MEMORY FLASH - 1977: 47 YEARS AGO DURING BITS PRACTICE SCHOOL-I @ ASSAM OIL COMPANY, DIGBOI & VISIONARY JOURNEY @ GREAT NICOBAR - 2010: FUTURES RESE

MEMORY FLASH - 1977: 47 YEARS AGO DURING BITS PRACTICE SCHOOL - I?@ ASSAM OIL COMPANY, DIGBOI

Pilani to Digboi took us 3-4 days by Rikshaw, Bus, Trains (mostly), Jeep and a bit of walking too! Oil was flowing, the Refinery was smoking, Elephants were trumpeting in the neighbourhoods, Beauty and Greenery surrounded us from all sides with Tea Gardens a little further away.

On 7th July 1977, exactly 47 years back, during Practice School - I at Assam Oil Company, Digboi, a group of around 10 of us from the BITS Class of 74-75 were getting ready for the day's schedule. Suddenly, we received shocking news of the sad demise of the father of our batchmate C.M.Ramesh (MMS). I recall, how a visibly shaken Ramesh under the guidance of Prof. R.K.Sood (Chem) along with batchmates Vijay Sapra, Dilip Kumar Borah, S. Krishnamurthy among others, calmly packed up and was perhaps on his way to the nearest Airport at Guwahati in Assam or Bagdogra in West Bengal.?Journeys those days were long and arduous. Hardly in our 20s, we all felt the huge loss, pain and prayed for the best.

At the same PS-1, during our sendoff party with the GM and Executives of Assam Oil, we were jolted by the kidnapping of one of their officers by ULFA which had just started raising its ugly head.??

Today, Assam along with the other North-East Sister States have come a long way and are blossoming as the Paradise of India as they, forever, ought to have been.??

VISIONARY JOURNEY @ GREAT NICOBAR - 2010: FUTURES RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY (FR&DA):?

At 50+ after accomplishing all worldly duties, in splendid isolation, embarked on establishing the pioneering Futures Research & Development Academy (FR&DA) at the Southernmost Frontier of India. Made Great Nicobar my Home. My Vision for Great Nicobar Island amazed the Mini-India Residents and amused the Government, A&N Administrators and Political Leadership. All these 14 years, like Lord Ram's Vanavaas, I was focusing on 'The Future of Great Nicobar' in all forums I came across. I have never had a single visitor all these years as it takes anywhere between 5 to 15 days to visit Great Nicobar subject to weather conditions. But Lo, Miracles do happen. The Government of India is embarking on the Rs. 75,000 Crore Great Nicobar Project, which would take our Population from the resident 6,500 + floating 3,500 = 10,000 to 6,50,000 in 3 phases over 30 years with a potential to surpass the trade of Singapore + Hong Kong + Dubai put together. My Vision for Great Nicobar is coming TRUE more than 100 times - The Best Time of My Life, I am Celebrating in Spiritual Bliss !

If any of the following Projects excite you, please join the Celebrations for the Rest of Your Life:?

1.) World's 1st Visvarupam Temple in Great Nicobar, 2.) Gr.Nic. (Great Nicobar in short) Resilience Center, 3.) Gr.Nic. Company, 4.) Gr.Nic. Happy Home (Old-Age), 5.) Gr.Nic. Emploment Bureau, 6.) Gr.Nic. Self Help Group (SHG) Showroom, 7.) Gr.Nic.Music Band, 8.) Gr.Nic. Sports Club, 9.) Gr.Nic. Day Celebrations (23rd April), 10.) FR&DA Think-Tank Charitable Trust and 11.) FR&DA International University.

FR&DA Think-Tank Charitable Trust will focus on i) Education, ii) Sustainable Development, iii) Eco-Tourism, iv) Trekking, v) Beach Festivals, vi) Tribal Welfare & vii) R&D Projects. Integrated Medical Systems is also under consideration.

FR&DA - Celebrate the Future @ Southernmost Frontier of India, Campbell Bay, Great Nicobar Island, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, INDIA.