Before the advent of the Indira Gandhi canal, Nachna in Jaisalmer district (Rajasthan) was considered a very “hard” posting. Nachna, in the middle of the Great Indian Thar Desert was always considered tough as water was scarce and in the summer the temperature often crossed the 50 degree Celsius mark. Food items included only millets and ghee (liquefied butter). Transportation was few and its only connectivity was with the main desert town -- Jaisalmer. There were only ten telephones in the hamlet which most of the time remained inoperative.
Arvind Mathur was in a fix. None of the staff were willing to go to Nachna. The vacancy position showed two vacant posts. How to motivate these staff to go to a “hard” station with no benefits to lure them.
Anil Kumar had been married for the last ten years. He has an eight year old daughter studying in a reputed school at Bangalore. Anil Kumar had recently been transferred to Jodhpur. He had an earlier posting in this set up during his initial career. Anil Kumar had worked in these places and is as comfortable as a local person would be. Anil Kumar voluntarily opted to go to Nachna.
Arvind Mathur heaved a sigh a relief. Anil Kumar is efficient and knows his job. Arvind Mathur gave him the liberty to form his own team members. Anil took charge of the Nachna unit. Two years passed. Everything went on smoothly.
Arvind Mathur wondered why Anil never took a vacation to visit his family stationed at Bangalore. It is purely a personal matter. Why should I worry? Arvind thought. One morning Anil turned up at Jodhpur and met Arvind Mathur.
Sir, you post me at Bangalore or else my wife will divorce me. He couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. Arvind was shocked. Transferring individuals out of the set-up is not within his ambit. He can only recommend for a transfer to a particular place.
Arvind Mathur started to ponder. The conversations he had with Anil began to strike him again and again. How casually Anil told him that his wife would divorce him. Arvind knew Anil has some plans. Arvind set out his trusted staff to find out the actual truth.
Anil Kumar has a paramour in Nachna. He had become friendly during his first posting in the set-up. Due to cultural and caste differences Anil was not allowed to marry the girl of his choice. Anil had to marry as per his father’s choice. Anil’s marriage never took off. His wife remained unhappy.
What was Arvind suppose to do now? Re-unite Anil with his wife by posting him back to Bangalore. This would certainly unite a family and also pre-empt Anil from initiating a divorce from his wife thus making her guilty. Or don’t post him anywhere and continue with the present situation.
Sitendu De is the author of this post.
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