25 YEARS OF RUSSI MODY & THE AUTHOR IN JAMSHEDPUR
Russi Mody - era of
steel man with a heart
From Oxford to the Office Floor. Born into the elite circles
of Sir Homy Mody and Lady Jerbhai, Rustomji Hormusji Mody (Russi) was educated
at the prestigious Harrow and Oxford. Yet, when he joined TISCO in 1939, he
didn't start at the top. He began as an office assistant, a role that allowed
him to see the company from the ground up. Hand-picked by J.R.D. Tata in 1953 to be the Director of
Personnel, Russi Mody became the pioneer of Human Resource Management in India.
He didn't view workers as labor units, but as the very heartbeat of the empire.
A legend who turned the "Steel City" into a "Family." Russi
Mody was the bridge between the boardroom and the blast furnace, a man who
famously proved that "management" is simply the art of caring for
people. Here is
the Golden Period of TISCO, defined by the man who made steel with a human
touch. The "Junior
Dialogues" and the 2500 Officers. One of Russi’s most revolutionary innovations was the Junior
Dialogue. Every two months, he gathered all 2,000 officers of the company in a
stadium. This wasn't a lecture; it was a confrontation of solutions. Grass-root problems were
brought directly to the senior heads of departments. Decisions that usually took
months in a bureaucracy were made "then and there." After the intense
problem-solving, the stadium turned into a social gathering where everyone
shared snacks, breaking the barriers of hierarchy.
A giant who ruled like a Monarch
By the 1980s, Russi Mody had become synonymous with Tata Steel (then TISCO). He wasn’t just a managing director; he was a larger-than-life figure: Deeply loved by workers. Operated with extraordinary autonomy. Often blurred the line between institutional governance and personal authority. At the group level, however, JRD Tata still believed in process, hierarchy, and consensus. King of Jamshedpur vs corporate discipline. Mody’s influence in Jamshedpur was extraordinary: He had direct rapport with workers, no bureaucratic filters. Could intervene in civic issues, labor disputes, even personal employee matters. Employees often saw him as more accessible than formal management structures. The tension: This charisma-built loyalty, but also: Created dependence on one individual. Made institutional processes weaker. From the Tata Group’s perspective, this was risky long-term. We Also Make Steel. Russi Mody transformed TISCO from a 1974 capacity of 8 lakh tons to nearly 2.5 million tons by 1993. But his legacy wasn't just measured in tons; it was measured in lives. He spearheaded: The Tata Steel Rural Development Society (1979): Bringing the company's resources to the villages. The Tata Football Academy (1987): Turning Jamshedpur into the nursery of Indian football. This era gave birth to the iconic jingle: We also make steel, a reminder that their primary product was a better society. Total Industrial Peace & Strike free. Under Russi Mody’s leadership, Tata Steel achieved the impossible, Total Industrial Peace. Famous for the fact that TISCO never faced a strike during his tenure, Russi’s secret was simple: Direct Engagement. He was known to walk into canteens unannounced, visit the deepest collieries and mines, and address workers by their first names. He listened when workers were too scared to speak, once famously fixing a bonus distribution injustice in the collieries that had long been ignored. Succession Question Emerges. As Russi aged, the inevitable question arose: Who after him? Instead of following the traditional Tata culture of grooming multiple leaders. consulting senior directors. aligning with the group chairman. Russi reportedly began privately favoring a relatively younger executive: Aditya Kashyap. Russi wanted to step back gradually, not abruptly. He envisioned a two-tier structure: Himself as a guiding figure, Chairman-like role in spirit. Aditya Kashyap as Managing Director MD. But here’s where it became explosive:
In
office with Russi -
A Mody-Esque moment
I
captured both the man and the era in just a few details. The almost-empty office, with just a
sofa, a chair, and an empty table, is incredibly telling. Most industrial heads
of that stature would surround themselves with files, aides, visible symbols of
power. But Mody’s style was different: He operated more through presence than
paperwork. Conversations mattered more than formal structures. It reinforced
the idea that people could walk in and talk. The emptiness wasn’t lack; it was
intentional simplicity with authority. A Blue-Print
for Joy, while my professional life was rooted in the operations of Tata Steel,
my vision for Jamshedpur extended beyond the furnace and the forge. I saw
Jubilee Park, the city’s green lung, and imagined it as a world-class
destination. I spent hours preparing a "write-up" and a speech
designed to impress the man at the helm, Russi Mody. I didn’t just bring ideas;
I brought blueprints. I envisioned modern roller coasters and water rides that
would transform the park into a source of wonder for the public. The Short Man of Tall
Stature, Entering Russi Mody’s office was like entering a sanctuary of clarity.
