Lockout & New Learning

I started my career as a Medical Representative in 1972 at Guntur. The job required me to visit doctors to promote the use of our medicines. For this intra town movement, most of the Medical Representatives used two wheelers or hired cycle rickshaws on hourly basis. Obviously, a two wheeler was more suitable as it was a more convenient and time saving mode of transport. There were two brands of scooters (Vespa or Bajaj/ Lambretta) and 3 motor cycles (Rajadoot/ Jawa/ Royal Enfield Bullet) which were popular those days. Those days, one had to wait for a few months for getting a new two wheeler after booking. So, I purchased my first scooter, a second hand Lambretta which was sparingly used  by a doctor in 1974. I still remember the Vehicle Registration Number - APK 9522. Subsequently I purchased a Priya scooter after using Lambretta for about 3-4 years. About a year later I changed from Priya scooter to Rajdoot motor cycle.  Most Medical Representatives in Guntur used to go to an automobile Work Shop for  repair & maintenance owned by Mr.Appa Rao. He was a qualified automobile engineer. Guntur was a small town and most of the Representatives lived in the neighborhood of this workshop. He was very friendly with all his clients who used his services for two wheeler upkeep. Since the day of my purchasing a pre-owned Lambretta, I became a client of his workshop and a good friend of him. Apart from the Chief Mechanic, Mr.Appa Rao, the work shop "employed" about 7-8 trainee mechanics. Usually these trainee mechanics were either school dropouts or uneducated youth who walked into this kind of automobile workshop at a very young age. They started their learning process by being just helpers who do all odd jobs like dusting / cleaning the vehicles that come into the shop for repairs. They initially got familiar with the working tools and worked as helpers in keeping the right tools ready for carrying out the repair of any vehicle. They handed the right tool to the mechanic as per the need for carrying out repair work. They also learnt work by watching the work that went on. As trainee mechanics, they received a small amount as monthly stipend. They graduated to become experienced & competent two wheeler mechanics over period a few years (generally about 5-6 years) After completing the learning process, the trainees went out and set up their own workshops in the far flung areas of the town or in nearby towns/ villeges starting their life as independent individuals.  Trade unionism was at its peak during mid 1970s to mid 80s with leaders like George Fernandes, Dr.Datta Samanth, Khanolkar of Dyes & Chemical Workers Union spewing venom at Corporate Managements. Labour leaders of the day ignored the companys' statistics and business information and consistently refused to settle on compromise concessions. Diring 1980-81 period, labour unrest in our company's manufacturing facility in Bandhup in Mumbai resulted in the management declaring a Lockout there. That further lead to a decision to stop all product promotional activities by the field sales force. We (all medical representatives) were advised to stop all our work and remain in our respective headquarters. This even prevented me from going to Proddatur (my native place) to be of help to my elderly parents living there. It was a decision  which suddenly meant that I didn't have any work to do in my prime age (I was 30 years of age then) The company, however, paid us full pay during this period. While this meant that financially we were not affected in any way, not having any work to do was a very difficult situation to manage. It is in this extraordinary situation, I took a novel decision to acquire a new and totally unconnected talent during this Lockout period. I decided to seek help from my Automobile Engineer friend and learn two wheeler repair work. Mr.Appa Rao accepted to teach me to identify,  diagnose and troubleshoot two wheeler problems. He  allowed me to be on a fast track of learning unlike his other trainees as I was an educated person and had a quick grasp. I was offered opportunities in quick time to handle repairs under my supervision, sometimes even independently. In the 4-5 months that I spent in the workshop (roughly the duration of the lock-out period) I fully acquired the two wheeler repair skills. However, since the company resumed it's normal work after 4-5 months, I could not persue or put to good use my newly acquired talent any further. This foray into a new arena of skill acquisition gave me confidence that I had a capacity to do well in unconnected areas if I willed. This knowledge was a positive gain from this experience in my life.