ICICI BANK

ICICI Bank, kadappakada, Kollam

HAIR STRAIGHTENING

When I first arrived in Africa, I noticed that most of the men have curly hair but many of the women have straight hair. I did not know the reason for the difference. Then one day while I was walking past a beauty parlour, I saw a board displaying the services that they provide. One of the services was hair straightening. I then realised that the women were getting their hair straightened. Later on, I saw hair straightening devices being sold in some shops. Most of them were made in China, some were made in Germany. People in China and Germany do not have curly hair. It is obvious they are manufacturing these devices solely for export. Africa is a big continent with many countries. Each country has a section of the population that is well to do. So Africa is a big market for such products.

Straight hair is more popular among the affluent African girls. Men don’t seem to care as much about their hair.

NEW BHARATH TYRES

New Bharath Tyres, Kadappakada, Kollam

ELEPHANT TROOP

I was a member of the boy scouts during my primary school days in Singapore. There were four troops and I was the deputy leader of the Elephant Troop.

On sports day there was a competition between the troops to put up a flag pole and raise the troop flag. All the troops had an earlier practice session and knew how to do it. Each troop was given several wooden poles of about five feet length. A few poles were tied together with a rope to make the flag pole. A pulley was attached to the top pole and a rope around the pulley would raise the flag. Three poles were tied to the bottom pole to create a stable base. A few long ropes tied to the top pole were pulled and tied to spikes in the ground to make it even more stable.

Many people had gathered to watch the various events on sports day. When our competition began we started in earnest. When we finished erecting our flag pole and were about to raise our troop flag we looked around and noticed that the others were still working on their flag pole. We were so excited. We were going to be first. We started to raise our flag. Suddenly we heard laughter all around. People were laughing. We did not know the reason. We then looked up and saw that the Elephant on our flag was upside down. We quickly lowered the flag. Some of my friends wanted to untie the flag but I realised it was not necessary. I told them not to untie it and raised it up the other way around. By the time we raised our flag another troop had beat us to it. We had to settle for second place. 

SREE VIGHNESWARA BHAVAN

Sree Vighneswara Bhavan, Kollam

'PHILIPS' PROBE

A few years after college, I was working for the sole dealer of Philips Test Instruments in my state. These instruments were mainly used in the Electronics Industry. During a tour of the northern part of the state, I visited a large organisation to discuss their requirements. I met some people in the purchase department. I was surprised to find that they were unhappy with our service. One of them told me that we had cheated them. He told me that we had supplied a Philips Probe, which is an accessory for the Test Instrument, at twice the normal cost. They had found out the actual cost of the Probe after making enquiries with the Philips Regional Office.

When I returned to my office after the tour I informed my Manager about this. He told me not to worry about it and that he will take care of it. I felt there was something fishy. I knew a Senior Executive was involved in this. Later on, after making some enquiries within my Company I came to know that it was not even a Philips Probe. It was a Chinese Probe and it was not even new. The Senior Executive had purchased a second hand Chinese Probe at a very low cost. This Probe was cleaned, packed and supplied to the customer along with a Philips Test Instrument. The customer was convinced that it was a new Philips Probe since we were the authorised dealers for Philips. Their only complaint was about the price. I heard my Manager and the Senior Executive shared the profit. 

BHARAT PETROLEUM

Bharat Petroleum, Kollam