Discord and Rapport

By V S Mani

This story starts with the hero’s father from Britain fighting in the trenches during the Second World War in Burma. He is brought back to Calcutta for treatment after being wounded, where he meets and later marries a Bengali journalist, to whom Simon is born.
Growing up and running a successful investment company in Calcutta, Simon’s fortunes and future changes when he meets a business Moghul Alan from the UK and starts working for him from Alan’s palatial home in central London. Here he is introduced to Liz, Alan’s wife, Sandra and Keith.
Simon becomes privy to many problems that Alan’s family had to undergo in their private lives and businesses including mafia connections and fraud investigations. He manoeuvres through all of them cleverly as his mother’s upbringing and his experience from life in Calcutta helps him face and solve their various family crises.
The secret of living and restoring the family wealth of his adopted mother’s family are other interesting facets to ponder about. His motivational speeches using simple stories are unique for management presentations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Jul 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781728355016

V S Mani

The author had varied experience from Engineering industry to Import/Export, Insurance, teaching, managing his companies and years of experience in senior management in several companies in UK, India and USA; and, finally, as Practice Manager in GP surgeries. After retirement, he worked for his wife’s company as Company Secretary, Accountant and as an all ‘odd jobs’ person. Writing the first book, about Admin Management in GP practices, it took about 3 years before publication in 2014, and Whirlpool Life published in Sept 2019.

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© 2020 V S Mani. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 07/27/2020

ISBN: 978-1-7283-5502-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-5503-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-5501-6 (e)

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and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Discord And Rapport

Chapter 1 Reminiscences

Chapter 2 Dilemma

Chapter 3 Pleasing Reality

Chapter 4 Planning the start of Trading

Chapter 5 Slowly, Slowly Catchy monkey

Chapter 6 Less haste, more speed.

Chapter 7 Love is in the air

Chapter 8 Time and Tide wait for no man

Chapter 9 Fortune favors the brave.

Chapter 10 Engagement Bonanza.

Chapter 11 Taxing Matters.

Chapter 12 An Accidental Blessing.

Chapter 13 The Prosecution follies and Defense strategy.

Chapter 14 Patients and Patience.

Chapter 15 Offense is the best form of Defense.

Epilogue

Discord And Rapport

PROLOGUE

Simon was taking an early morning walk daily for 30 to 40 minutes before 6 am. Near their dilapidated house, there was the famous Dhakuria Lake, a small lake, and walking one round would take about 70 min. Halfway across, there was a cantilever bridge linking one end of the lake’s banks with a small island. Children, after school times, enjoyed running on the cantilever bridge, as it swayed like a pendulum, which gave them a lot of thrill. Usually, schools break for the day by 3.30 pm, as they start at 7.30 am. It is a long day from the children’s point of view but most inconvenient from the working mother’s points of view. Usually, with a joint family system, the grans also staying is most common, and children are taken care of when they are underage to leave them on their own in the house after school.

During these walks, Simon found that he could think clearly without any interruptions to his line of thoughts. It was nearly two weeks since he accepted from Mr. Alan Johnson, a multimillionaire’s offer of a job, working from Alan’s humble abode, Castle type residence with all its frills. He had read about the style of the life Lords used to live, in yesteryears, in the Western world, oblivious of the sufferings of the poor, resulting in the great French revolution, as vividly described in the timeless story, The Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. But the present day, Lord Johnson, earned his title due to his wife’s affluent father, Mr. Richard Boon, a Lord himself. Simon read about Mr. Johnson’s brief in his Company brochure.

Simon had set up a flourishing Investment Company in Calcutta (not known as ‘Kolkata then). Stan was brilliant in Mathematics and consistently won meritorious awards and scholarships from The Presidency College, where he studied. Stan had a tremendous flair for investment and business. He was extremely good looking, and God had blessed him with a face that would immediately strike a chord with people that ‘this is one man they could trust, without any reservations! On seeing him, no one would guess he was born of mixed-race parents. He had more Caucasian features. On one of the visits to Calcutta, Mr. Johnson met the Chief for Far Eastern Division, Mr. Roger Smith, who requested him to interview his son Simon.

Mr. Smith was British, working for the army before Indian Independence in 1947. He married Suchitra, a Bengali, and journalist, working for the English newspaper The Statesman. She was a stunning beauty, and Roger was chasing her to get married, which they did in 1950. By then, Roger was offered a salesman role in Mr. Johnson’s company and had been there ever since. Simon was born a year after marriage in 1951. Susan and Robert, Roger’s parents, never approved the mixed marriage and never visited India to see the stunning daughter-in-law or their grandson, Simon. Later on, when an opportunity arose to go to England, Roger’s parents told him, in no uncertain terms, not to come to their house. They both had a prejudicial notion about Anglo-Indians.

