These incidences happened during the early 60s
That was when offices in Powai used to work for half-day on Saturday
On one such Saturday , my wife Bharati and some of my friends decided to visit Powai Gardens for a picnic
In those days , the Main Gate of the garden was right opposite our Gate # 1
Having reached Powai garden , a friend in the group said :
While we are here , why don't we visit L&T factory and see what Parekh is doing ?
Of course , the watchman at the gate said , they needed permission from Mr KSS Mani , who happened to be the Administrative Manager at Powai
So Bharati rang me up from the gate and asked whether I could get the required permission
I walked over to KSS's cabin and explained the background ( Powai Picnic ) and asked for his permission for my friends / wife to come inside
KSS said:
" Sorry , company rules do not allow for families to visit the employees while at work ; nor visit any part of the factory "
After considerable persuasion , he agreed to admit 2 visitors at a time
After visit , when those 2 returned to the gate , another 2 can come in !
When I conveyed this decision to my wife , she refused to accept such an " invite " !
The friends waited in the garden till the offices closed and I could join them
A few years later , my parents were visiting me in Mumbai
My father wanted to see where I work and asked if they could accompany me to Powai , one of these days
I mentioned this to my boss, Bjorn Petersen
He said : " Of course , please bring them to my office when they are here "
So , when they arrived , I took them to BjP's cabin
He welcomed them and promptly offered them some tea !
After tea , I told BjP that I will like to show them around the factory
BjP said :
" Parekh ,
You carry on with your work
I will show your parents around PSW and the rest of Powai "
Some years later , when I had job offer for the position of Production Manager in the Switchgear factory of Siemens , my father recalled his visit to Powai and said,
" Son , Will your German boss in Siemens be as nice as Petersen ? "
Many years later , when I was GM - Powai , someone had introduced a system of Powai visits by families of employees , once a month
On a few of these visits , I showed the families around Powai Estate
On a number of such visits , I used to meet the family members in the Conference hall , for a cup of tea
That was when offices in Powai used to work for half-day on Saturday
On one such Saturday , my wife Bharati and some of my friends decided to visit Powai Gardens for a picnic
In those days , the Main Gate of the garden was right opposite our Gate # 1
Having reached Powai garden , a friend in the group said :
While we are here , why don't we visit L&T factory and see what Parekh is doing ?
Of course , the watchman at the gate said , they needed permission from Mr KSS Mani , who happened to be the Administrative Manager at Powai
So Bharati rang me up from the gate and asked whether I could get the required permission
I walked over to KSS's cabin and explained the background ( Powai Picnic ) and asked for his permission for my friends / wife to come inside
KSS said:
" Sorry , company rules do not allow for families to visit the employees while at work ; nor visit any part of the factory "
After considerable persuasion , he agreed to admit 2 visitors at a time
After visit , when those 2 returned to the gate , another 2 can come in !
When I conveyed this decision to my wife , she refused to accept such an " invite " !
The friends waited in the garden till the offices closed and I could join them
A few years later , my parents were visiting me in Mumbai
My father wanted to see where I work and asked if they could accompany me to Powai , one of these days
I mentioned this to my boss, Bjorn Petersen
He said : " Of course , please bring them to my office when they are here "
So , when they arrived , I took them to BjP's cabin
He welcomed them and promptly offered them some tea !
After tea , I told BjP that I will like to show them around the factory
BjP said :
" Parekh ,
You carry on with your work
I will show your parents around PSW and the rest of Powai "
Some years later , when I had job offer for the position of Production Manager in the Switchgear factory of Siemens , my father recalled his visit to Powai and said,
" Son , Will your German boss in Siemens be as nice as Petersen ? "
Many years later , when I was GM - Powai , someone had introduced a system of Powai visits by families of employees , once a month
On a few of these visits , I showed the families around Powai Estate
On a number of such visits , I used to meet the family members in the Conference hall , for a cup of tea
Well. One struck to the rules made by someone; later someone else made the rules.
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