Wow Moments
So let’s talk about the good things which happened during my 5 week long induction with TAS. Being the blue eyed kids of the biggest and most distinguished group comes with its perks. Indeed, we did call ourselves Tata’s Adopted Sons ;) as a spin off on the name of the outfit. [ For the uninitiated – it’s Tata Administrative Services ]
The first thing which hits you when you live in a colonial estate in Pune, which serves as the training base for Tata’s elite, is not the opulence, the greenery, etc etc… it’s the wonderful food which the TMTC people serve. Or more specifically the desserts. Every meal is served with desserts from a colonial world, long forgotten. Things you would find in no hotel menu. The tastiest soufflés, the truffle pastries, the surreally light fruit cream. I would be damned, but I don’t remember half the names. Sometimes Indian, or more correctly Parsi desserts did creep into the menu, but it was mostly reigned by what I think were English desserts. God bless the chefs, each one better than the others.
Of course, nothing gets bigger than the TAS induction program. Everyone, and I mean everyone, who is important in the group meets you. Be it Mr. RNT himself, or the guy part of the VSNL turnaround – Srini. While each of them is a master in their own right, some people do leave you spellbound. Like Mr. Ishaat Hussain. He is about 70ish director at the Tata’s who is the finance do-all-and-be-all for the group. And ask 25 20-somethings TASO’s , he is a force to be reckoned with. The guy drips with knowledge and class, pure business aristocracy, if I may say so. Much like Mr. Tata himself – the group chairman who still pulls out his own chair, answers all questions with humility and poise which is unmatched and leaves after putting the chair back in place !
And if you have to see opulence, sneak into the board room at the Tata Steel office in Jamshedpur. Its huge, its oak, its something lil’ ol’ me had only seen in movies !! Of course, a guided tour of the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai or staying at The Taj Bengal in Kolkata does bring you in touch with luxury, which at least was pretty much unattainable for middle class kids like me. Ah, the benefits of an IIM MBA !
Oh and did I tell you about the special preview of the breathtaking jewellery made for the forthcoming movie, Jodha Akbar which was arranged for us at the Tanishq plant. Ladies out there, trust me on this one – get ready and save up – they are pieces you would want to own before your neighbour. Just keep your fingers crossed and hope that the company releases the jewellery for the public, a-la- Paheli.
Not just luxury, we also got treated to the wonderful open pit coal mines in West Bokaro. Right from where the coal is mined in these pits till the manufacture of the last steel wire by the Tata’s. Fascinating to say the least. But the definite “WOW moment” which I wish everyone gets to see in their lives once – is to see millions of gallons of molten steel being poured and molded. Trust me, if that doesn’t leave you wide eyed – you’re dead. The entire group started wide eyed at the plant the size of a city, which incidentally looked like a Steven Spielberg sci fi movie – where huge pieces of equipment were making steel and converting the molten black gold to sheets and wires etc. The assembly units of the-cab-of-the-country: Indica are quite futuristic- with rows and rows of huge robots piecing together millions of parts which go into the only 100% indigenous car.
But the biggest wow moment – or actually experiences – were the midnight sessions I was part of. Almost everyone from the batch would descend in a room, with alcohol for company sometimes and we would end up chatting and laughing till the wee hours of the morning. We made fun of people absent, annoyed people present, celebrated birthdays, played dumb charades, went for walks, had pillow fights, saw movies, cribbed about the long sessions, abused the…ahem…certain people. It was a B-school all over again. Unforgettable memories of 5 weeks with 25 most fascinating people.