Consequently, Suchitra did not want to visit England. Simon never received any birthday card or presents from the grans for any of the Christmases. Much as he longed to see them, he knew their feelings of hatred towards his mum and himself. He knew the opportunity would arise in the future and was sure they would have mellowed by then.

Mr. Johnson never attended any functions in Calcutta. All his visits were for business, and these did not last more than two weeks at any one time. He visited Calcutta, about four times a year. He studied in Cambridge and was brilliant academically. He met Elizabeth at the university, and she was studying medicine. They fell in love at first sight and got married within two years of qualifying. She trained as a pediatrician and worked in St John’s Wood, near their palatial house.

Her parents were extremely wealthy, mainly due to her dad Mr. Richard Boon. He was already a Lord for some years and had a lot of clout with the PM and had very influential friends. Mrs. Joyce Boon was also from a wealthy family, and her dad made money from Gold mines in South Africa before her dad retired and came to the UK.

Alan had come from a mediocre family, and both his parents, Mrs. Rebecca and Mr. David Johnson, were Headteachers of girls and a Boys school, respectively, in St. John’s Wood area. Alan specialized in Economics and Finance. After marriage, he set up an Investment company using Liz’s parents’ influential connections, and his business income spiraled in 2-3 years. He opened international operations with offices in Calcutta, Paris, Hong Kong, and New York. Because of the Colonial Era, Calcutta‘s operations took off due to Far Eastern contacts compared to other centers. Its annual income equaled that of the UK parent company.

Mr. Alan Johnson and Liz, who visited Calcutta only twice in the last 20 years, never met Roger or Suchitra and knew nothing of Roger’s background or their family ties in the UK. Due to work pressures, Liz rarely traveled abroad during her vacations. Simon had very troublesome early years due to mixed marriage. Anglo-Indians were in the words of Indians "children and wives were discarded by the East and disowned by the West’. Even though it applied to wives without marital bonds and bastard children, when mockery takes over, the statement referred to all. Simon was sent to a very prestigious private school, shielding him from other children from the general public schools. Even though he had life envy of thousands of Indian children, they and even children of English parents made cruel remarks; these being the result of their parents and friends making comments privately and also in front of the children. They were not aware of the repercussions of their harsh remarks, and some would not even care one way or another. Simon used to tell such comments only to his mum but never to dad on his mum’s advice, and he owed much of his understanding of racial behavior and prejudices to his mum. People make many derogatory remarks to couples and families of mixed marriages within Indian societies. Inter-caste marriages were frowned upon and usually met with the death of the girls and couples, by the so-called honor seeking families. Simon came to know of these much later in his life. His mum had told him from early childhood that each human being had to respect without analyzing their caste or creed.

Simon always felt and told his mum that the responses they had from the British and international community when he was with his dad, were different when his dad was not present. His religious teachings at home were from his mum’s focusing on tolerance and compassionate behavior. The timeless stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata, the wise teachings of Buddha, Mahavira and Guru Nanak from Indian Religions, about Taoism and most crucially Christianity, its lessons and morals from the various parables, all reinforce these principles. He attended religious classes in school, which focused on the Christian religion only. She also took him to temples to see and understand the religious worship and various festivals. However, Simon was allowed to choose whichever religion satisfied him. The cult worship of Saibaba was not in vogue in those years.

All these teachings cast a considerable doubt and confusion in the young boy’s mind. his mum devoted a lot of time to him, and he put all his faith in her to mold his religious upbringing.

Chapter 1

REMINISCENCES

Roger Smith – Simon’s dad

Roger was a handsome man with an aquiline nose and had sharp features and sturdy and attractive eyes. He never misbehaved with any girls. Roger was an ‘A’ level student, but not known for his academic achievements. He was the only son of David and Rebecca Smith, who were both schoolteachers with mediocre talents, results, and lifestyles. But they both had high ideals in life, and in politics, they would regard themselves as socialists than communists. In Colonial Britain, Prime Minister Churchill was against giving India its independence despite the pressure he had in the parliament from the Labour leader, Clement Atlee.

David and Rebecca were pacifists and disapproved of Roger joining the Army by not going to the university. Roger, at 17 years, volunteered to join the Army and follow his best mate, Sidney. His parents told him coldly that he was no longer a son of theirs, and he should forget about them being his parents.

Roger and Sydney trained in the Infantry Division. After six months of hard training, they were posted in Burma, when WW2 was raging. All volunteers assigned to India learned Hindi to speak to the natives. Their vocabulary was restricted to military commands and responses, so that wartime messages were not misunderstood and cause a crisis and unnecessary casualties.