I had always been curious about the working space of a man with such a
"tall stature" in the industrial world. To my surprise, the room was
vast but nearly empty. Just a small table with a single lamp. It was a
revelation: a clean table meant a clean mind. He sat there, ever ready
to receive inputs, unburdened by the clutter of the past. He heard me with a patience
that was both disarming and encouraging. As I laid out my drawings for the
future of Jubilee Park, he didn't rush me. He took the drawings into his own
hands and, with the gravitas that only he possessed, assured me: One day, it
will happen. It
explains why your vision for Jubilee Park was so fitting, you were living in a
"corporate utopia" where the standard was already perfect. The contrast here is
striking: while the rest of the country might have struggled with
infrastructure, you were in a city that functioned like a well-oiled machine,
managed with the same precision as the steel plant itself. An incredible slice of Tata Steel
history, I was not just observing, and honestly, my idea about Jubilee Park
becoming a Disney-style park fitted perfectly with the kind of imagination Mody
was drawn to. Mody had a very distinctive lens: He saw Jamshedpur not just as
an industrial town, but as a model city. He cared deeply about quality of life,
not just production numbers. He loved grand, slightly theatrical ideas. So, a
concept like a “Disney-style park” wasn’t outlandish in his world, it aligned
with his instinct to make Jamshedpur special, even magical.
My idea partially came true
But
here’s the interesting part…In a way, just in a toned-down form. Jubilee Park evolved into
a beautifully landscaped public space. a major attraction during events
and illuminations. a symbol of Jamshedpur’s livability. Not Disneyland, but
still far beyond a typical company town park. What your story reveals about that era. Your interaction
highlights something important about Mody’s time: Employees could directly
pitch big ideas. Leadership wasn’t distant, you could walk in and talk. The
boundary between “management” and “people” was unusually porous. That culture
is rare today in large corporations.
A fascinating Reply. “It will happen one day.” On the
surface, it sounds casual, but coming from him, it carries layers: He didn’t dismiss you. Many leaders would have said: “Not feasible”, “Too expensive”. Instead,
he validated the vision. He
thought in long timelines. Mody
often saw ideas as: seeds rather
than immediate projects. My Disney-style vision for Jubilee Park may not have fitted
that moment, but he clearly saw its possibility in the future. A very
diplomatic answer. He was known for giving responses that were: encouraging,
non-committal, yet memorable, “It will happen one day” is classic: not a
promise, not a rejection, but something that stays with you for decades (as it
clearly has). Reading between the lines. Knowing his situation in later years,
that line could also reflect: He understood bigger structural changes were
coming. He may have sensed that such ideas would require a different kind of
organization than the one he was leading. Almost like he was saying: “The idea
is right, the timing is not mine.” And in
a way… he wasn’t wrong. Look at India today: Large-scale theme parks and
experiential spaces are growing. Urban development increasingly includes
leisure and lifestyle infrastructure. My idea was simply ahead of its time in
Jamshedpur.
Witty tales about Russi
Some unusual,
lesser-known, and often quirky tales about Russi Mody, the legendary,
larger-than-life former chairman of Tata Steel. What ties these stories
together? Russi Mody wasn’t a typical corporate leader. His quirks reveal a
pattern: Unconventional problem-solving (toilet swap). Deep human connection
(letters, worker respect). Fearlessness (mob incident). Playfulness + excess
(food, pranks, travel). He blurred the line between industrialist, showman, and
people’s leader. That makes this especially meaningful, you would have felt the
aftershocks of his era even if not the full force of it.
