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Building Bridges Beyond the Table: Lessons on Customer Relationship Management

Customer relationship is not just about contracts, negotiations, and project deadlines. It is about building trust, respect, and sometimes even friendships that last a lifetime. During my long career in Indian Oil Corporation, BHEL, and later in the private sector with Techno Electric Engineering, I experienced firsthand how cultivating deep personal bonds with customers and stakeholders can help overcome the most complex challenges.

In my view, customer relationships are not built in boardrooms or through formal agreements alone. They are forged on the ground, in moments of crisis, in the willingness to go beyond one’s defined role, and in the shared determination to complete a project despite all odds. When both sides align themselves to the common goal of project completion, they transcend the narrow boundaries of “client” and “contractor” and begin to act as true partners.

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Early Lessons – Panipat (Haryana Electricity Board)

My journey with customer relationship at project sites began at the Panipat Thermal Power Station, where Mr. G. P. Sood, the Chief, became like a mentor to me. He openly admitted that his expertise lay in hydropower, not in thermal plants. This honesty created an instant bond of trust. I acted as his technical advisor and took decisions—even flouting certain BHEL restrictions—to ensure the plant ran during Haryana’s acute power shortage. That experience taught me that customer trust grows when you prioritize their problems over rigid rules.

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Brotherhood at Singrauli (NTPC)

At Singrauli Superthermal Power Station, I worked with Mr. S. K. Dasgupta, an old colleague from Barauni Refinery. Our shared background as shift-charge engineers of captive power plants created a brotherly bond. Together, NTPC and BHEL worked as a single pool of experts, commissioning five 200 MW units in just two years—a record then. The lesson was clear: when both sides stop drawing boundaries, teamwork achieves extraordinary results.

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Empowerment at Wanakbori (GEB)

At Wanakbori Thermal Power Station, I worked under the late Mr. K k Dharangdharia, who valued my frankness in admitting weaknesses. He gave me freedom to plan erection and commissioning. GEB contractors even sought my advice directly. This empowerment led us to synchronize to full load within just 24 hours, a record that brought rewards from GEB. The takeaway: empowerment and mutual respect are the cornerstones of customer confidence.

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Friendship at Vizag Steel Plant

At Vizag Steel Plant, Mr. P. K. Chakraborty, Chief Engineer, became a family friend. We worked shoulder to shoulder during crises, and his support was always strengthened by Mr. B. N. Rath, CMD, who stood by us. Beyond the workplace, badminton became a bridge—Mr. Rath, a passionate player, would often come to my flat to pick me up, and we would proceed together to the CISF court. His closeness with me helped smoothen many inter-departmental issues. This reminded me that personal friendship often paves the way for professional harmony.

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Memories from Indian Oil Days

This bond through sport reminded me of my Indian Oil days, when Mr. G. S. Harnal, DGM at Gauhati, would pick me up for badminton while I was still a trainee. Later in Barauni, our sporting bond gave me visibility and acceptance in the refinery community. A small reminder that shared passions outside the workplace create lasting professional goodwill.

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Farakka Superthermal (NTPC) – Overcoming Trade Union Challenges

My last site posting was at Farakka Superthermal Power Station (1991–1994), where Mr. G. S. Sohal, GM NTPC, was already a close friend from our Singrauli days. Bengal was turbulent then—frequent bandhs and aggressive trade unionism tested progress. But our coordination and trust enabled us to commission 2×500 MW successfully. The experience reinforced that personal bonds act as shock absorbers in volatile environments.

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ER HQ and Kathalgudi (NEEPCO)

Later, at BHEL Eastern Region HQ, my association with Mr. P K Kataki, Chairman of NEEPCO, proved invaluable. He was an IIT Kharagpur alumnus, like me, which gave us an instant connection. With his assurance, we tackled the Kathalgudi combined cycle project despite the looming ULFA menace. His back-channel talks even convinced insurgents that the project would ease Assam’s power woes. This was an extraordinary example of how leaders use trust and credibility to create security for execution teams.

