I joined Indian Railways in June 1970 and in the 28 years of my service, I have lived in 7 states - Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Assam. ( Please see map of India with the places of my posting as also Mettur where I worked before joining Indian Railways).

I was happy in all the places and enjoyed my stint there. My first experience of Railways was as a probationer in IRAS (Indian Railway Accounts Service). The two years of probation was perhaps the most relaxed and enjoyable period of my life. I travelled extensively around Southern Railway as well as a large part of India. My first four months of probation were spent in Mussoorie, with IFS, IAS, IPS and other probationers. Narayanan ( IAS, Tamil Nadu cadre) and I became extremely close friends, though I have lost touch with him for the last few years. After four memorable months in Mussoorie, I moved to Southern Railway at Madras. Apart from training on the railway, I had training in Railway Staff College , Baroda; Chittaranjan; Calcutta: ICF and many other places. Ashok Chawla and Sneh Pasad ( now Bijlani ) were two close friends during my probation and this friendship has continued till today. I also became a close friend of N.Parthasarathy, my senior in service. My training period ended in May 1972. I joined Railways only because I was allotted Southern Railway, as otherwise I would have joined State Bank of India, where I was allotted Tamil Nadu circle. Yet, the Railway Board transferred me to South Central Railway a week before my probation was to end. Though I didn't like it then, I am now convinced that transfers widen one's horizon and are beneficial, as long as they are not too frequent.

I shall not dwell much on my first six postings at Solapur in Maharashtra ( 18 months) , Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh ( 6 months) , Secunderabad in Andhra Pradesh ( 2years), Chittaranjan in West Bengal ( 4 years), Bombay ( 6 months ) and Kota in Rajasthan ( 2 years ). I got married while in Solapur to Amritha and we had to move lock, stock and barrel every time I was transferred. The only thing I remember about Solapur is the most beautiful bed sheets and my visits to Siddeshwar temple, Pandharpur temple and Tuljapur temple. I was struck by the hotels in Vijayawada and Hyderabad, where Avakkai pickle and oil were kept and used liberally like salt and pepper. Though not a great believer, I was impressed at the Panaga Narasimha temple, where exactly half the quantity is consumed by the deity, irrespective of the size of container you take.

I spent too short a time in Bombay in 1979 to say anything about it. I went to Kota in January 1980. I remember visiting Gandhi Sagar near Kota. The club's picnic to Amjar Palace was also good. We (a few families ) used to go to Chambal gardens and Kota barrage on picnic . I cannot also forget the hospitality of Bhargava, who was working in my office, but was the chief trustee in the temple near Chambal Garden. He used to feed us with Dal Bhati (very rich Rajsthani preparation with a lot of ghee ) and Choorma. How can I forget our huge house in Kota, where we grew two crops of wheat (about 150 kgs. each ) and one crop of rice ( about 130 kgs. ,out of which we converted 30 kgs. to boiled rice ) in the two years that we were there ?

After a short spell on Central Railway, I again went on deputation to Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC ) as Member, Finance ( but was known as Financial Adviser, which was the old designation). It is an organisation with a rich history and many excellent individuals. I shall later give details of the ideology of khadi. My stint there was very interesting and I found the work highly enjoyable. I was my own controlling officer and also travelled extensively. Among the memorable trips I made with my family during my stay there are to Kathmandu & Pokhra in Nepal : Gangotri, Kedarnath & Badrinath : Jammu & Vaishnodevi : Dwaraka & Somnath : Kanyakumari, Tiruchendur & Kodaikanal : Jodhpur, Bikaner & Jaisalmer : Yercaud & Ooty : Mahabaleswar & Panchagani . I went to U.K. again for a two-week seminar on Rural Banking in Brighton. During my stint in KVIC , I met many eminent persons including two Prime Ministers, viz., Shri Chandrasekhar and Shri P.V.Narasimha Rao.

I came to Western railway in January 1995 . It was a short stint. I shall always remember this period for the sudden death of my sister-in-law ( Choodamani Sampath) in Calcutta. This was followed in four weeks by that of my brother (Sampath) and his  entire family in a building collapse. The long wait at the site for the bodies to be recovered , the flight to Madras with the bodies and the cremation are still a vivid memory.

In December 1995, my transfer orders as Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) at Tinsukia in Assam were issued. Before handing over charge, I visited Ranathambore Sanctuary with my family. I joined Tinsukia in January 1996. It was a different work altogether. Indian railways are divided into 59 divisions, each headed by a DRM. The actual train operations are done only in a division. A lot of interaction between different departments as well as State Government, customers , Army etc. is necessary. I had a happy time for about 27 months. Though Assam is a difficult state with rampant terrorism, Tinsukia was relatively better. Of course, I had tension at times like the arson at one of my stations in which the station master on duty was killed ; the threats on Independence and Republic Days and an extortion threat on telephone. But overall I have the satisfaction of having performed well on my job. The highlights in Tinsukia during my stint were  the conversion of the entire division from Metre Gauge to Broad Gauge,  opening of a Divisional Training Centre for the staff, a new Officers' Club etc.  I shall always cherish the team-spirit among all officers and staff of Tinsukia.  Among the many functions organised here was a farewell for steam locomotives in February 1997 before phasing them out.