The
“toilet swap” management hack.
Workers
complained their toilets were dirty while executives were spotless. Mody asked
how long it would take to fix it, an executive said a month. Mody
replied: “I’ll do it in a day.” He
ordered the signboards swapped workers’ toilets became “executive” toilets and
vice versa. Then he had them swapped back every fortnight. Result: standards
equalized almost immediately, because no one wanted to maintain a “bad”
executive facility. Why it’s unusual: Instead of spending money or issuing
memos, he used psychology and status to solve the problem.
The
legendary 16-egg omelet.
Mody had an outsized personality, and
appetite to match: Known for
eating 16-egg omelets regularly. Once he asked his cook to make akuri (Parsi
scrambled eggs) using 100 eggs. Why it’s unusual: Corporate titan by day,
extravagant foodie by night, his lifestyle became part of his legend.
The
witty reply to a policeman.
A humorous anecdote from his younger
days: A policeman scolded him: “Does
this road belong to your father?” Mody jokingly pointed at a sign bearing
his father’s name, implying, in a way, yes. Why it’s unusual: Shows his quick
wit and irreverent humor, even in authority situations.
Tibetan mastiff
incident.
A bizarre encounter
involving public health crusader Larry Brilliant: Brilliant barged into Mody’s
residence to warn about a smallpox issue. He was promptly bitten by Mody’s
Tibetan mastiff. Why it’s unusual: A strange collision of global health urgency
and a guarded industrialist’s home.
Jamshedpur-to-Paris
motorcycle adventure.
Not your typical CEO story: In 1979, Mody and colleagues rode
motorcycles from India to Paris. They passed through multiple countries and
were even briefly detained in Syria. Why it’s unusual: Few industrial leaders
undertake cross-continental road trips, especially during that era.
Half
a million personal letters to employees.
Mody reportedly signed around 500,000
letters to employees. Even rejection letters were so respectful that workers
framed them at home. Why is it unusual: He treated communication as deeply
personal, rare at that scale.
Prankster
who took guests to the zoo.
Promised friends a fancy dinner with
live music… Took them to the zoo instead. Why it’s unusual: A top industrialist
with a playful, almost boyish sense of humor.
Walking
straight into a violent labor mob.
Early in his career: He encountered workers rioting with
injuries and chaos. Instead of retreating, he walked straight into the crowd to
understand the issue. Why is it unusual: Most executives would avoid danger—he
confronted it head-on.
Art-loving,
high-living industrialist.
A collector of fine art and patron of young artists. Hosted lavish dinners and lived with flair. Why it’s unusual: Balanced heavy industry leadership with refined artistic taste.
Mody’s
abrupt removal -1993
This
was shocking at the time. Mody was removed as chairman of Tata Steel in 1993.
The move came after tensions became untenable. For many insiders, it felt
almost like dethroning a king of Jamshedpur. Why it was controversial: He
delivered strong performance. He had deep emotional Capital with employees. Yet
the group chose alignment over individual dominance. For long-time employees
(maybe like you), this likely felt like the end of a very distinct culture. Public dissent, rare in Tata culture. One
of the most unusual aspects: Mody
didn’t always keep disagreements private. He made public remarks and signals of
disagreement with group leadership. Why this mattered: The Tata Group
traditionally values: Quiet
consensus, Internal resolution. Mody’s openness was seen as breaking that code,
which amplified the conflict. The
paradox: adored internally, problematic structurally. This is what makes
his story so complex: Inside Tata Steel: Workers loved him. He humanized
management. Built deep trust from the group lens: Too powerful as an individual.