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Beyond Retirement – Suzlon Experience

After retirement, I applied the same principle while working with Techno Electric Engineering. With Mr. P. P. Gupta the owner and Chairman of TEECL, I forged bonds with late Mr. Tulsi Tanti of Suzlon and his chief marketing strategist Mr. I. C. Mangal initially Mr Gupta forged personal equation with Mr.Tanti. Their personal trust in me helped us overcome hurdles during the execution of our 211 MW wind power project. Once again, it proved that relationship capital is often more valuable than financial capital.

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Rokhia Plant – Tripura

Another example was the Rokhia Plant in Tripura, where circumstances were especially difficult due to logistical challenges and local sensitivities. The cooperation between the state authorities, project leadership, and our team was not just contractual—it was built on trust and shared commitment. The Chief Engineer on the customer side worked with me almost like a partner, not as a counterpart across the table. Our alignment to the common goal of completing the project for Tripura’s power needs helped us overcome supply delays, terrain issues, and resource constraints. The experience showed once more that relationships built on mutual trust make even remote and complex projects achievable.

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The Core Principle

Across all these experiences, one dictum consistently stood out:

In each case, the ultimate goal of both sides was the same — successful completion of the project. Once this shared goal was recognized, both sides naturally aligned themselves to it, transcending the narrow confines of contractual terms.

Two persons may sit on opposite sides of the table, but a common bridge can always be built. That bridge—be it technical trust, personal integrity, or even a shared love for badminton—transforms a transactional relationship into a partnership. When that happens, obstacles turn into opportunities, and projects turn into milestones.

Tandoori Time Travel From Panipat to Australia

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“Tandoori Time Travel: From Panipat to Australia, One Chicken Leg at a Time”

“Baba, it’s your last Saturday in Australia. What do you want for dinner?”

That question came from my son Anish—IT-enabled solar power expert by profession, but at heart, a five-star chef disguised in an apron with attitude.

I didn’t blink. “Tandoori Chicken. The one you make on that contraption that looks like a barbecue but behaves like a Vedic yajna setup.”

And so it began: marination, skewering, that sizzle, the aroma wafting like an old friend tiptoeing back into memory.

I poured myself a glass of rum with hot water, settled into the chair under the Australian sky—blue, smug, and mosquito-free—and took a bite.

And that’s when it hit me.

Boom! 1978. Panipat. BHEL.

I’m in my 30s again. Back from Indian Oil Corporation, full of voltage and vision, posted to commission the 2×110 MW thermal power station of Haryana Electricity Board.

We lived in Panipat New Township—a dusty, dreamy setup where the tea was strong, the gossips stronger, and the fans turned even when the power didn’t.

But Saturdays, ah… those were sacred.

Every Saturday evening was booze night. Not a party. Not a get-together. It was an institution, complete with standard operating procedure, democratically run by our friend Late Gurdeep Singh—the only bachelor among us.

Gurdeep was our self-declared bartender, chef, treasurer, DJ (without any music), and emotional counsellor—depending on how far along the Old Tavern you were.

Our group had Late Kandaswamy—a gentle, wise Tamilian whose whisky intake was directly proportional to his storytelling in broken Hindi;

Lenin—yes, that was his real name, and no, he was not remotely Marxist in drinking habits;

And then, of course, me—the only member who brought along a 4-year-old assistant named Anish, tucked under one arm like a lunchbox.

The protocol was simple:

₹50 per head.

₹10 if you’re under 4 feet and eating only the chicken.

No questions asked.

Gurdeep does everything.

We called it: “Give 50 bucks to Gurdeep and forget about it.”

And honestly, we did. Gurdeep never disappointed.

The menu? Unchanging:

Rosy Pelican beer in the summers (₹5 a bottle—cheaper than peanuts today).