At 19 years, they acted as deputy lieutenants, each in-charge of 200 Indian soldiers, made up of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs. The life in war trenches was quite harsh for the soldiers and the deputy lieutenants, had to witness the death of dozens of soldiers by bullets or bayonets or explosives. The deputy lieutenants were not expected to fight from the trenches, more by directing the fighting and its strategy. Both Sidney and Roger fought with the soldiers in the trenches and regarded as good leaders. In one of the assignments during the front line, Sidney lost his life, and Roger got a severe injury to his leg. He was then sent by train to Calcutta Medical College Hospital.

He was in the hospital for two months and recovered completely, but by then, Germany made a full surrender to the Allied Forces, and WW2 ended after nearly four years. Roger had the option to return to the UK with a small pension or take up a job in India with the Eastern Railway. After the loss of his close mate Roger, he had no intention of returning to the UK. He accepted an administrative job in the Eastern Railway. During his short military life, his parents never corresponded with him, nor did they respond when they knew he was injured and treated at the hospital.

It is usual for the British as a ruling country to appoint its civilians in government or companies at the higher levels with Indians in subordinate positions. Roger was above middle management, and English civilians only reported to other English officers, and never to an Indian officer. He learned the ropes about the railways in six months to impress the junior staff, who felt he listened and was always approachable, sorting out issues quickly unlike most Indian bosses who let it drag on for weeks and earn a bad reputation. At 24 years, he had attained a high level within the colonial rulers.

There was a brewing of unrest with the Eastern Railway employees about an Indian lady staff, a typist, who was being molested by her Indian supervisor. The local English newspaper, The Statesman, affiliated to UK’s The Daily Telegraph, sent a journalist to interview an Eastern Railway officer. Roger was advised by his superior officer to quickly handle and wrap up the inquiry, avoiding any embarrassment to the management. Roger didn’t expect fate would play a significant part due to that interview.

The journalist introduced herself as Miss Suchitra Chatterjee from The Statesman. Her stunning beauty mesmerized Roger, and his handsome personality had a similarly profound effect on her. Roger held out his hand for a handshake. Folding her hands, she performed a simple namaste, and he duly followed that gesture. Roger smiled, offered her a seat on a small sofa in his office. She sat on a chair on the other side of his desk. Roger sat in his usual place.

Roger: Miss Chatterjee, are you very suspicious of humanity or me?

Suchitra: Both, especially following the reports of how your senior staffs are misbehaving with the women staff here. Will you please tell me about the truth and how you are going to handle this? Also, what preventive steps have you taken to stop this from ever occurring again?

Roger: Miss Chatterjee, you are very direct and assume the report is correct?

Suchitra: May I take it as you deny such an incident taking place?

Roger: I never agreed or disagreed. Please note that we regard the lady staff’s complaint very seriously, and her senior, who denied the allegations, was nevertheless planned for transfer to another section after a severe warning. The lady was pleased with our internal prompt actions and let the issue rest. I like to close this issue swiftly, and the paper does not carry this sort of investigative journalism to the detriment of Eastern Railway.

Suchitra: Likewise, our editor, Mr. Howard, told me to wrap up this issue on this visit. He did say that as you have a weakness to pretty faces and chose me to interview as I was Beauty Queen of The Statesman.

Roger smiled and said what message he could give to his boss about our meeting.

Suchitra: The paper would report as follows – After a brief discussion, Eastern Railway took steps to satisfy the aggrieved lady. The issue could border on a serious misunderstanding by both parties. None the less, Mr. Smith agreed to the journalist’s suggestion of relocating the supervisor and warning other male supervisors to note.

I hope you would allow me to report this way to satisfy the public and prevent an outcry.

Roger excused himself, saw his boss, and returned after a few minutes to say that the boss was delighted with the report’s general outlook, which further prompted Roger.

Roger: May I request you, Miss Chatterji, for dinner in Great Eastern Hotel on Friday at 7 PM?

Suchitra: You seem to be a fast worker, Mr. Smith, and I accept on condition that there would not be anything other than soft drinks, no shaking of hands, no smoking, and no parting kisses. My parents would like me to return to my home at 9.30 PM. I can take a taxi, as I do not have a car or a telephone for an entry-level journalist!

Roger: Please call me Roger from now on. Also, my driver will drop you home that night. If you do not mind, I like to come in the car to drop you?

Suchitra: You can call me Suchitra from now on, Roger. I will like you to come to my place and meet my parents. However, do note that if your staff misbehaves again, I cannot see any chance of us meeting in such informal circumstances.

Roger: Suchitra, I have other plans for you. For information, I did not have any girlfriend in the UK or here.

Suchitra: Roger, I do not have any boyfriend as well. Thanks, and I will see you on Friday at 7 PM.

Roger: Okay, Suchitra, I will pick you up from your office at 6:30 PM on Friday.

Saying so, they parted with a namaste!

When Roger’s promotion and deft handling of the press became widespread news in the small affluent British community, Mr. Alan Johnson’s investment company offered him a very lucrative job as a salesman. He felt he had to convey this good news to Suchitra. Unfortunately, most Indian families could not afford to keep a telephone at home due to the high costs. He resolved to improve her position by using all his contacts and influence.

