A very memorable title of a book reads thus : " Naval Memories in Bits and Snatches - From Over and Under Hatches" by an anonymous Admiral of the Royal Navy. I have been relating stories of my escapades from far off places in India - Malda, Veraval, Munger, Etah to name a few. Let me step out of the hatch, cast the net a little further afield, with stories and deeds of derring do on foreign shores.
Yemen takes pride of place in my heart for its gentle, easygoing people and the beautiful countryside. But even in those halcyon days over 25 years ago, the motorcade of Col. Ali Abdullah Saleh (now wearing the stars of a General)) when he chose to hit the streets in the Capital city of Sana'a, was a spectacular display of armed might, equivalent to the show on our Republic Day parades : assorted armoured personnel carriers trundling by with machine guns manned by security forces, securing his person from the ever present threat of ambush by a myriad warring tribes from the hinterland.
30. A JOINT VENTURE COMPANY IN YEMEN
During my stint in Dorr-Oliver Bombay, I had proven my worth to the Company and more : the first big turnkey assignment in Wastewater treatment for the Cochin Refineries came thru Engineers India Ltd., largely due to my efforts. I had learnt my lessons well in dealing with EIL, through an earlier failed attempt after a long drawn out battle to bag a tender for the Gujarat Refineries Secondary Processing Facility of the Indian Oil Corporation in Baroda
This feat of mine and other major contributions to the Company’s order books and bottomline went unrewarded, when my boss P. S Prabhu magnanimously announced a Rs. 50 annual increment for the fourth time in a row – a great big bounty by his reckoning. Disheartened, I put in my papers. I signed up with Voltas International Ltd., to start up their Environmental Division, targeting to bag projects overseas.
VIL was a hotch potch of Company with no strategic vision. There were Divisions and individuals in the Company selling anything from toothbrush, fish, mangoes and grapes in season, to sophisticated air conditioning systems, mostly to oil rich and empty headed clients in the gulf region. Coming as I did from a highly professional and technically focused company like Dorr-Oliver, I was miserable like a fish out of water in this menagerie of a traveling circus. Abject cronyism and boot licking was rampant in this stifling atmosphere.
I got my first real opportunity to utilize my knowledge and skill towards the end of my second year at VIL, for a Sewage Treatment Plant for Sana’a, the capital city of the Yemen Arab Republic - North Yemen Bombay Yemen Yemen
In Sana’a, as per commercial intelligence received from the First Secretary in the Indian Embassy, I zeroed in on the Adhban Trading Corporation (http://adhbanye.com/ ) as a congenial ”local sponsor”, obligatory for all overseas entities to do business in that country. I found the father and son duo of M/s Mohammed Adhban and Mubarak Adhban to be very forthcoming, progressive, cooperative and downright charming ( if I may use that term) rarely witnessed in businessmen of such high standing in the gulf countries. Adhban Trading Corporation was a multi dimensional company dealing in commercial and passenger vehicles, heavy machinery, and a host of other business enterprises ranging from trucking, shipping to General insurance.
We did not win the STP contract for Sana’a, severely beaten on price by the Koreans, at a time when that country was run by a military dictator, and overseas projects were bagged aplenty across the entire gulf region employing conscripted Korean labour.
The short period of interaction during these months between Adhban and Voltas however bore fruit in a different form : I was invited one afternoon for the traditional qat chewing session with Mr. Adhban, the Patriarch, a privilege rarely extended to foreigners. In this meeting, we outlined a plan for future cooperation between the two Companies in the field of Water well drilling and modern irrigation systems, which offered a huge business potential : Voltas had necessary expertise in these lines of business, running similar Joint ventures in Oman , the UAE and Sri Lanka
These daily afternoon qat sessions keep the Yemenis indoors and protected from the severest heat of the afternoons : These are social occasions, where the tribesmen and clansmen meet, greet and resolve personal issues, much like the Panchayats in India
I drew up the Project Report outlining the contours of the Joint Venture Company, business projections and preliminary estimates of the bottomline over a 5 year plan period. The plan was accepted by both parties. Voltas however balked when I refused to compromise on the salary and benefits projected in my Business Report for the Manager designate of the Joint Venture Company ( it was to be yours truly) including education of my kids in the International School of Sana’a.
I quit Voltas in utter disgust, giving them a free hand to reward cronies and bootlickers in their customary tradition.
Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal July 12, 2011
Footnote
On every visit to Yemen , there was an exchange of gifts : From the Adhbans - Packets of coffee from Mocha, a string of semiprecious stones, a Jambiya - now a mostly ornamental dagger worn in the belt of every true son of Yemen Yemen
Pictures of Yemenis enjoying chewing qat
Images of Jambiya
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