Old Tavern or any other Solan-based sorcery in winter.

Tandoori chicken, ₹5 per whole, marinated in turmeric, red chili, lemon, and mild anxiety about salmonella.

The setting: folding chairs, a cracked transistor blaring Lata Mangeshkar, and one mosquito coil valiantly losing to the entire insect population of Haryana.

Anish, all of four, would gobble tandoori chicken with alarming professionalism. He would sit by my side  with a leg piece in one hand and throw in the occasional one-liner, which, frankly, had more bite than the chicken.

“Uncle Lenin,” he once said, “why are you laughing when your glass is empty?”

Or, “Baba, why is that chicken leg on Gurdeep Uncle’s head?”

Gurdeep didn’t flinch. He always said, “Beta, tension mat lo. This is called garnishing.”

We’d talk shop—

—how to commission the turbine without tripping the generator;

—how Shamnani, our short-tempered Site Incharge, could reach 400°C before the boiler did;

—how Manocha, the self-declared welding guru, once corrected a welder’s angle with a scale and then blamed the welder when it cracked;

—how the Ranga-Billa case had everyone scared, though we couldn’t tell if we were more afraid of them or of the canteen's mutton curry.

Sometimes, we just sat quietly, watching Gurdeep dance around the tandoor like a kathakali artist with a skewer.

One night, when the beer count crossed into double digits, Kandaswamy solemnly declared, “We must all buy shares in Gurdeep.”

We laughed for ten minutes.

Next morning, Gurdeep increased chicken prices to ₹6 and blamed it on inflation.

That was life.

No swiping, no scrolling, just chicken, banter, and bonding.

And now, back in Australia, Anish placed a steaming plate of tandoori chicken in front of me—red, smoky, glistening.

I took a bite. Tender, perfectly spiced, crisp at the edges.

And suddenly—he was four again, licking his fingers.

Gurdeep was yelling, “Bas karo yaar! Only two legs per person!”

Lenin was laughing at nothing, and I was 30, full of dreams and chicken grease.

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Maybe you do fly across the world.

Maybe life gives you solar panels and sky-high airfares.

But one tandoori bite, and you’re right back to ₹50 evenings, folding chairs, and friends who never left.

Cheers to rum, chicken, and memory circuits that never trip.

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Smoking

Is smoking a health hazard ?

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50 years back when smoking was not declared as health hazard I did not have a drag till my final year in IIT in 1965. Before passing out i smoked a Charminar which i did not purchase but scrounged from someone else.
Then i had my high and low of smoking when smoking was not hazardous, i touched 5 cigarettes a day in my hey days at BHEL sites.
We said good bye to Panipat Thermal in 1980 by smoking bidi in the control room, it was initiated by Late Gurdeep Singh, that was my first and last bidi.
In Bengali society smoking in front of elders or someone in power is supposed to be showing disrespect..But then the society went for an overhaul and younger people started taking to smoking in a death and authority defying act. Throwing cigarette smoke on someones face was considered to be act of bravery. I remember during my posting as Head of ER in BHEL during the meeting with trade union all the leaders from CITU will pull out cigarette to smoke before start of the meeting. Showing some kind of arrogance or don't care about management. That was their way till my coming. I had to put a ban in smoking cigarette in the office and the order was pasted throughout the office. Thus the nuisance of CITU leaders was checked, in this process i stopped smoking in the office.
But as "No smoking" zones are increasing and also due to health consciousness i find many of the regular smokers in my present office have stopped smoking. I find there is upward trend of girls picking up smoking in Bengal.
The other day some local people acting as moral police harassed a young woman of Presidency college for smoking cigarette openly in their pada.Her family is trying to justify the smoking by a girl. It appears the society is divided on this issue.
Now i smoke a cigarette or 2 in a week and that too in the privacy of my house. It has been eons since i smoked a fag on the streets of any city and don't plan to do so.