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SAM CLUB DAY ‘16

In addi on to the fear of being posted to a wild locale, I was also convinced that my life would be hell if I were to
be posted on a diesel locomo ve shed, as I had very li le idea about what they were all about. I rarely liked the
sight, smells and greasy environs of diesel locomo ves. That I knew very li le of the technical aspects of the
loco was a ma er of minor detail.

It is said no one knows a person's fallings more than himself, and I knew it would get very difficult to cover up my
technical incompetence with smart talk, something that I believed could s ll have been possible in the other
sub-func ons like Power, Coaches and Wagons. This interview was a far cry from the one I had taken in Delhi
which had got me selected for the SCRA scheme, way back in 1992. Then, I was over confident, cocky and
bustling with op mism. Here I was under-confident, nervous and staring with deep pessimism at the prospect
of life in a non-descript place.

“You can go in now”, said the CME's secretary a er a while.
I composed myself for a few seconds, adjusted my shirt and took a sip of water. I walked in to the CME's office,
my swi stride belying my shaky interior. Call it the Jamalpur Gymkhana confidence.
It was a huge room. The CME sat behind a large table. His chair was big and imposing, almost like that of a
Maharajah.

“Good Morning, Sir”, I said, almost like a foot soldier would call out to the general.
He did not reply. He did not even look at me.
A few seconds later, he signaled at the wooden chair, asking me to sit.
The power equa ons were apparent from the sea ng arrangement. He on that huge throne, I on that puny
chair. The two of us separated by a massive table.

“I hope you are not zero at Diesel locos”, was the CME's opening remark. “How could you know”, I thought to
myself. I did not have the courage to tell him that I was indeed quite close to zero. Instead, I, told him with a
straight face, “No. No, sir. Not at all. I am NOT zero at Diesel locos”.
“Good, very good” said the CME.

“You know, some of your seniors in these kinds of interviews did not even know the number of wheels in a
diesel loco”, he con nued. “Ha, ha, ha” He laughed.
“Just imagine, eighteen months of training as an IRSME officer, and not even knowing how many wheels in a
loco. A couple of year ago, a guy first said eight, then corrected to 12, I asked him whether we could average it
out and agree on a number of ten”. I did not know how to react; I let out a hint of a wry smile, almost like Gabbar
Singh's minions in the Bollywood blockbuster Sholay.

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