My roles had never been a strait jacket ones. In each of those roles varied challenges were thrown up and most of the time bitter struggle ensued so that the ‘impossible’ was transformed into success. When I look back, it gives me a sense of fulfilment. From my childhood I was repeatedly reminded that if my practical learnings and experiences are shared with people who need them, the competence grows and the basket of knowledge remains ever filled.

When I joined the port sector decades back, I never imagined that I would also hold a responsible chair in a shipping agency (and also in a chartering house). Believe me, it is an eye-opener and within a moment you are exposed to the reality of the customer relations the port; this is a most common situation but there are many ports in the world that treats the customer in an extremely cooperative manner.

Heading a railway and establishing linkage with the ports as an ICD, was another experiment – as it involved overseeing operational, manpower (and labor administration), safety, commercial & marketing aspects.

Again exercises involving hard core business development from the platform of world’s second largest container vessel operator and simultaneously from a start-up project handling company – added some more essential dimensions of my learning. Managing ship-breaking in the world’s largest ship-demolition beach was, incidentally, a part of my duty for some time.

Meanwhile for the last seven years I was working as a Faculty in well-known Business Schools and Universities, both teaching core subjects in MBA and preparing students for the specialised careers in Shipping and in Ports in professional courses. A few port and shipping related books have been published and the readers (that includes the concerned Government authorities like Ministry of Shipping) have found them quite useful.

This is not a blogging spot, meant only to communicate something relating to the commercial and operational nitty-gritties of international trade or some specific aspects of port working, port planning, ship-planning and voyage related matters. I had experienced many critical situations from a sinking ship in the channel of a congested port, multiple accidental deaths and extreme violent behaviour of the port workers leading to shooting. Unless such experience is shared with a management perspective, it remains in a memory chest that is hardly opened for regular use.

Thus I am open to support any of the ports and their managers especially from the countries, which are looking forward, dreaming big and they have the potential but could be they need more trained people from their own country.

Normally my experience says that in such blogging – the domain centred topics gets priority, but I nurture a different world-view that forces me to accept and state that the society and people, their cultures, their ambitions – everything shapes the life of a state, their infrastructures and the sustainability of these infrastructures. Thus these aspects of life and management of enterprise may sneak in, often. In my blog I would be try to integrate these areas along with the future skilling needs in transportation.

Lastly I would open up and say that I love arts and history. So forgive me when these pops up.in between, on some instance.

With humility, I invite youth from everywhere to come forward, ask questions, debate and may seek guidance so that my experience is used well; making me more grateful to the world at large.

As I post my first blog, the whole world is overcast by a dark cloud of uncertainty, despair and a feeling of being sucked under an abyss. But it’s a fact that the world has passed through very similar conditions in the past and I have a strong belief that this pandemic will soon be over and the entire human civilization will again move forward with happiness and prosperity.

Cheers!