daughter), yours truly & Aman.

Christmas 2006 at East House