S S BARARA...THE STALWART

S S  BARARA...THE STALWART

There is a place called Suratgarah in Rajasthan  which is almost in the desert and quite  close to Pakistan border. When I started my career I  never imagined that I will have to ever  go to such a remote place for some official work.

Our tractor testing site was just 13  km away from no man land between India and Pakistan  and all over the places there was hectares and heaters of irregularly cultivated  Government land  for the  want of labor and water . The land was  fertile but water was the constraint. It was this place where our SWARAN SINGH BARARA  was in action  .He was heading the tractor testing team at that remote place.
BARARA was always his own boss though KR used to think that SSB reports to him (KR means K Rajeshwar)Our GM ...RJ  was scared of SSB and will talk to KR or others about tractor testing. 
To describe Mr Barara the only word I can imagine is the STALWART. He was 6 feet tall and was quite hefty .One could therefore notice his width  at the first glance rather than his height and many believed he was not 6 feet tall.

Swaran Singh Barara ,SSB was a man of action in whichever department he worked be it marketing,Servicing or Testing .While in Marketing department he used to confidently demonstrate by arranging "Dangal" at small places and prove that Eicher  24 HP tractor was powerful than any other 35 HP tractor ! Unlike other marketing persons ,who used to curse their own product as it was Single cylinder, Barara used to love it  and highlight its advantages by demonstrating in the field how Eicher  tractor can pull any truck stuck in the mud or pit ,  where other tractors fail to do so.

SSB used to visit Faridabad every alternate week and he was authorised to summon  anyone from our development centre as and when he observes any problem in any of the 5 tractors which were rigorously tested at  Suratgarah. The idea was the corrective and preventive actions will be initiated quickly.

In one of his visits Mr Barara informed me , that everything in electrical is ok except on one tractor there is some issue in starter motor. He  insisted that I must see the problem.It was month of May and as usual that year also summer was worse than the previous five years! There was  also some engine related issue and Barara wanted to drag  Mr Salil kumar also to the desert in 50 degree C .Salil  was our engine expert . Both myself and Salil had no option and so  we started our journey to the testing site next day morning by taxi with ever enthusiastic stalwart.
On our way somewhere near Rohatak we had a Brunch on Dhaba . As soon as SSB was spotted by Dhaba owner he almost ran and welcomed us. Salil  was not well and decided to have only Lassi. Barara felt slightly guilty when he found Salil was having some fever but he promised him that by evening he will be  fine.


 After brunch our taxi driver was quite slow in driving which was not liked by SSB .He simply  asked the driver to stop the taxi and occupied the Driver's seat himself. His control on the steering was very good and he negotiated several hurdles effortlessly.The speed of the car  was never less than 80 or 90 kmph on that never ending straight road.(Considering SSB was driving Ambassodor and the road condition prevailing then , 80 was definitely high speed )We therefore reached the site at 3 pm when the Sun was still in its full rage.

After traveling  450  kms distance, anyone except SSB,  would have loved to take some rest. There were only two trees visible to us and the nearest one was about 100 meters away . As the SUN was still  blazing , the only place  where we could have seen the problem  was in the shadow of that tree. The Starter motor problem was solved by some mechanic by replacing and cleaning one washer but SSB simulated the faulty condition by pouring sand on the terminals and slightly loosening the nut. I noted the observations.

 Salil  and SSB listened carefully the sound of engine on one tractor and concluded something .Under similar condition they could notice the different sound on another tractor .To me the sound on both the tractors was similar and equally unbearable !

SSB had made arrangement of our stay in the Government guest house and we were told that  Pandit Nehru had stayed in that room way back in 1960.I started feeling proud  and elevated.

In the evening SSB ordered beer for me and prepared some  special drink for Salil .All the time SSB was enriching our knowledge on how to tackle small problems related to health by telling us different combinations of drinks. His suggested  medicines were revolving around whisky,Rum,Brandy, vodka and other alcoholic liquids with the variation of mixing ice or plain water or warm water ! SSB never visited any doctor for himself except when he allowed to go the tractor over his waist and saved one child in one of the exhibitions . He not only saved the child but also saved company's reputation.

After a day I returned to Faridabad with the rich experience of field conditions and above all understood what is positive attitude and what is hard work!

SSB left EICHER before me and I still wonder why such person was allowed to retire! He worked for 8 more years in Barnala in the company of another great Sardar. I happened to be in Barnala  in 2007  where I suddenly met SSB.There was hardly any change in him except some grey hair in his beard and he stopped after 4 pegs while consuming the full chicken in the evening !


 I came to know about sad demise of SSB today and all the memories erupted for more than an hour.  In fact he left this world almost 2 years back but I Did not know about the news.I am sure by now his soul must have rested in peace. I am wondering whom to talk  and I found tears in my eyes .....Really SwaranSingh Barara was a wonderful soul ! 

--------R J Phansalkar.....Nov 7, 2020

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