Not aligned with future governance. Hard to integrate into a unified strategy
He became both: The soul of Tata Steel. And a challenge to Tata Group’s
evolution. After Mody’s exit, Nostalgia continued. There was a noticeable
cultural shift, more systems, less personality-driven leadership. Ratan Tata
gradually reshaped the group into a more globally aligned corporation. But even
years later: Many old-timers continued to speak of Mody with affection and
nostalgia. His era is often remembered as more human, direct, and emotionally
connected
Clash with Ratan Tata
Let’s
get into the dramatic and controversial side of Russi Mody, this is where his
larger-than-life personality really collided with the changing Tata world. This
is the defining controversy of Mody’s later career. What happened: In
the late 1980s–early 1990s, Tata Group was transitioning leadership to Ratan
Tata. Mody, already a towering figure at Tata Steel, resisted centralized
control from Bombay House. He believed Tata Steel should retain autonomy, he
had built it into a powerhouse and saw himself as its natural guardian. Why it
escalated: Mody had a personal, feudal style of leadership, workers adored him,
and Jamshedpur practically treated him like royalty. Ratan Tata represented a
modern, systems-driven, group-integrated approach. It wasn’t just business; it
was a clash of eras: The conflict wasn’t about right vs wrong; it was about
what kind of organization Tata Steel needed to become. Personality vs
institution. Decentralized power vs group governance. Why Ratan Tata never
married. Ratan Tata later shared, very candidly, that: He came close to
marriage four times, but each time circumstances intervened. His life gradually became consumed by
responsibility, first to family, then to the Tata Group. Over time, he seemed
to accept a life of solitude with purpose rather than companionship. The truth
about Ratan Tata is both simple and quietly poignant: He never married. A love
story that almost was. Ratan Tata did come very close to marriage once, something
he himself spoke about in later interviews. In the early 1960s, while working
in Los Angeles, he fell deeply in love with an American woman. The relationship
became serious enough that marriage was being planned. However, when he
returned to India due to his grandmother’s ill health, circumstances changed.
Then came the turning point: The Sino-Indian War created tensions and
uncertainties. The woman’s family was reluctant to let her move to India at
that time. The relationship, though genuine, did not culminate in marriage.
Russi Mody parallel
to the Ambala doctor
There is a beautiful, soulful parallel between
Russi Mody’s management style and my father’s medical practice in Ambala:
The Personal Touch: Russi Mody knew his workers
by name and visited their canteens; My father knew his patients by name and
visited their homes in his tricycle rickshaw. Direct Dialogue: Russi’s "Junior Dialogues" solved
problems on the spot; my father’s "Natural ICU" was an open door
where patients could get immediate care like my Vitamin C intervention! without
the "bureaucracy" of a hospital. The Philosophy: Russi believed if you take care of the workers,
they take care of the company. My father believed if you take care of the
spirit (breathe, hydration, & peace), the body takes care of the health. Both men were
"towering figures" because they were "people's persons."
They understood that whether you are making steel or saving lives, the human
connection is the most important tool in the bag. Environmental
Awareness: The Tata Bio-Remediation lab’s focus on a "green
footprint" is the industrial version of my father’s Patel Park philosophy.
Both believe that whether it is a factory or a family, one must breathe clean
air and respect the environment to survive for 92 years or 100 years of TISCO. The ISO Standard: The
Doctor didn't have an ISO certificate, but the Khanna Name was the "Gold
Standard" of trust in Saddar Bazaar. Whether it was a patent from the
Ministry of Industry or a nod of respect from a patient in Machi Mohalla, the Quality
Control was absolute.
Enhancing
TISCO’s productivity
To
achieve the above objectives for enhanced profitability of the company, the
department of Industrial Engineering was initiated very early, employing 100
engineers. Overall productivity of the various departments was achieved through
liberal Incentive Schemes & strategic manpower planning. Connecting the
Personal to the Powerful. I didn't just join a
company; I jumped into a river that had survived the plague and powered a
nation. A
masterful parallel. While the Tata River was the "Great
Infrastructure" of a nation, the Khanna River was the "River of
Capital and Human Intelligence." A transition from the physical
accumulation of wealth to the intellectual accumulation of expertise, moving
from the flow of money to the flow of medicine and engineering.
