#87-From my unlocked diaries: My Audit Days – Part 3 – A Stock take in Cidade De-Goa!

Continued from Part 2 - https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/85-from-my-unlocked-diaries-audit-days-part-2-when-hampi-r-balu-/

At 6.45 AM sharp on Thursday morning, Parashuram was at the lobby of Malligi Hotel in Hospet. By 7 AM, we were off in a good old - Amby (Ambassador) Car to … Cidade-De-Goa !

Road trips have a soothing way of unwinding and taking you back in time. Sitting in the front seat (since I was the tallest!) of the car that day, I was trying to remember about my previous visit to Goa…It was back in 1981, when I was in School. A trip with the family it was. The only memory I had of Goa from that trip was… Hmm.. What… ? Fenny & Beer… Are you joking…? It was a family trip, and I was still in School ! 

All we did then was - visit Donna Paula, Calangute beach and St. Francis Xavier Church. Wherever we went, the songs from the famous Hindi movie - Ek Duuje Ke Liye (made for each other) reverberated across Goa - in Autos, Buses and Taxis.  Here goes that popular song … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGKDBhdxn6c

The movie with Kamala Hassan and Rati Agnihotri in epic roles had just released in 1981.

This movie introduced Goa to many South Indians like me.

Ok, ok, now back to 1993. We were leaving Hospet behind us, on a scenic road to Goa.  

The three of us - Pramod, Sarita and myself along with Parashuram were on a secret, but official audit trip to Goa – for a Stock take… !

Those were days when cars neither had a Stereo or FM Radio, to play music. So, if you thought the journey was boring - you are mistaken. Parashuram was a constant source of entertainment. From his village stories, to how he met his wife - he weaved stories in his own inimitable style. I still can’t forget about one story he told us; the day he went to see his wife in her village, first time after his marriage. And, here it goes …

Driving in his vintage Standard Herald car on a village road, he suddenly felt an awkward sound coming from the back of his car. What followed after that was unimaginable. The car dragged and screeched to a halt. Before he realized what had happened, two of the rear tyres started ‘rolling on the road’, right in front of the car, as he still held its steering wheel … !

Now you know why I still remember Parashuram and his antics !

By late afternoon that day we arrived in Goa. Parashuram had booked a Hotel in Panjim. Don’t remember the name of that Hotel, but none of us were happy with it; it was too cramped. But we did not allow that to spoil our trip. For the next 2 days we pretty much covered all of Goa – all of the usual places. The best was the un-spoilt Calangute beach. I remember all of us dozing off near the beach shack, imagining how the rest of the AFF staff, back in various audits would all be working very hard on a week day !  

By the next day Parashuram had done the unthinkable. He had spoken to his travel agent back in Hospet and managed to get a booking in a Resort called - Bamboo Hotels & Motels, away from the huzzle buzzle of Panjim in a remote part of Goa (now called Verem, close to Mapusa beach). 

A glimpse of Bamboo Hotels & Motels …

After about 2 days in Goa, I realized two things. One - I was clearly an ‘outlier’ when it came to matters of the palate; Second – Fenny (a native Goan drink) is an ‘acquired’ taste. Both Sarita and Pramod hailed from Coastal Karnataka and loved fish & prawn, and Parashuram ate anything that crawled. During our lunch and dinner, while I ate my traditional Roti, Dhaal and Rice, the rest of them feasted on ‘Pomfrets’ (apparently a native Goan fish delicacy) - served in different avatars !

With everything so ‘fishy’ around me, I ended up asking – “Sarita, are these fishes still alive? Why do they stare at me like that??”

Sarita had this uncanny ability to be in the wrong place, at the right time. It was about 7 am that day. Pramod and myself had just come back from a dip in the Pool, when Sarita came rushing into our room. She was red all over. It was difficult to say - if she was terrified, angry or just saw something funny …?  

Unable to speak for few minutes, she said – ‘You know what guys?’

Not knowing how to react, both of us asked in unison – “What happened. All OK?”

