SERVICE STORY: My LIC days.
by PG.POOCHERY
This is the story of a train journey. Perhaps something you will never be able to do.
You will come across travellers who go round the world by a yacht. Sometimes by a car. Sometimes a motor cycle or even a bicycle.
There may be even more fascinating human ways of covering distances. Human ingenuity discovers these styles.
There is an amount of adventure in all such activities. It's a thrill enjoyed. The ultimate idea is to enjoy life. Enjoy the way you like it.
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When I set out to Mumbai, I too was trying to enjoy life the way I liked it most. I got some intellectual satisfaction when I met dignitaries and talked to them. When I got the attire of a journalist interested in organisation improvement matter, it was even more easier. Anything was found possible.
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It was one such planned activity for me to meet the Chairman of the Life Insurance Corporation of
He was prepared to sanction the amounts if I prepared the details of the project, money requirements etc.
There was also an invitation from Central Office for me to move to Mumbai and continue my activities there. Since this discussion got developed suddenly, I could not immediately reply.
After discussing with me all these points and finding that I was not having any immediate plans, finally it was their decision that my trip to Mumbai would be treated as "on duty and tour". It meant that I could submit a bill and claim all benefits.
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I had gone to Central Office on a very personal and private visit. I therefore wanted that it should be so.
Normally I declined financial help for my activities. On one occasion, LIC Housing Finance had asked me to submit my bills for the work of studying the working of different housing finance companies and submitting a report based on such a study. Although I had undertaken and completed this project, I declined to submit bills and claim money for the work done.
On all such occasions I informed them that the opportunity provided was considered by me as a recognition. Since I enjoyed the work, I informed them that no bill was being submitted.
That was my firm decision. Even when I wrote articles in periodicals, I sometimes used to take a stand that I required no fees for the same. I have even returned such cheques though one may consider it as a foolish decision.
In this backdrop, Chairman's offer conveyed to me by the Publicity Department was considered as a big recognition and I placed these papers in my file as if it was an award. And no bill was ever submitted to them.
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After a few years, however, I was in a mood to take up a bigger project of a discussion with top management men and publishing the same. I thought I would be spending several thousands of Rupees for this project. Then for a moment I thought it a wise thing to ask for some help from the office.
It occurred to me, it would be a good idea to claim the amounts involved in this "on duty and tour" offer which I had earlier declined to avail of.
In a weak moment, therefore, I sent a request to the same Publicity Department of Central Office which had originally sanctioned my tour enclosing a copy of their letter. By the time, there were a number of changes at official level postings at the Central Office. Some of the gentlemen who used to help me had moved to other departments and it was not possible to move matters on a personal level.
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Thereafter everything moved on an official level. After a lapse of a few weeks, I received a communication from the Central Office that 'necessary action' would be taken by the Southern Zone Office.
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Then, after a month or so, I heard from the Zonal Office. It was their decision that since I did not produce the tickets for the journey undertaken, my journey to Mumbai would be treated as undertaken in a passenger train and accordingly they would pay me second class passenger train fare.
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Then came the third letter from the local divisional office. They calculated the amount payable for journey by passenger train to Mumbai. And the communication finally made the announcement that "a sum of Rs.42/- will be paid" to me.
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Added to this insult was the 'victorious smile' of the local division man who always used to laugh at me !
Lesson: Good intentions are sometimes 'misunderstood' by others.
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( I still valued the help and encouragement I have received from LIC. The above incident is mentioned just to show how some people behaved sometimes. These lesser souls could not understand and appreciate the activities initiated by an employee spending his own money. Forgive them, for they can not mend their ways.)
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