Dear, ...........,
Hello. Today I will write about Mr. K.L.Wadhawan who was our first Engineer-
in-Charge at Doordarshan Kendra. He had prepared the Project Note for
Doordarshan Kendra Srinagar. I had occasions to read the Project Report written
by him in his own hand. He had a very good hand writing skill and also his
expression was excellent. He was very methodical. When later in my career, I
had to write Project Reports, (In my life I have written a dozen and more
including the one on the most ambitious Doordarshan Project – Mandi House.)
this Project Report by Mr. Wadhawan was always in my memory. Colleagues would
always term my Project Reports as very good. The credit for my good work goes
to Mr. Wadhawan.
Mr. Wadhawan knew his job. After he entrusted the responsibility of MCR to
me, he had lot of faith on me. He would treat me very well and with due
respect. He was a person with aristocratic habits. He would smoke cigars which
was generally a rarity in Kashmir those days. One day he came to the technical
area with a guest. As soon as he entered, I noticed him entering with a lighted
cigar. I shouted at him, “Sir, no smoking in technical area please.” He left
the area, extinguished the cigar and entered back. He addressed me saying, that
the cigar was a costly one and since I had made him discard it, I would have to
reimburse the cost of the cigar. I nodded in agreement.
A few months after the system had stabilized at the TV Station, he decided
to leave for Delhi on tour. He called me and asked me to arrange some hops for
him to take to Delhi. (Hops is a type of plant with flower type fruit. It is
used for brewing into beer. This plant is grown in Kashmir as its climate is
most suitable for its healthy growth.) I had never heard about this plant. I was
able to locate a person who delivered the same to me. It cost only Rs. 200/-
(Paid by Mr. Wadhawan) The quantity was far more than could be packed into a
big carton. Mr. Wadhawan managed to get a transfer order in Delhi and did not
return back to Srinagar. I did not see him again. He would remember me to
officers after his retirement that happened soon after his return to Delhi, and
speak well about me. Most of them were senior officers who were very good at
their work and posted to Doordarshan headquarters. Later when I also got posted
to this office (I was posted in Studio Design for more than a decade starting
in late 1986), they would repeat his remarks.
In one of my previous blogs, I had mentioned that lot of tourists would
come to TV premises to have a look inside the TV Studio out of curiosity. TV
was new and trending those days and would excite people. One day, we were in
the evening shift. It was a Saturday and it was about 7 PM. The duty officer’s room
was located at ground floor level in the studio block. I was passing by the
side of the room, when the Duty Officer came out of the room and introduced one
person and a lady with him. The person introduced himself and then his companion.
He said that the lady was Raj Bhabbar’s sister and he was her husband. I asked
him who Raj Bhabbar was. In response, he asked me whether I watch Bollywood
Films. I replied in affirmative. Then he asked me whether I had not seen Mr.
Raj Bhabbar in the films? I said – No. Then he asked which film had I seen
last. I was not used to see films in theaters. We used to telecast Bollywood
Films for our TV Channel, first half of the film on Wednesday and second half on
Friday. These films would all be old ones – at least 10 to 15 years old. Since
Raj Bhabbar was a present time actor then, I had not known about him. So before
replying back, I asked someone standing nearby as to which film was telecast
last. Before he could answer my query, the person’s (Raj Bhabbar’s Brother-in-law)
ego got deflated. I had spoiled his great moment.
Bye for today.
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