Those colourful days at FTI

This photograph was taken during a party in 1998. Seen with me in the picture are V S Rao, H A Keshav Murthy, Sarvanabhava and Krishnaiah. The first three officers retired as deputy director general. Krishnaiah and I retired at the director and deputy director level.

I came to Bangalore in 1976 and joined Foremen Training Institute (FTI) as assistant director. On my first day there, the first person I saw was Sankaranarayanan who was a faculty member. The PA to the director was Appukuttan. I reported to him and he took me to the cabin of joint director II F Khan who in turn introduced me to the joint director A V Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna took me to the cabin of the director S K Giri. It was a very exciting moment for me.

I worked with FTI for a long period of time and retired as joint director in 2002.

During those years, Bangalore was truly an air conditioned city; a real paradise. There was no need of a fan and fridge. Now Bangalore has become a crowded city with flyovers and heavy traffic. The city has lost its old heritage and culture. However my love for it has in no way diminished.

During my tenure at FTI, I worked with many directors . Some of the names I can recall are S K Giri, late B A Murthy, G S Sethi, V S Rao,   Kandaswamy and Keshav Murthy. I enjoyed working with all of them and have only good memories of those days.
Our tea breaks included short discussions and cracking of jokes, a fun ritual where all officers, includng the director, participated.

All my colleagues were great. There was negligible professional jealousy. There were ups and down of course and during the years, I saw both the good and bad side of theirs. I chose to focus on the positives.

I was lucky that all my directors were kind hearted and supportive persons. I am particularly thankful to G S Sethi, who has always guided me, encouraged me and supported me.

I have good memories of my interactions with the staff and faculty at FTI
too. Some of the names I remember are F Khan, late Kandaswamy, late Ranbhise, B Saha, late T V S Murthy, late B B Das, Ramakrishna Rao, Amalan and P V B R K Brahmam. My apologies to those whose names I might have forgotten to mention.

I feel proud of working in FTI. Whenever we old-timers come together, we recollect and cherish those early years that we spent together.

Those days will forever be etched in my memory and will be remembered with fondness.

P D Chavda
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