The Hindu Business Line : Basking in Railway glory

As Southern Railway General Manager, Thomas Varghese is a railwayman who proudly shoulders the successes and the crises that come with his high-pressure job.

Thomas and Rosie Varghese: A life in the Railways. - BIJOY GHOSH

As a top-notch railway officer who has spent almost his entire career of 35 years in Southern Railway (SR), he is worried that the south which used to dominate a government service such as Indian Railways is sending less and less officers. "These days, if we take 90 officers in all the departments such as mechanical, civil, electrical, traffic or accounts through direct recruitment, there would hardly be two or three South Indians, and the chances are that even these may be educated in the North," says Thomas Varghese, General Manager, Southern Railway, adding, "Very soon you'll find that the Railways will have only north Indian officers; even today you'll find that all the youngsters are Hindi-speaking guys. The same holds true for IAS and the IPS."

But isn't that because the brightest in the south don't opt for government services and prefer careers in IT, finance, etc in the private sector?

"Well, on the optimistic side we can say this; but on the pessimistic side I'd say our standards have come down. Today people from Bihar dominate the services, and Rajasthan is doing well too. Perhaps Biharis feel that as there are no opportunities there, they go to Delhi, study in the best colleges, and are able to compete much better," he responds.

Seated in the sprawling campus on Haddows Road in Chennai where the majestic and unbelievably beautiful house of the Southern Railway GM is located, Varghese, who was born in Trichur but grew up in Chennai, makes an interesting comparison. The same house had been occupied by his father's brother T.A. Joseph, as the first GM of SR. "My father T.A. Varghese was an ICS officer and Chief Secretary of the State, and this brother was the GM of Southern Railway. My brother T.V. Antony went on to become Chief Secretary and I've been lucky enough to become the GM of SR. Isn't it a quaint coincidence that from the same family two brothers held the same posts in the same State?"

And despite he and his brother having held top posts in government, continues Varghese, neither his nor T.V. Antony's children have opted to work for the government. His daughter is a dentist, who has returned to India after a five-year stint in the US and his son stays in the US.

When you say that the government today pays a pittance compared to the private sector, he says, "I don't think that is as much the reason as the feeling that perhaps they don't have as much independence as earlier in taking decisions. Youngsters of today are more independent and ambitious. This applies a little more in the state government where political interference is more. So perhaps the kind of freedom that T.A. Joseph or T.A. Vargese had, we may not have... "

It's good enough a cue to slip in a question on the political interference he himself faced in his career. "Talking of the present, I can confidently say that my minister, Mr Lalu Prasad, has not interfered in a single administrative decision in influencing me on a tender or a contract." He had also told him to ignore all calls from Bihar and "follow the rules. But during earlier times, I know there was political pressure but since most of the pressure comes at the GM's level, I won't be able to comment on that."

The beginning

Varghese did M.Sc. in Chemistry from Chennai's Loyola College in 1969, after which he also did a two-year law course, before completing which he wrote his UPSC exam and was selected in 1971 for the Traffic division of Indian Railways as an assistant operating superintendent. He started on a grand salary of Rs 700 and considers himself "very fortunate" in having climbed the ladder right to the top during his 35 years with Railways where most of his promotions were in SR. Except for an 18-month stint as Vice Principal in the staff college at Baroda (2000-2002) and six months in the Railway Board, his career has been in SR. A 10-month course in transport economics at the University of London in 1989, a course with Japanese Railways later and, more recently, a short course on modern management techniques at an American university have enriched his skills and expanded his horizon, he says.

You ask him about the memorable points of his career and he says with a smile, "I would say my entire career has been exciting because it's a very online job where anything is possible any time." He has been associated in several crisis situations and recalls the time when as a divisional manager of SR, he had to oversee a crisis in 1998 when on the Trivandrum-Nagercoil section due to heavy rains there were several landslides and five Railway gangmen were buried alive. "It was a very traumatic situation because human lives were lost."

Also, when the Nalgonda train accident in which over 120 people were killed occurred last year when he was officiating as the General Manager of South Central Railway. "It was a major tragedy but it was due to nature's fury," he says.

Though these were devastating times, Varghese says, "as railwaymen we've got used to such situations. The real mettle of a railway officer is tested in a crisis situation. I can say that while many officers qualify, many don't because in a real crisis when there is pressure and panic, you have to think on your feet, and some officers tend to panic. And after accidents, passengers do not forgive you if there is delay in reaching aid to the spot, giving proper information to relatives, etc. The important thing is to take quick decisions; in hindsight you may say they were right or wrong, but they have to be taken. We sometimes have to run trains based on demands which may or may not be reasonable, and we wonder whether we're taking the right decision or not. Also, during such times we face tremendous pressure from the public and the politicians."

There have also been moments of frustration when targets were not met or pinnacles not reached. "But by and large things have worked out and I've had tremendous support from my wife and children," he says, adding that he is proud to belong to an organisation which was "almost written off by the Rakesh Mohan committee, and which last year had a surplus of Rs 11,000 crore."

High-pressure job

Varghese says that in a high-pressure job like his "where you have to be on call all the time — I cannot switch off my cell phone at any time, whether I'm in a movie, in the gym, playing tennis or on leave during Christmas or any other festival," what has helped him are his interests in music, sports and even movies.

After the interview, he demonstrates his crooning talent by singing, accompanied by his wife, a couple of evergreen Hindi movie songs. Lalu Prasad has discovered this talent of his GM and makes him sing a couple of Hindi songs at Railway gatherings, "where it is quite a novelty that a Malayalee officer can sing Hindi songs!"

He worked on his singing while at the Baroda staff college, "where perhaps I didn't have enough occupation as there were no emergencies that you normally face in the Railways... no accidents, no crisis, no bandhs, no unions; life is fairly regulated there."

But he is disturbed by the fact that "today most young officers have no time for music, sports or any other hobbies. I find music to be a tremendous de-stresser. And once I come home in the evening, I work out for 90 minutes, playing tennis, badminton and exercising in the gym. Earlier I used to play cricket too; today I play tennis with men 25 years younger than me. When I twist an ankle or break a bone my wife complains that I don't realise my age. I fractured my ankle three months ago and tore a ligament three weeks back," he says.

But while these activities are a must for him, he regrets that many railway officers of today hardly find time for such activities, maybe because of the competitive work; either they are busy with their children's education or glued to the computer."

Ask him how religious he is and he says, "I'm a practising catholic and my wife and I go out of our way to help people in need."

Food?

"Oh, I'm a total glutton as far as food is concerned. And it's always a problem because my wife is a fantastic cook and willy-nilly I eat more than I should. I love non-vegetarian, particularly seafood, and despite all my workout, I know I'm a little overweight."

Does he have anxious moments about retirement due next year?

"Oh no, I have far too many hobbies and interests to be worried about retirement; I'm sure I'll enjoy it."

Response may be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in