SWARN STORY - OLLI SAGE PROGRAM
I am a Sikh, most of who live in the state of Punjab,
Northwest of India. Sikhs wear turban because they keep
long hair, and every Sikh has a 'Singh' in their name. We
are about 25 million and form only 2% of India's
population (same as Christians). 10% of Sikhs live abroad
against 2% Indians.
Early Education: I was born in Bharatpur, Rajasthan
in 1937. Our mother had to move to our village (now in
Pakistan) because of which my initial education was in a
nearby village school (2 miles walking). Students were
terrified of the teacher's rod! We (six siblings) moved to
Lahore in 1944, capital of Punjab. My schooling was in
various towns of East & West Punjab. With Indian
independence in 1947, there were brutal communal riots
between Hindus/Sikhs and Muslims. Millions moved as
refugees as state of Punjab was divided into India &
Pakistan -
(https://www.futurity.org/partition-of-india-pakistan-2004352-2/). These were very hard times as most of our relatives
were forced to leave their luxury homes, mostly on bullock
carts, 150 miles or so to the Indian side as refugees. I
did my B.Eng. (Mining) from Indian School of Mines, in a
distant state of Bihar. I realized that I had chosen the
wrong profession. I decided to go abroad for higher
studies to look for greener pastures but with the firm
objective of returning to India.
USA:
Visit www.sikhglobalvillage.com
- 'A Sikh in USA in 1950s' where in I have described why
and how I came to USA. I have also outlined in detail
the hospitality, generosity, and magnanimity of
Americans. Turban was a definite attention grabber and I
had great fun. The American generosity continues with
Julie Martenson starting the 'Scholars' program to make
my commute for OLLI from India worthwhile.
Europe: On my way back to India, I briefly
visited UK, France, Spain, Switzerland and later Italy,
Greece and Egypt. I had Pen pals in Sweden & Paris, whom
I visited - no 'Face Book' then. I got an opportunity to
work for 2 months in a large mining & steel company in
Austria - an interesting story as to how I got the job.
Returned to India in October 1961.
Return to India: It took me some time to get a
desirable job in an iron ore mine run by a British
company. The mine workers were tribal people (very
lovable) whose lands had been acquired - similar story
to the Indian tribes of USA. In the meantime, I got a
job offer from Imperial Chemical Industries India. I
spent the next 30 years with the company in various
positions in Explosives Division and in Imkemex, a
subsidiary trading company, where I became the CEO in
1987. On retirement in 1993, through a
'Management-Buy-Out', I acquired this company which our
son runs presently from Mumbai. ICI was a
Multi-National-Company (MNC) and was till early 1990s,
the 4th largest chemical company in the world and the
largest company in UK (one part later became Astra
Zeneca). In India, we were manufacturing paints,
polyester fiber, explosives, fertilizers,
pharmaceuticals, dyestuffs, rubber chemicals,
agrochemicals, polythene, chlorine chemicals etc. Having
got a job with ICI, I was not motivated to leave India.
Getting a job with ICI was the preferred choice for top
ranking MBAs or B.Techs from leading institutions. It
was a privileged life - ICI visiting card helped get
admission to leading social/sports clubs (normal waiting
period of years), school admissions for children,
prestigious housing, and social status. I was based in
Calcutta for 20 and Bombay 18 years, and now in
Chandigarh (150 miles from Delhi) for 24 years.
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