Coincidentally, the truck had got so parked that the first rays of the sun hit Govind’s eyes as day broke. Rubbing his eyes he peered down to see Vishal blissfully asleep.
Momentarily lost amongst these surroundings, he bolted up and made his way out of the cab – inquisitiveness getting the better of him. Clambering onto the central median he could see trucks parked on both sides and then turning around to view his immediate surroundings, he could count ten, twenty, thirty trucks – some had been also lucky like him to impulsively reverse into the clump of trees adjoining the fuel bunk others would bear the sun all day – yet the hum of the refrigeration unit made him run back to peer at the dashboard to check the fuel meter reading. Two bars down …The temperature console showed 3.8 degrees as he shut all systems down to conserve fuel for the harsh daylight hours. Luckily the heat should not be too intense hoping for more clouds.
A sort of angst spread rapidly across his mind while calculating fuel lost in static running role with hundreds of miles yet to cover. This trip is going to get me bankrupt. Perhaps Sarla will win that argument after all, since I won’t have any money to pay for that hostel besides the admission for Geetanjali …. Sarla was right also about those two lakhs which I’d loaned Maamaji . Damn my generosity, he muttered.
An hour down the day with having put his tummy at ease he sat down to chew his neem-stick to ponder – what next ? Pandeyji had been supportive but he with no concrete suggestions to offer last night it seemed just a ‘tasallee dilaane wallah’ call . Just a promise to revert once he gets Handa ji ,the factory boss man, to show them the way ahead. By this time he should’ve been calling isn’t it ?
Karan had heard the PM’s address at home while his mother got him his favourite baingan bharta with ghee smeared rotis right off the hot tawa. Today had been a good day at work with no major issues with the refrigeration systems – where the last two days and three nights to get the refrigerant flowing through the pipelines again in right earnest had been a nightmare of sorts for him. Handa ji had virtually panicked initially yet the choicest abuses to his ‘nincompoops’ had resulted in more panic and more refrigerant loss. Karan had gone back in time to his ITI days and slowly done what Ajit Sir had taught them many moons back then. He got down to check the flow in reverse order – slowly inching his way through the system. By and by certain sections where he replaced leaky unions or opened up to free the filters of deposits started the gauges again. Handa ji was ecstatic. He just wouldn’t let Karan go – bedding was provided in the Security dorm – the best one directly under the fan. He even got his cigarettes upgraded to Capstan as a token of appreciation. But no going home till he gets to see all gauges for twelve hours unwavering within their dials. After, three nights of eating that rehri food outside the plant – tonite’s ‘maa kee haath ki rotis’ seemed super delicious. Lockdown ? Matlab kya Karan, his mother Gayatri asked ? Since he had done his ITI, Gayatri felt Karan knew everything the world had to throw at her. He got up to call Handa ji.
Just finishing his night time prayers Pandey lay down and took his phone to scan his WhatsApp feed when it rang. It was the Boss -at this time, he muttered ? Oh no – not that damn refrigerant again – I’ll twist that Karan’s neck now … Jee Sahab kya hukum hai is waqt raat ko ?
