The Extension Interview

by V.R.Srikanth

The year was 1976, and armed with an Honours degree in Political Science, I embarked on my journey to Cochin for my first interview ever, with any company, and this one was Malayalam Plantations Ltd., one of the very best. We were interviewed in the afternoon, the first day, and were asked to appear for an examination the next morning on general knowledge and mathematics.

Having successfully negotiated that, we were asked to appear in the afternoon, the same day, and some of were asked to proceed to various estates for an extension of our interviews. Being new to this process, I was completely unprepared for an extension interview and just didn't have the right clothes, having just packed my best formal clothes.

I drew a test estate in the Vandiperiyar area along with another candidate: I.K.Anil from Coorg. We were handed letters of introduction to our respective estate superintendents and and asked to present these to them at the Vandiperyar Club.

So having been packed into an Ambassador taxi, we sallied forth from Cochin in the early afternoon, hoping to reach there by late evening as originally scheduled. But there was a fallen tree and a small landslide en route, and with communication facilities being poor those days, it took a while to get cleared. Armed with a pint of rum each, IK and I took regular swigs while warming up to the conversation that we were having. The block being cleared, we resumed in our journey and set off in the last evening light.

It was dark when we reached the Vandiperiyar Club, and as I recall, we strolled up to the snooker room, which if my memory serves me right was rather prominently located near the entrance. A Senior Assistant Manager from Wallardie Estate, whom I shall not name, welcomed us and informed us that our Superintendents had left the Club earlier, having waited for us, leaving instructions for us to proceed to their respective bungalows.

Before we could do so he ordered a couple of double large rums for us, to be downed in a gulp, in keeping with the time honoured Malayalams' tradition, as he put it. Having happily obliged, a very self assured IK and I proceeded to the Wallardie Bungalow first. Somewhere along the landslide halt both of us had removed our ties and stowed them in our bags as we retrieved our rum. Just as we reached the Wallardie Bungalow gate, I pointed out to IK in total darkness that our ties were not on. So we groped our way into our bags and found them and managed to put them on somehow, being very skilled at this.

Wallardie, pic by Outlook Traveller

 The Wallardie Estate Superintendent’s Bungalow, as I recall, had a long passage with rooms extending out on both sides. As you entered it, the first room on the left was a day office room and I saw a man sitting before a crank telephone sporting shorts and a t shirt, and speaking in fluent Malayalam.

Having known that the Superintendent was a British expat, and finding that this gentleman sported a prominent tan - and maybe it was the rum -  I took him to be one of the bungalow staff.

I asked him rather nervously in Malayalam, for I was not totally sure who he was, "Dorai Undo" which meant, “is the master home.” He looked at me rather incredulously, turned a bit crimson and replied after a little while, "He is, and you are bloody well looking at him. It’s about time you bloody well got here."
I sobered instantly, and thought to myself, "You’ve made a fine initial impression and got off to a flying start, haven’t you Mr.Srikanth."

I proceeded to introduce IK who was a most amused spectator to this tamasha and who was rather anxious to leave to meet his Dorai, wondering what lay in store for him. For sure he would be treading rather warily, as opposed to the the candidate whom he just dropped.

I was shown to my bedroom and asked to appear in the drawing room after I had cleaned up. The Superintendent was a bachelor and a gracious host. He obviously was looking forward to my company and to assessing me thoroughly.

After a few minutes in the tub, scrubbed and tubbed, I was back for my first real trial. He offered whisky and I was ready to accept anything, considering my anxious state after the initial faux pas.
We covered a variety of subjects that evening. Starting with my background, education, hobbies and pastimes, discussion on politics and various until subjects until dinner.

Post dinner it was back to a nightcap and more conversation until the clock struck midnight, when he asked me if had brought my pair of shorts. I instantly replied stating what a pleasant surprise it was to find that there was a tennis court in Wallardie. He looked at me incredulously again to say,  "You're a funny bugger aren't you. You are supposed to be in the fields at the first light. The Senior Assistant Manager will pick you up and drop you back for breakfast." I promptly bid goodnight and trudged softly into the bedroom congratulating myself for a second faux pas.

Well, the next day passed being shown around the estate, and after breakfast with the Dorai, it was again back to be shown the routine field and factory operations for the day. Lunch however was hosted by the Senior Assistant Manager at his bungalow along with another Assistant Manager in the estate.

When I returned to the Superintendent's Bungalow in the evening, he was in the garden enjoying a spread of tea with a lady guest who I found was the wife of the Manager of a neighbouring estate. As he looked at my soiled appearance and the havoc the estate had played on shoes and my formal trousers in particular, he agreed to my cleaning up first before joining them.

During the course of that evening he divulged more information about the company and what was expected from me. I found out that I had to remain a bachelor compulsorily during my first contract for four years. I replied that it was quite impossible for me to do so as I was already engaged and that my fiancée would certainly not wait for four years.

He looked at me incredulously for the third time and asked me if I was quite certain about what I thought of turning down. I replied that I was. After berating his company about not letting me know about this policy in the first place, he suggested that I meet a Director of the company at Cochin, who would help place me in another company which had a more relaxed policy about marriage, based upon his personal recommendation. He even suggested another prominent company based in Munnar. He also added that if I missed out on the right girl, I might not find the right one again, but I could always find another job.

I didn't finally take the offer of employment made to me. I joined an Indian plantation company based in South India that has a more relaxed "marriage policy."

Meet the writer: V.R.Srikanth

I am a resident of the Nilgiris. I am a retired Corporate Management Professional having done two brief stint as a planter, nearly thirty years apart, mainly in Coffee. I live on my estate growing timber, organic herbs and vegetables. 

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