Vrikshamandir

- RK Nagar 

Have you ever heard someone shortlisting candidates for one of them to be his own boss?

No, you haven’t, neither had I, till one day I was asked to actually do it ! Rather we two-Shailendra and me did this together.

Year 1972. It was soon after we two returned from UK after a three month training with ICL, UK and an agricultural consulting company Urwick, Lugg and Gould in Systems Analysis, Systems Design, Program Evaluation &Review Technique (PERT), and Computer applications in Agriculture.

This was the beginning of introduction of computer in NDDB. We were sent to UK, because the British government was to fund our computer -one of the largest in India at that time. Although the competition was between American IBM 360 and British ICL 1904 systems, choice of UK for training clearly indicated who the ultimate supplier shall be.

This was the beginning of introduction of computer in NDDB. We were sent to UK, because the British government was to fund our computer -one of the largest in India at that time. Although the competition was between American IBM 360 and British ICL 1904 systems, choice of UK for training clearly indicated who the ultimate supplier shall be.

NDDB had big plans for computerisation. Two key application areas were National Milk Grid and National Milch Herd. Other application areas identified were MIS, Demand and Supply studies, PERT applications for infrastructure development, equipment procurement, funds disbursements and utilisation, recruitment and training of technical manpower for projects etc.

We were not expected to become experts in computerisation after 3 months of training, but were expected to at least identify the right candidate to head the department and build the team under him.

Two positions – one each for Systems Analysis and MIS were advertised and we were asked to short list candidates who could potentially be our boss. Imagine how funny we must have felt. We used to jokingly say, when our new bosses join, we would tell them to be thankful to us, “After all we were the ones who SELECTED you first”

But unfortunately we could not do that.

None of the candidates whom we had shortlisted got selected, and our new bosses, selected by experts who knew the business suddenly landed on our heads.

But ‘selecting our own boss’ was indeed a fun exercise.

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