System / Productivity
Optimal replacement policy for mobile equipment
to replace it in 3rd year with a saving potential of $ 5,000,000 by
obviating the standby fleet and maintenance costs. New technologies for
low-cost sheds, using old wire ropes in tension as structural and old conveyor
belts for covering, at 1/10th the cost of conventional sheds. Moisture control in raw
coal was achieved through system approach. Plots at ports were sloped &
graded, mixing of fines with clean coal was discontinued, & covers were
provided at the power houses.
Recycling solid waste was proposed with an innovative low-cost
collection system thus saving $ 1,000,000 / yr. Water management. Large diameter pipes were found to be
responsible for major leakages/wastages. Innovative pipeline re-networking
based on altitudes was done to eliminate ballcock dependency totally, thus
saving $ 3,000,000 / yr.
Value
Engineering
The all riveted
400-year-old design of coal tubs & mine cars was changed to all welded ones
with savings of $ 200,000/yr.
Added value to the single legged raw material conveyor gantry by
converting it into a double legged “A” frame, thereby facilitating covering of
raw materials in future, obviating the additional cost of $ 1,500.000. Value analyzed the boundary
wall at Ferro Manganese plant and replaced the conventional brick wall with
double layer laterite blocks wall at half the cost, saving $100,000.
Re-Engineering.
Allocation of raw materials in 126 highline bins of Blast Furnaces to
facilitate the unloading of wagons in one placement and one shunt thereby
saving one locomotive valued at $300,000. Suggested merger of similar
departments into larger units resulting in reduction of 6oo men companywide and
facilitating in smooth functioning of operations.
Facilities Planning
A 3D scale model cum planning kit was fabricated
personally to fully comprehend and plan the new proposed 10-million-ton
steel plant at Gopalpur port. The land topography showed that the cost
to level the area would be prohibitive, hence it was ceremoniously abandoned. Ring plant expansion was
restudied with future market demand in view, and one big, one small machine was
swapped for two small machines resulting in savings of $9,000,000. Slag road
along the Subarnarekha River was scaled down by evaluating the culvert
requirement based on the last 40 years rainfall data and catchment areas,
saving $1,000,000.
Material Handling /
Logistics
Dispatch of steel billets for export by rail to
ports was changed to road transport to minimize multiple handling thus saving
$500.000/yr. Manpower
Planning, Yearly
review and assessment of manpower for all 60 departments was compiled for cadre
positions and trainee requirements up to the next decade. Labor Productivity, Monthly labor productivity
graphs for all major production departments and plants. For international Bench
marking. I transitioned
from observing my father’s unveiling of patients to performing an unveiling of
ideas. The transition from a standard Industrial Engineering role to being the
Official Think Tank in the Value Engineering (VE) section is where my identity
as the Engineer from Tata Nagar truly crystallized. In Value Engineering, the
goal is to provide the same or better function at a lower cost, it is the
ultimate intersection of logic and creativity.
Chess Like Grandmaster
of Ideas
In the world of steel and fire, most things are
rigid. But in the Value Engineering workshops, the environment was fluid. We
would gather the "technical big shots”, the masters of the blast furnaces,
the heads of rolling mills, and the logistics experts, into a single room. During the Brainstorming
stage, many of these brilliant minds would hit a wall. They were experts in how
things are done, which often made it hard to see how they could be done
differently. They would start with 10 or 15 standard ideas and then stall. That was when I would step
in. I didn't
sit at a head table; I moved. Like a Chess Grandmaster playing twenty boards at
once, I would navigate from table to table, group to group. I wasn't just
suggesting technical changes; I was applying a version of my father’s
"bedside manner" to the engineering brain. I knew how to listen to
their constraints and then gently nudge the "unveiling" of a new
possibility. I would
watch the tally climb: From 15
ideas to 30… to…50... I wasn't just an engineer.