Sarita replied, with a confused look – “Guys, I don’t know how to tell you… I just bumped into the next room, thinking that was … your room”

Ok, what happened? – I asked

“You know… the door was wide open, and I barged in without knocking” … and then Sarita burst out laughing …! 

Finally Sarita broke the suspense – “Ghosh, I think it was some honey-moon couple, I entered at a very inappropriate time…Oh my God, it was so embarrassing” 

Ok, friends – That’s it. Rest of what Sarita described cannot be chronicled here - Sorry ! Will keep that away from this ‘Audit Note’ !!

After 3 days in Goa, finally it was time to do some … ‘audit duty’. So, on the last day we checked out of Bamboo Motels and headed out to the Mormugoa port – to verify the SMIORE’s Iron Ore shipment.

But when we reached the port, we were in for a surprise. SMIORE’s Iron Ore consignment was already loaded. It was on a cargo ship that was about 10 Nautical miles away from the port, still waiting for some clearances. Just to give you a sense – 10 Nautical miles is about 17 Kms into the high-seas. 

We were disappointed about not being able to perform our audit duty, the very purpose of our Goa visit, after all ! 

But Parashuram read our disappointment and said – “Wait, let me check”

After speaking to a few port authorities, he came back and said – “Don’t worry Balu, we can still reach the cargo ship, I just arranged a speed boat”

Like James Bond on a mission, we were on the speed boat for the next 45 minutes on the high seas, heading towards the cargo ship. As the speed boat tossed up & down in the choppy waters, we sat there unmindful of the danger. None of us had life jackets. True adventure it was. 

Soon, the speed boat stopped by the side of the massive cargo ship, almost the height of a 2-story building. We looked at each other on how & where to get on to the cargo ship …? 

Suddenly someone from the ship shouted out and threw a rope-ladder down at us. Each of us took turns to make the steep climb on to the ships deck. Too scared to look down at the deep sea below, my heart was in my mouth as I held on to the rope.  Finally I made it - with my legs rubbing against the rusted wall of the cargo ship.   

The Iron Ore consignment was all there to see. It was heading to Korea is what we were told. The captain seemed very happy to show us around the ship. He took us to the navigation room, the engine room and also explained about the loading and unloading equipment.      

With our audit ‘physical verification’ duty now complete, we were now driving back from Goa to Hospet.  The return journey was very silent. We had talked, joked, laughed, eaten and tanned so much in the last few days in Goa - none of us had any energy left to talk !

We reached the Hotel in Hospet well past mid-night on Sunday.  

Soon, the room door-bell rang repeatedly. Hesitantly I got up. It was still dark. The curtains were all closed. The A/c was running full blast. Angry at being disturbed in the middle of the night, I opened the door. It was the Hotel Receptionist staring at me, rather worried.

Still angry, I asked him why he was ringing the door-bell so many times…?

He politely replied – “Sir, it is almost 7.30 PM. My Manager was worried since none of you have come out of the room since morning, and the A/c is still running. He asked me to check. I have been ringing the bell since afternoon Sir”

Don’t know if I have to call it break-fast or dinner?  Eating our first meal of the day that night, the three of us had a hearty laugh. We had all slept like a log, for more than 16 hours non-stop! Well, you can imagine how busy we were, doing our audit duties in Goa !!

When we walked into SMOIRE Plant in Hospet the next day, the first thing I asked Parashuram – “Did Mr. Shah (HLS) call yesterday?”

Parashuram replied – “Yes, he did. I told him you are all out in the yard, doing physical verification”. Obviously, he was joking. Parashuram would never let us down !

Friends, before I conclude this 3-part Article, I must tell you about the wonderful AFF ‘gang’ and HLS - my first Boss. HLS retired during 2019. On Feb 3, 2019, a bunch of ex-AFF folks hosted a get-together at The Bangalore Club for HLS. That was the first time I told HLS our Hospet and Goa audit story; about a stock take in Cedade De Goa that never entered the audit files of AFF ! 

We all had a hearty laugh…!

Balu, with contributions from Sarita (Bengaluru) and Pramod (Canada)

May 4, 2021

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