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About the author
Abhiram Nandakumar was born in Chennai, India and lives in the UK where he is currently doing his Masters in Chemistry from the University of Southampton. Recently he has become the Chairman of UNICEF on Campus where he will be organising events to raise awareness. Last year he raised over £10,000 for charities including Amnesty International, British Red Cross and Greenpeace. He has strong ties to India and loves to visit regularly. In his spare time he enjoys writing, travelling, tennis and playing the classical guitar.
I didn’t know what to expect when I walked up the stairs to the office on Wednesday July 25th morning. I would usually make my way to the desk that I’d hijacked for the week where I would set up my computer, check my mail and plan for the day. Tea would just appear whilst I would be scrummaging through my bag. After a leisurely chat with a few people, I’d start my work.
Today was different. More than 40 trainers, and many for the first time, were coming from around the state, some as far as Rajganj (north of Bengal). They were here, to be formally introduced and learn about the policy of the company. As I entered, the offices were packed with trainers in conversation. I was pleasantly ambushed by the chai-walla and made my way into the conference room. Everyone sat poised with pen and paper listening to the successes, issues and targets for the year ahead.
Anindya started the proceedings by retelling his dream to ‘take this to the hills’ and was pleased to see the great potential in the room. Ganeshda, another senior manager, recalled giving a bright young man 1100 rupees to complete the MAST course – something that is not regularly done. This person topped his class prompting his teacher to reimburse him his fees which he immediately he gave back. Now, he has become a senior employee within the organisation. Managers spoke about the duties of the trainer. How they should concentrate on garnering alumni to attract more students. And like this it went on, varied on topic and in style, the managers spoke to an attentive crowd. It was only at ‘tiffin’ I was able to speak to these trainers. Many had set off at dawn taking a combination of buses and trains to be present today. One such trainer was Soumyadip Chatterjee from Tentuliya (north east of Kolkata) who spoke with enthusiasm and passion for his work. Like many trainers he’d originally worked in the private sector causing him to see the change in business practice when you don’t “measure success by profit”.
But teaching is only one aspect of his job. The difficulty is convincing the family to allow their children to work away from their village. Soumyadip recalled a concerned husband exclaiming that “if my wife goes out she will have an extramarital affair with somebody.” Their protective attitude towards their dearest means he must reassure them that he’s looking out for their best interest. The accusations are not flung out of defiance but out of fear. On one occasion, he said, “I was accused of trafficking women to brothels in foreign countries! …it’s a reasonable concern but very few people do such things…we’re constantly fighting these generalisations.” The older generations do not also see the need to be earning big bucks in the cities if they can sustain themselves as labourers in the fields. He questions them, “What about prospects? A possibility of growth? A hike in salary? … A future?” In his view “the supine nature of our people was a consequence of years of socialist rule. With unions dictating pay packets
But teaching is only one aspect of his job. The difficulty is convincing the family to allow their children to work away from their village. Soumyadip recalled a concerned husband exclaiming that “if my wife goes out she will have an extramarital affair with somebody.” Their protective attitude towards their dearest means he must reassure them that he’s looking out for their best interest. The accusations are not flung out of defiance but out of fear. On one occasion, he said, “I was accused of trafficking women to brothels in foreign countries! …it’s a reasonable concern but very few people do such things…we’re constantly fighting these generalisations.” The older generations do not also see the need to be earning big bucks in the cities if they can sustain themselves as labourers in the fields. He questions them, “What about prospects? A possibility of growth? A hike in salary? … A future?” In his view “the supine nature of our people was a consequence of years of socialist rule. With uni
To Soumyadip h professional induction into Anudip works in sync with the empathetic approach they have towards the community. Utilising the talents of its diverse collection of employees it initiates a conversation where the needs of the community can be voiced both by its people and Anudip.
