Mahindra & Mahindra

Frantic search of a Friend

I completed my graduation in the year 1970. Our farewell function was very emotional and sentimental. Many of them knew that we may not be able to meet some of them during the whole life.  There was not even phone connection in those days leave alone email, Face Book or whatsApp etc. Further since my residence was about 40 Kilometers from the college, there was no chance to meet others also. Few days we kept the contact through letters, but subsequently most of them left Kerala to far off places like Bombay, Calcutta, Chennai, Ahmadabad etc in search of job.  I could meet one of my classmates during my visit to Madras to appear for a written test for the post of Staff Officer in Reserve bank of India.  Filling up of that application itself was also a tedious job as they had asked meticulous particulars like number of mango trees, coconut trees etc in the portion property.

During 1975, I visited Bombay on an official tour. I had information that one of my classmate Ravi is working in Mahindra & Mahindra. I had no other information like his designation, name of department in which he is employed etc. His name being very common compounded my confusion. I searched the Bombay Telephone Directory.  Mahindra & Mahindra telephone numbers were spread into 13 pages.  (I heard that during those days 25% of telephone connections and 30% of trains in India were in Bombay). I started short listing the name resembling Malayalees and started calling one by one. Some of them happened to be Tamilians. Most of them asked me to provide further details regarding designation, department etc which I was not having. Having done B Com, I presumed that he may be working in Finance & Accounts Department. Most of them discouraged me saying that it is a futile exercise to search a person without knowing any details that too in a major company like Mahindra employing more than ten thousand people, having offices at different places in a Mahanagar like Bombay.

Some people perhaps feeling pity with me offered to help in locating my friend. They suggested names of some other persons who may be able to help me in my search. The only information available about me was that he belongs to Ottapalam. After making innumerable phone calls and relentless search I could locate him. He was working in the Purchase Department and not Accounts Department as guessed by me. He was surprised, overjoyed, excited and thrilled. He took short leave and came to the Hotel in which I was staying at Sion.

After my joining emails, Face Book etc I could locate some of my friends after 30-40 years. However, I could not discover any of my college classmates. I joined the N S S College Ottapalam Alumni Face Book group, where I could find some juniors and a large number of sub juniors, but not my classmates. One of my FB friends who is 1 year junior to me promised that she will help me in my pursuit, once she returns from USA after a long vacation.

Anyway, face Book has provided me so many friends and many of them are like my family members now. Now wherever I go, I will get a chance to meet several friends, either individually or collectively.