Roger was a bundle of nerves for the next few days, as Suchitra’s stunning face haunted him all night and day. He wanted to call up The Statesman’s office to talk to her, but sanity prevented him from doing so. Roger remained focused on his new promotion, but his mind was restless. There was one person who was a mentor to Roger, and he sought his advice stating his predicament. The elderly gentleman advised him not to rush as their parents control Indian women, and that great tact, patience, and sensitivity were needed to achieve his aim of matrimony with the girl. He also told him that mixed marriage would alienate the relationship with his parents more.

Roger said that he would follow all aspects of the advice given, but his relationship with his parents was too brittle and beyond any salvation. He thanked his mentor profusely and slept well that night, all the while dreaming of Suchitra.

Suchitra Chatterjee – Simon’s mum

Suchitra was the only daughter of Professor Dinesh Chatterjee, who taught Physics in Ashutosh College, and Roma Chatterjee, Professor of Mathamatics in the same college. Theirs was a love marriage courting from the time they were studying at Presidency College. Their parents reluctantly agreed, even though there was nothing against the social norm. Both families were Hindu Brahmins, as Roma’s parents were Banerjee. It was not a mixed or lower caste marriage, but the boy and the girl should have allowed the parents to find a match for them—the parents of the bride and groom reconciled with the married couple within a month of marriage. When Suchitra was born, they were all ecstatic to have such a beautiful baby with curly hair and cute small dimples when the baby laughed.

She grew up to be a clever girl, academically good, receiving scholarships from the schools and colleges where she studied. Her interests were anything other than scientific. She wanted to do journalism much against her parent’s wishes but had total support from her college professors. She had been the Student Union leader and was able to get funds donated for annual student functions or any other events.

However, she refused to enter politics. She learned singing and Bharatnatyam dance and got many awards. She also refused to enter the film industry, despite several famous directors wanting to cast her. However, on any functions related to cinema, she would always be offered to sing a song and dance.

She passed Journalism with Distinction, and even as a student, she contributed articles to The Statesman, the famous local English newspaper in Calcutta. The day her results were announced, she got a Distinction, the Editor of The Statesman, Mr. Edward sent, by a particular personal courier, an appointment order as a junior journalist on probation for three months and double the salary afterwards. Because of her looks and mastery of the English language, she was considered for field visits to interview essential people in commerce, finance, education, films, medical, etc. She had a broad brief, and her starting salary was double the amounts paid to other new entrants. All this and more Suchitra achieved before the age of 21! As luck would have it, Mr. Howard sent her to interview Mr. Roger Smith of Eastern Railway because of the rumored misbehavior by a male supervisor to a lady assistant working in his department.

Suchitra was eagerly awaiting the dinner appointment on Friday evening. She reported to. Mr. Edward the crux of the meeting with Mr. Smith, and his confirmation that his boss agreed with the report prepared by the journalist. To her surprise, the editor said that he had a briefing from Mr. Roger Smith and his boss about the sensitive and concise way she discussed the issue and gave a workable solution appealing to both the parties – Railways and the public. They expressed surprise that she did not have a company car or home telephone for speedy travel and communication. The editor said her probation period was over, and she could choose a vehicle the following morning. Until it arrived, a company car with a driver would be at her disposal. Once the new vehicle is delivered, she can use the same driver. He also said the Personnel Department had already spoken to the Calcutta Telephone Exchange to provide a telephone connection and phones as needed to her requirements and all charges to the company. Suchitra was dumbfounded, but after recovering, she thanked the editor for her change of fortunes. With a smile, he said thanks are due to the handsome Mr. Roger Smith,

Suchitra told her parents about her meeting with Roger, the dinner engagement on Friday evening, her promotion due to his and his boss’s intervention, and getting a car with a driver and a fully paid home telephone facility. Her mum and dad were very thrilled at her good fortune. Her mum did advise caution as Roger may have other intentions for Suchitra and may propose marriage! Suchitra dismissed it as absurd and said she would follow strict Indian and Hindu principles. Her parents wished her good luck and went to the prayer room to pray for her well-being.

On Friday, the excitement in her office was about her imminent dinner appointment with an Englishman and how he had influenced her promotion and the benefits that came with it. Roger turned up at 6.30 PM. To save his coming upstairs and preventing unwanted attention, she went outside and got into the car. Roger was out and opened the car door for her to get in the back. Indian husbands or other males do not make such gestures! He greeted her with a namaste and did not offer his hand. She smiled, thanked him, and got in. He said he had something to mention about his work in the hotel and she said that she too had something beautiful to say and thanked him for the goodies!

Once inside the hotel, they sat at the lounge in a private corner. Roger was familiar with the posh hotel, but it was Suchitra’s first time