Pratima; GC Project End ...

Pratima
One day, one of the other staff in Ford, whom I knew only by sight, came up to me and said she was faced with a problem. She had to go on a short trip and her husband was also away for a couple of days at the same time. Would I come over and sleep with my child in her place for those few nights so her children would not be alone with her manservant? Not that Bhanu was untrustworthy or not caring with them, but it would be better , she said if a famiy member or friend was around.

I agreed and that was the beginning of a good friendship not only between us two, but for the two families. Madhavi and Rahul were quite a bit older than Adit, but the boys especially became good friends. My good deed was repaid as such some years later when Ramu and I were in the same position, travelling at the same time. Nowadays, Pratima and I rarely contact each other but the strong bond still remains.

End of the Growth Centre Project
By mid 74, however, with no signs of this happening, and the Growth Centre project coming to its close, the questions of what next on our location and my career reared their heads again. In fact, Andrade, the FF director of the project, was moving to the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority, and offered me a job there. But Ramu would have none of it. He just wanted out of Calcutta. “No, you stay there, i am coming back. I can't stand this place! Apparently, people either love or hate Calcutta and there is no arguing with either set of people!


I then decided that this was the time to finish my dissertation, a draft of which I had somehow managed to get going in between my hectic job and home responsibilities. I worked out with Prodipto an arrangement by which I could use my old office there, and get some help in accessing the Delhi varsity computer too if needed [though most of my data and analyses were done by then]. So, almost seamlessly, I moved into my new role, with no letting out that I was no longer employed but working on my own, on the dissertation, to Annaiya or others, family or friends, as I wanted no distractions in this onslaught on my dissertation. Actually, all the data was on hand and only the final analysis and writing up were due.

Another interesting development took place at the same time. Gerry, who had quit FF a few months before, had joined UNICEF Delhi in its Planning Section. At a party he gave, I met Victor Soler-Sala, the head of the section, and soon after, he conveyed through Gerry the offer of a post in it. After talking over with Ramu, I told him I could join in a couple of months to give myself time to send off my dissertation. Another problem that weighed on my mind was the possibility of Ramu being posted somewhere other than Delhi soon and so we agreed that I should come in as a consultant rather than as a regular staff member.