Govind’s phone rang. It was Karan from the plant enquiring whether he had a smartphone – luckily Vishal has one, he told him. Send me your location please – your data logger is not telling us where you are. Now this was something Govind had never heard before. Location matlab? Bhai Saheb aap Vishal ko phone do …. But Vishal was nowhere to be seen? Possibly he had gone to relieve himself … Geetanjali’s call was coming , with her persistent ringing he cut Karan’s call. Trying to assuage her feelings about all this confusion he tried to distract her by speaking of the recent call. What is this location and how to send it,beta? On her probing he explained the situation he was in with the refrigeration unit sapping away his precious diesel as the minutes clocked by. It was getting to him and she immediately got the hint. That poor dabba phone that her dad had always been comfortable with was of no use to him today – I had always told you to buy yourself one when you gave me one, Pappa ! Vishal bhaiya has one on which he watches videos, na ? Later, Vishal opened his WhatsApp to see two messages from Geetanjali – short videos showing how to open Google location and how to set it for viewing for 8 hours plus method of forwarding the same – something he could do after a few tries to Karan. A ‘pranaam’ affirmation was all he got back leaving him perplexed. He scrolled down for other messages from home…
The sun was directly overhead and Govind had brought out his kero-stove to get some basic grub cooked. Others nearby had commenced this activity long ago – some had offered to cook for them too. Camaraderie in difficult times makes impromptu friends it seems. Their load was textile yarn coming in from Gujarat, some had plastic toys from Mumbai and three container carriers hauled off Chennai port. No one needed to burn diesel to keep his payload cool like him though, Govind winced. The tractor trolley had reached them sometime just as the sun was setting – the passengers all Sikhs seemingly from the cluster nearby. It was an initial survey to check on the truckers as to their food and water supplies. Asking around they chugged away.
Pandey ji – that’s what Govind’s phone said as it rang. Day light was fading and Govind was at his wit’s end – to switch off the refrigeration unit for some more time at least – the fuel meter was down to almost half now as he had only switched off like when they usually halted for meals when moving but today he had been static for close to twenty four hours … He took the call to listen with Vishal by his side – Things are bad with your data logger location not working , he heard Pandey say. But there were many like him, he said . There were many more truckers with similar loads strung all across till Pench – that’s the last we could trace out he informed . Luckily I have Karan who has devised a way and you sending us your location has helped us to plot you , he informed. However, we are stuck right now as no one can venture out as the police are out in full force with their lathis swinging and no talking, he said. Handa ji is working on something and we will try to help you. Keep your phone charged and do not worry about diesel – keep the unit on that’s all we ask. Govind confirmed that he need not bother with the load as it was being looked after as if it were his own. Pandey asked them to keep the radio on , hear news attentively but not move the truck as the lawkeepers would seize it and arrest them as well. At least he reached out to us – Pandey is a good man, Govind said as he cut the call.
News of the lock down was coming incessantly all day – Govind had heard it as he lay down on the bunk post his meal. What will be my fate now – 21 days under this tree with just blowing up cash to buy diesel ? Was it going to be worth keeping the unit on like it was required or shall he try one hour on and half an hour off or maybe one hour off – he did some mental math and decided to maintain status quo in honour of his first ustaad’s teaching and Pandey’s calls … at least for tonight he thought.
The crickets were having a concert with their crackling reaching a crescendo – Vishal’s eyes were drooping. Impulsively , he checked on his smartphone to see the level of charge when it rang. It was Karan – he wanted urgent photos … Govind rushed and brought out the zipped up bag which contained all the papers of the truck from the compartment above the wheel and with the cabin’s LED they tried to focus and click some. The focus was bad but Vishal did not give up – after many tries he got the hang of the camera and quickly snapped up all – registration, driver licence, Aadhar card. He further swung down and took one of the front of the truck with the number plate in focus too. When he clambered back in he zipped it to Karan over WhatsApp and the same namaskar emoticon popped back signalling all is well he showed to Govind, who nodded off.
It was around three a.m. when Govind woke up for the second time that night. He saw the fuel gauge having dropped a further two bars and switched off the refrigerant unit – now no more burning diesel till day break, he thought to himself. Barely had he lay down than Pandeyji was ringing up – they had formed teams and each had been assigned forty odd trucks. Karan had devised this plan and he had plotted those mostly on paper. Now they had reached out to almost all these truckers thorough the night to motivate them to hold on till daybreak when he promised that something positive would materialise. Pandey again sought for Govind to keep the load safe – it was worth over fifteen lakhs worth in a truck he said – imagine 50 odd trucks and the amount of money riding on them. Govind automatically switched it back on.