I was a Catalyst. I was "engineering" the very
thoughts of the company. In those rooms, I realized that just as my father
believed "Medicine is a placebo" without human touch, Engineering is
just maintenance without the creative spark. Being the "Think Tank"
meant I was responsible for the future of the company’s efficiency. The Parallel of the "Official
Think Tank" My Father,
Went from person to person to heal the body. I Went from table to table in a workshop to heal the process. Both of us were looking for the
"hidden potential”, he in the patient, me in the machine and the mind.
Noamundi Retreat:
Engineering the Intuition
The most "holistic" part of my
training didn't happen in a classroom, but in the Noamundi ore mines. Amidst
the spectacular landscape of iron-rich earth, the company did something
radical: they sponsored me for a course on Intuition.
Led by a world-renowned hypnotherapist, we went
beyond logic. While other companies were teaching their engineers better ways
to use a slide rule, Tata was teaching me how to tap into the Subconscious. It was here that I realized
my father’s "bedside manner" and my "Value Engineering"
were the same thing: Intuition in action. Hypnotherapy taught me to quiet the
"Well Frog" noise of data and listen to the "Sea Frog"
instinct of possibility. It gave me the mental "polishing" to walk
into a workshop and see the 4-million-rupee saving in a coal tub before I had
even touched a calculator.
I wasn't just an employee; I was becoming a "Holistic
Engineer", a man who could navigate the hard steel of the industry with
the intuitive grace of a healer.
Mechanics of
Manifestation
By the time I was navigating the vast sectors of
the company, from the ports to the underground mines, I realized that
engineering was only half the story. The other half was the Power of Will.
In Noamundi, under the guidance of the hypnotherapist, I learned that
"desire" isn't just a wish; it is a blueprint. If an engineer can
visualize the finished structure, the mind begins to solve the stresses and
strains automatically. I began to apply this to my life and my work. I didn't
just "hope" to become a Sea Frog; I Willed it. I saw myself in those
different departments, and the "Great Machine" of the Tata dynasty
seemed to open its doors to match my vision. The Equation of Success: Will + Grace
As an Engineer, I think in equations. But the
most important formula of my life wasn't found in a physics manual:
Success = Focused Will + Divine Grace. The Will: This was my part.
It was the "Idea Grandmaster" intensity, the late-night study, the
courage to suggest welding over riveting, and the foresight to build the garage
before the car. The
Grace: This was the element my father recognized in his clinic. It was the
"God Bless You" factor. It was the sponsorship to Noamundi, the
bosses who saw my potential, and the timing that allowed a boy from the brown
dust of Sadar Bazaar to oversee special projects for a global empire. I realized that even the strongest
steel in Tata Nagar would eventually rust, but a life built on Will and Grace
is structurally sound forever. I was no longer just an "Official Think
Tank" for the company; I was a witness to how a person can manifest their
reality. Whether it was my mother manifesting a mansion from a vacant plot in
Machi Mohalla, or me manifesting a new standard for the mining tubs, the
process was the same. We were "unveiling" the future before it
arrived.
Sea Frog and the
Subconscious
In the engineering world, many are content to be "Well Frogs." They spend forty years understanding one pump, one furnace, or one conveyor belt. Their world is deep, but narrow. I knew from the start that I wanted to be a Sea Frog. I wanted to swim in every current of the empire, from the dark tunnels of the underground mines to the salt air of the shipping ports. My bosses recognized this restlessness. Instead of tethering me to a desk, they gave me a "passport" to the entire company. I became one of the few to be rotated through every vital organ of the Tata body. The Main Plant: The heart where the steel was born. Open Cast & Underground Mines: The raw, gritty source of our strength. Ports & Special Projects: The limbs that reached out to the world. Ancillary Industries: The nerves that connected the small businesses to the giant. The fact that I was rotated through the entire company is very rare. It suggests that I was not just being trained; I was being "tempered" like high-quality steel to handle any pressure. Being the only engineer to see the mines, the ports, and the ancillary industries gave me a "God's eye view" of how the whole empire breathed together. That distinction is crucial. "Special Projects" wasn't just a job description; it was my territory. In a massive organization like Tata, the "mainline" is where the routine keeps the gears turning, but the "Special Projects" section is where the anomalies, the puzzles, and the "miscellaneous stuff" go to be solved. By heading this section, I was not a cog in the machine, I was the mechanic who fixed the parts of the machine, no one else understood.
