“I can’t show this product to the Prime Minister” - Krishna Prasad (One day before the exhibition in Delhi.)
Oh, where do I begin? It was a rollercoaster of emotions, a challenging experience that I would never forget. The 10th of March was the day that changed everything. I had to make a dream a reality and deliver a non-standard container with a flat clean finish to Delhi in just 14 days. And the fact that it was for Mr. Narendra Modi made it all the more daunting.
With my team, we took up the challenge with stride and went to work. We reached out to a consultant in Kolkata, and he accepted the challenge. We selected a vendor, made rough hand-drawn components and bending drawings, and put the man to work. We had to execute and coordinate with the customer on the go, and I was making decisions and convincing the customer that the decision taken is the way to go.
Meanwhile, I had to design and produce a chassis for a 24ft truck and a 10Kva Diesel Generator set in Goa. It was a challenging task, but being a Generator company, the latter was not a hurdle. The truck, though, was a whole new animal. We identified a truck body builder and outsourced the activity, coordinating and making sure that all dimensions were as per the drawing.
Days went by, and we were making good progress, but it was still not enough. We were staring at a steep timeline, with the fear of disappointing the most important individual in the country. And with just 2 days left to the deadline set for dispatch, I threw a tantrum in a remote industrial estate in an unknown state with people who barely speak the languages I knew.
“If we don't work 24hrs on Holi (A grand festival of colors in India) and Durga Pooja, I am going back and not picking up this order”
Finally, we could see a product, but it was not over yet. We still didn't have a complete product. The container and I left Kolkata together on 18th March, and with all our might and the support garnered in the area, we assembled the product with one night left to transport it to Raj Bhavan.
That evening, Mr. N Sriram And Mr. Krishna Prasad came for a final inspection. Sriram was impressed, but KP was not. He still wanted the container to be finished better internally and was not happy. My heart dropped, and for an hour I didn't know what to do.
I quickly called up everyone I knew to understand how a last-minute finishing can be done, but everyone gave me ideas that would have taken me 5 days to procure the material to start with, and all I had was a night.
In one corner of the industrial estate was a car mechanic who was an expert at car bodywork. He gave me an option that looked feasible, and we worked through the night to get it done.
At around 4 am, we were done, and ready to showcase the product at The World TB Day function. It was a moment of pride, a moment of triumph. All the hard work, the anxiety, and the frustration were worth it.
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