Somehow the past fifteen hours had seemed to go past Govind’s eyes in a whir – Handa ji had called him. Personally Handa ji himself ! It was a defining moment to get a call from such a big man and getting commended to have maintained the temperature and protecting the load. A tie -up has been done with a company who is like Ola Uber walle of trucks , Handa explained. Your truck is also with them now. Very soon you will get calls from them and someone will reach out, he said. Just follow what they say and do not switch off the unit he pleaded. Govind had reiterated his resolve to stand by his commitment though he was almost down three fourths of the tank. Luckily he had a pump close by – Handa told him to tank up , keep the bill safe and had hung up. Shortly Karan called on Vishal’s number – he had sent a file to him over WhatsApp but Vishal had not opened it. Vishal said he had tried but it won’t open – it was stuck. Karan promised to send a snapshot which he did – it was something akin to that stuff which PayTM uses in the kirana shop, he told Govind. Little did he realise that it was a QR code which would take them to safety shortly.
A while later, a Bolero jeep stopped near the fuel bunk and Govind’s phone had rung … the company guys had come and told him to cross over to the other side of the road and wait – the destination is being worked out for you and maybe we shall need to go take you back the way you had come, the man informed. It might take a few hours, they told him – just listen to us and had sped off. Later, around four PM Govind’s truck had joined the convoy of refrigerated lorries led by the jeep escort. They stopped at each police naka but the jeep guys got them going after showing the papers – at certain places the QR code was checked too with Vishal happy to flash it to the person holding the QR reader.
Shortly after midnight they entered a totally deserted Agra to finally stop at a huge cold storage facility on the other side of town – Govind called up Sarla the moment he parked …
Management lessons in a crisis : –
1. Never let the crisis overwhelm you to an extent of numbing your thinking. No crisis needs such critical thinking unless it’s a matter of life or death. Even if so human instinct and intuition has usually succeeded therein. Situational analysis, war gaming and scenario building are the next normal.
2. It may take some time but one will find a way. Let the issue unfold in its entirety or even let some clouds part first . One needn’t use the ‘fastest finger first’ button in situations which do not demand it so. Inhale, exhale and remain super attentive and observant – a path or many paths will surely emerge. Wait a while.
3. Keep the ultimate aim in mind – always. Don’t ever loose focus of it. Govind eventually got his payload safely within the confines of the cold storage did he not ? Stay steady irrespective of the Devil visiting you at short intervals when you’re left out in the cold for some time.
4. Your subordinates will surprise you with their ingenuity – hear them all out. Every head counts – forget the roles you hired them for and leverage team work. Split the tasks into doable – cake pieces. And listen to them – acutely.
5. Rely on wisdom of many minds working for an hour each on probable solutions rather than you working in isolation over many hours. And do not discount the bright idea coming from those low down in the hierarchical chain – they are the guys on the ground. They usually get it right most times, if not always.
6. Leverage technology albeit however minuscule in content otherwise. You’d be amazed how many ideas can flow out from a seemingly innocuous App or programme. Later you could even surprise the App’s builder with the way you overcame the hurdle with its help.
7. Today’s millennial is multi-task-able by birth – give them a chance or rather many chances. Alongside, allow them to come up with their own version of finality to the problem. It’s all about holding the faith and giving each some space.
8. Motivate using all means at one’s disposal. Motivating remote teams, individual staff members who stand geographically separated – is the requirement of the hour now onward. Devise means based on personality types and shades of human behaviour of each – it’s not a one-size-fits-all scene any longer.
9. Be truthful and give out the complete picture. Never, ever, ever lie. Speak up all you know so that each one knows what you know. With everyone on an even keel the benchmarks to seeking plausible solutions rise as well.
10. Communicate, communicate, communicate. In this age of emojis, memes and emoticons a two minute conversation even on the phone clears all cobwebs and gets the adrenaline flowing like nothing else. No one wishes to be left in the dark. Get back to the old world charm of conversation. It works wonders in a crisis.
…. invite you to add many, many more. Learning is continuous, is it not?