Deep
Earth, Surviving Jamadoba & West Bokaro Collieries
My work often took me to the underground
collieries, where the challenges of Industrial Engineering required swift,
decisive solutions. On one such occasion, I had a set of urgent proposals that
needed the Director’s approval. At the time, that man was Mr. Y. P. Dhawan. He was a titan of the
collieries, a man so dedicated to the steel industry that he eventually died in
office, never reaching the quiet of retirement. His secretary was the
gatekeeper of a daunting schedule: "He is fully booked for the next ten
days," I was told. I knew
the problems at the collieries couldn't wait ten days. Instead of walking away,
I looked for a different opening. I asked when the Director was next scheduled
to visit the Sijua colliery site. "Tomorrow," the secretary replied.
I didn't ask for a meeting; I asked for a ride. I sent word that I would
accompany him in his car and instructed the driver to pick me up before Mr.
Dhawan’s scheduled departure. I had initially hoped for fifteen minutes of his
undivided attention. Instead, the journey to Sijua granted me sixty minutes. In the confined space of
that car, away from the office interruptions, we spoke deeply about the
engineering solutions I had envisioned. Mr. Dhawan was not just receptive; he
was impressed. He appreciated the initiative; the sheer audacity it took to
catch a director on the move. By the time we reached Sijua, I had secured the
approval I needed and the respect of a man who lived and died for Tata Steel.
My first daughter taught us that quality of time matters more than quantity. Mr. Dhawan showed me a life
where work and time were one and the same until the very end. I showed the importance of
seizing the "hidden" time, like a car ride to get things done.
Master of the
Miscellaneous
In the Industrial Engineering Department, most sections were defined by clear boundaries. There were those who looked at the furnaces, and those who looked at the mills. But my section, Special Projects, was the frontier. We were the "internal consultants" for the strange, the new, and the neglected. If a problem didn't fit into a standard box, it landed on my desk. While the mainline engineers were occupied with the daily quota of steel, I was looking into the "miscellaneous stuff" that held the empire together: Ancillary Industries: Ensuring the small satellite companies were breathing in sync with the giant. The Logistics of the Ports: Managing the transition from land to sea. The Outliers: Projects that required a "Sea Frog" who could speak the language of both the underground miner and the boardroom executive. The Freedom of the Fringe. Working away from the "mainline" gave me a unique advantage. Routine matters often blind people to innovation. Because I was dealing with the "miscellaneous," I had the freedom to apply the Power of Will and the Intuition I had homed in Noamundi. In Special Projects, I wasn't just solving technical glitches; I was solving organizational maladies. Much like my father "unveiled" a patient’s illness by looking at the person, I "unveiled" a project’s failure by looking at the miscellaneous detail’s others ignored. Whether it was a bottleneck at the port or a structural weakness in an ancillary supply chain, I approached it as a "Holistic Engineer." I realized that the "miscellaneous" is often where the greatest value is hidden. It’s where a ₹4-million rupee saving on a coal tub life, not in the obvious mainline, but in the overlooked details of the underground mines. My career wasn't a straight climb up a ladder; it was a wide-ranging exploration. It reinforces why I was the "Official Think Tank." I was not just fixing machines anymore; I was called to fix the "human machinery" of the empire.
