Any first experience in life is something different. Such as first meet, first love, first baby, first examination etc. I stood first in the first examination of my life, which was admission test in my school. Afterwards, I crossed many steps but never had to write any essay on issues like favorite personality, favorite teacher or favorite... etc.
Now in my professional career, I feel from my heart to write about a special subject. And it is about my Boss; in every step of my job whose quality leadership and working ability have made me fascinated & astonished. I don`t know how the readers will take this writing. Also, I am anxious about reaction of my boss. However, I have already said that, I never thought of writing on such a subject, but it came absolutely from my feelings.
I am an employee of The University Campus and The Campus Social Development Centre (CSDC). I`m working here in the Administration Department under the direct supervision of the Chief Executive Mr. M Helal, who is the Editor of The University Campus as well as the Secretary General of CSDC. I always thought that boss means a hot tempered person. So from joining till now in my career I remained always fearful about my boss for which sometimes he made fun with me saying, hey! Are your knees trembling? In answer, sometimes I said, yes sir; sometimes, no sir.
Now I`m learning from my boss how a person can go to the top position in his life and how easy it is to be a man of personality. He has a great inspiration for knowledge, he is a man made-up with knowledge top to bottom. There is no field of knowledge in which he doesn`t have command. In any subject when he asks anyone- is my word illogical? not a single person can challenge him. Sometimes I am astonished, for shortcomings of my knowledge & experience when I fail to realize any particular subject, but sir explains that in plain words so that it comes to my sense. Then I feel, it`s so easy… In any case still I can`t differ with my boss. By snooping of his plain & simple logic I have to think, yes, this is the right sense.
In my professional life I have never seen that sir is behaving like a boss. With all of the staffs in this organization he maintains an amicable relationship. Sir is really a great person with a friendly, easy & proactive attitude; he knows exactly how to maintain good relationship between boss and subordinates. He maintains a close relation with everybody except dishonest & insincere ones. Sometimes he seems to be a rigid man, but in my view it is our misconception about him. As a Chief he is strict no doubt just to manage his organization remorselessly, though he is a kind & good natured man. But he is very much strict against any corruption. He doesn`t compromise with dishonesty & corruption. He is always rigid in this sense & ideas. He strongly opposes dishonesty, insincerity & artificiality. And he firmly sticks to honesty and to transform any impossible thing into possible one.
Sir believes in self-freedom. For which in the Campus office the staffs are working in their own will with complete freedom & job satisfaction. Here working environment is such that Sir gives chance to a new employee to make choice of working field as per his will. He does not impose any work on anybody.
From childhood I dreamt of a job, but due to my timidity, despite completing MA in Economics I took this job with hesitation & fear. But today I can do so many types of works, which was not conceived earlier. Sometimes I make few errors or mistakes, but here it`s not necessary to be afraid of or make tension for it. In this organization, it is well known that if one admits his fault to sir, it is forgiven.
It was about one month around my job, I committed a mistake though I was following the rules of the work thoroughly. As a new hand that was not so clear to me. Naturally I was nervous in this matter, particularly one of my senior colleagues made me more frightened. Then I thought that I should inform my boss direct before anybody informs him about this mistake. So, I went to his room to inform him. After narrating my mistake I was waiting for a retort from a pair of prankish eye. But making me dumb-found sir said, `so what! when you will be expert in this matter, you could understand that every rule has some exceptions.`
That was the beginning. Since then day by day I am accumulating new experiences from my sir. Today whatever I have learnt it is the contribution of my sir. He has trained me in every area with such a caring attitude that needs no explanations but remaining grateful to him. And so, once when an article of sir was deleted from my computer due to my mistake, then I was looking abnormally to my hands and thought, I am responsible for destroying my sir`s article!
Sir is a regular columnist of our magazine, The University Campus. The last few efforts of his columns had been done by me. That means composition, correction, proof reading, editing and elucidation from rough copy all of these were done under my co-ordination. Any of his articles is finalized by me. After finalization I send it to the designer of our magazine for publication. That descriptive & analytical article was written about mind control i.e. mediation. After efforts of one month that article was going to be final after many editing & correction. Then sir asked me to give him a printed copy of that article & send the soft copy to the designer for makeup & publishing. After saying this sir went out of the office. At that time I was just trying to makeup any article or news and was praised by others for doing some makeup of the last few columns. So, that time I was trying to make up that new article. Unfortunately, before completing the makeup the whole matter was vanished by wrong pressing on a key-board`s button which was out of my knowledge. Then I pressed save key without being aware of this whether there is any copy or backup of that file.
This is the first tragedy in my professional life which made me embarrassed. How I would explain this to sir was not known to me. I could not understand what I will do then -whether I will tear my hair or break the PC or run away from the office. My eyes were full of tears but I didn`t drop it out. Because from last few days sir was teaching me, to be cool in any situation. I didn`t know whether I was cool at that moment but I was hearing continuously in my brain, `Be Cool` in sir`s voice. Until he returned back to office I was just listening that `Be Cool, Be Cool`.
