Subir Raha on Sagar Samrat

'We are not a workshop company taking pride in repairing old equipment to see that it somehow runs, but an E&P company focused only and only on discovering and producing more and more oil and gas by using and deploying the best and the latest of the technologies and the expertise available globally anywhere for achieving that.’

Subir Raha who was once credited for transforming India’s vital most oil and gas exploration company from near deathbed to emerge most valued Indian conglomerate at the bourses expounded this iconic mantra for its line manager while addressing a gathering celebrating a jubilee anniversary of one most popular oil rig in offshore which had performed stupendously but had otherwise reached on edges of outliving its design life:

This was in year 2004. The rig was Sagar Samrat. 

Subir Raha was C&MD of ONGC from 2001-2006.

Many lives in life : I

No one is sure of next second whether he would survive the passing moment or not. But usually we get used to this and our mind gets tuned to be in sync with optimistic instinct which keeps us going. We keep surviving each moment and adding to what’s called life.

However there are always some milestone moments surviving which flag the life with definite memory markers which are left with us for ever. Those few chances which could have flipped either side of life and death become most unforgettable parts of our memory.

Sometimes in 1979 I was student of Govt college, Sanjuali, in Shimla where I grew up. The college used to be fun place and we used to go there casually to attend few classes before returning for daily dose of wholesomely youthful joy to Mall Road, the beautiful colonial era walkers heaven for locals and tourists.

Everyone used to walk those days in Shimla. Students, office goers, business people as also coolies and labours, everyone.

That was one afternoon I was returning from college to Mall Road with my friend Rajiv whom we used to call Pinka. It was a about four kilometres stroll. On the way we used to cross main gate of Snowden Hospital which was biggest hospital and the medical college of the town. It was also a rainy day and was drizzling. We both had umbrellas in hand.

The moment we reached the sprawling gates of Snowden, I felt little tingling sensation near groin under right front pocket of my pants. I kept the pace for few steps autosuggesting myself to ignore it. However despite that the sensation was not acute and was going and coming, as if some external nudge or instinct goaded me to do something unusual which I never thought I would do being in glare of so many fellow walkers alongside.

I dropped umbrella and unbuckled my belt, unzipped and grabbing part of right pocket in fist from outside as I ran to curb side of the road. Pinka followed me with equal urgency and curiosity as I shouted ‘Pinka there is something serious’. Reaching the side facing hill I reversed the pants pocket which I had been grabbing with my fist. Next moment was deadly chilling. I was holding a large brown scorpion wriggling in my hold of my fist. Pinka got into action and immediately used his umbrella tip to push it out and threw it away. We killed the creature.

I had seen scorpions before and my father, while showing us a small black coloured one, had once told us that it was not so deadly but there were scorpions which are very large , brown in colour and have hair kind of tentacle over their bodies. The one lurking inside my pants was definitely that - brown, large and with hairs kind of things over it !

Analysing, I had hung my pants behind the door at home the previous evening and had reused it for that day. The scorpion had entered our home in night and walked into my pants and somehow reached behind the pocket cloth inside the fold.

The enemy though was laced with deadly poison about to test its dreadful natural instinct on me but it remained trapped inside the cloth folds as I tightly wore the pants. It remained immobile for no less than next five hours after I dressed up, left home and reached college, attended classes and returned half way back.

Whole episode is though eerie, left me exploring and interpreting it in several different ways.

One, how the scorpion found place between folds of the inside of my pants’ pocket where it got trapped and could not move a bit for five hours. It could have cosily rested at any other place inside the pants.

Two, when it finally found opportunity and ease to move, means when it was almost ready to become unkindly towards my life, I was at main entrance of biggest multi-speciality hospital of the town as if I was being guarded with assurance of best possible treatment available against some eventuality if scorpion were to actually bite me. Every possibility was as if being taken care with planning.

Three, generally we ignore small sensations on body. But I was almost pushed by some never felt like before kind of strong instinct to open my pants in public and check what was causing it. I had never imagined it could be a deadly scorpion. At the worst I was expecting some ant.

The happening was like someone was holding hand to walk me safely or was coaching a life lesson about its frailty and fragility and marked the day with perpetuity in my memory.