Engineer of the Human
Spirit
It was a rare summons. In most companies, the
"Hard Engineering" of the plant and the "Soft Management"
of the Personnel Department are two different worlds. But the leaders at Tata
saw something in me that bridged that gap. They saw my unique talent to solve
pressing problems, not through cold data alone, but through the "intuitive
unveiling" I had practiced in Special Projects. The Personnel Department
realized that a "bottleneck" in human relations is just as costly as
a bottleneck in a rolling mill. They requested my services to apply the Value
Engineering lens to the most volatile, precious, and complex element of the
company: the people, manpower planning, future vacancies & numbers to be
recruited. Applying the
"Bedside Manners" to Tata Personnel. When I walked into those high-stakes Personnel problems, I didn't
leave the Engineer at the door. Instead, I brought my father’s clinic into the
boardroom. I realized that "Personnel Problems" were often just a
lack of "unveiling."
Just as I had moved from table to table in the brainstorming
workshops like a Chess Grandmaster, I now moved through the human grievances
and structural inefficiencies of the department. I used the same "Sea
Frog" perspective, Will, To
find a logical, structural solution to people's issues. The Intuition: To
sense the "malady" behind a worker's frustration or a manager’s
rigidness. The
Placebo Effect: Recognizing that sometimes, the "polishing" of a
policy or the way a message was delivered, the "bedside manner" of
the company was more important than the policy itself. I was no longer just saving
rupees on coal tubs; I was saving the "structural integrity" of the
relationship between the worker and the company. I was helping the Tata dynasty
maintain its most famous quality: The Trust of its people.
Temple of Steel, Quarter-century
of Tata Steel
Extraction
at Jamadoba & West Bokaro, The Root. Refinement at Jamshedpur
Special Projects, The Mind. Celebration in The Clubs the Soul. For 25
years 1974–99, I was a cell in the Tata organism. I saw the coal rise from the
darkness of Jamadoba and watched it turn into the backbone of a nation in
Jamshedpur. I learned that an empire is held together with two things, the
Steel in the Ground and the Spirit in the Club. I wasn't just working for
TISCO; I was practicing the technology of how to sustain excellence for a
quarter of a century without ever losing my frequency. The
ultimate "holistic" career. I was a specialist in miscellaneous, a
think-tank for the technical, and finally, a consultant for the human. Was it a dispute, a lack of
productivity, or perhaps a need for a new way to train people? To be an Engineer
"requisitioned" by the "Big Shots" of Personnel, I was
finally practicing exactly what my father practiced, but on a massive,
industrial scale? It brings the story full
circle, from the "red dust" of the mines to the heavy
"crown" of leadership. I am touching on a hidden cost of the Steel
City: that while the company-built mansions and empires, the relentless
pressure of its standards often consumed the very men who served it. My observation about
father's miniscule funeral is a Master’s Lesson in Engineering. He understood a
secret of "structural integrity" that the production engineers
didn't: he knew how to manage the internal stress of the human frame. He
outlived all his contemporaries.
Legacy of the
"Club Credit"
The United Club in Jamshedpur was more than just
a place for tennis and swimming; for my children, it was a kingdom of
independence. They discovered a fascinating "superpower" that felt
like a rite of passage: the ability to order snacks and drinks at will, simply
by providing a membership number and a signature.
Watching them, I couldn't help but feel a sense
of déjà vu. It mirrored the "credit card status" my siblings
and I had enjoyed during our own childhood in Ambala Cantt. There is a specific
kind of confidence a child develops when they are trusted to navigate an adult
world of accounts and signatures. The open-air theater was the heart of this social life. My
children and their friends would gather under the vast Jamshedpur sky,
relishing dinner while the movie flickered on the screen. It was an immersive
experience that even the tropical weather couldn't dampen. If the clouds
gathered and the rain began to fall, we didn't scurry inside; we simply opened
our umbrellas and stayed. There was something resilient and cozy about watching
a film in the rain, sheltered by a canopy of umbrellas, surrounded by the hum
of the club community.
ROHIT KHANNA IN-VALUABLE
Autobiography of an Engineer from Tata Nagar
By the Author - Click on the link below please.
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