Somehow I believed that my sir will never be angry with me. Everyone knows that he is never angered by anybody`s unwilling mistake. But this didn`t make me relieved. It is the fact, I have done a mistake which has generated restlessness in me.
Every writer treats his writings like his child. I can`t recollect how I would stand in front of sir to say about the destruction of that article. Somehow, I notified it to him just in a word. Instead of derision he also said, `It`s alright. Do it again`. Though it was tough but I was able to do it again with the help of Our Deputy Assistant Director Razu Ahmed. He showed me a rough copy of this article by searching, so that much matters would have not to be composed by me. But it took a full day for the editing which we did by several times. I was confident that I can do that accurately. After completing the whole task when I submitted it to sir in next afternoon, admiring me he said, I knew you are able to do it; if there was anybody else in this issue I would give up hope to get back the article, where it is you I can`t give up hope and can`t say anything. Then I couldn`t hold my tears. Doing good performance I gained praise, love even prize from sir but destroying this article I didn`t get any rebuke from my sir. What a incomparable act!
This is my sir, he maintains equality with everybody in same manner. There are many examples about relation of sir to campus staffs; small, giant, major, minor, official or personal -it will not get an end whether written or told. I feel proud that I have the opportunity to be with such a personality. In association with him I have got many changes in my personal, family affairs or thoughts pertaining to the society & the nation.
Sometimes it is said that, sir manages to prepare curds out of water. That means he can create output even from impossible thing. His firmness to expose man`s latent power and igniting the frustrated mind is highly admirable. There is no word as `no` in his vocabulary. His achievement & success is to turn the impossible into possible. All credit goes to our sir that we, the campus staff are now can write articles or columns.
`I do not know` is acceptable to sir, but not `I can not do`. He never believes that man can`t do anything. Often he says- impossible is a word, I don`t believe. To deal or to solve any problem is his devotion whether it is personal, family related, social, national or international. Though some shows denial and say that still he can`t prove that he has the capacity to do something nationally or internationally. But from my view, sir doesn`t bear the lacking of integrity, efficiency or planning, the shortcomings that are seen in the present leaders. The only problem is that there is no stake-holder to listen or realize his ideas. He has demonstrated solution of many national & international problems through his various models & columns. But they have no time to go through the ideas who are at the helm of affairs & head of the society. May be for this reason sir expresses himself as a vagabond or indigent in his various write-ups.
My sir is very much dynamic and man of positive attitude. We, the campus people are also special.
But still we hardly can match with his speed or velocity of work. Due to this lacking sometimes we show less speed in back gear but sir himself move forward taking us with his superior capability. He is working relentlessly for positive transform of this society.
Before leaving office we, the staff submit list of our daily completed works to his table. He checks it out and next morning it comes to our table, so lengthy those may be. He never likes to keep works pending. He is very untired in work day or night. Throughout the office time he keeps us warmed-up and inspires us to keep no work pending like him. Whole day he passes to solve our problems and finishes his own work at night and in holidays. And the volume of that effort is unbelievable without observation. It is just possible for those who have passion for work. Having boast of receiving such experience from sir now I think that if we could entrust him national leadership then the major problems of our country would be solved rapidly.
Sir made numerous planning for the improvement of the society. If one of these would have been materialized, rapid development could be made possible. `Area based Schooling` model is such a creation of him which is aimed at for the development of schooling in Bangladesh. When Sir first notifies me about it I was amazed to feel its profundity. That is first I saw a genius. Now we are eagerly waiting for seeing the model accepted & materialized.
Now it is time for my confession. It was almost one year after entering my career to Campus. Suddenly, an unanticipated incident happened in our office. One of our staff ran away from office. He not only disappeared from office but also indulged in nasty propaganda against our boss which was totally fake. Though naturally we find lengthy process to come to an end in any big crime in our country but regarding this issue I found quick service. After 10/12 days of that incident, a SI (sub inspector of police) came to our office for inspection. I was obdurate about it. However, some of us were trying to talk to the SI. But he overlooked us and said that he wants to talk with the Chief of this organization for the objection raised against him.
I didn`t understand why sir doesn`t come in front of the SI. He was aware of the presence of the SI but his nonattendance perplexed me about the honesty & spirit of him. Within some times sir came out from his room and asked SI to tell the charge against him. But the SI was unwilling to read the accusation openly. Sir insisted him to interpret it before all the staffs. But, actually, I didn`t want to lose my high opinion & deference on him. So, strongly I wanted that it will be read secretly.
Finally SI started to read the allegations. I was waiting to see the reaction of my sir. Paradoxically, I was astounded to see that when it was being read sir looked firm and was smirking since the charge was totally false. Actually, the arraigns were so silly & bogus that could not perturb him.
It was a great experience in my life. Since then I was never afraid of this or think about this. Now I firmly believe that nothing will happen until I commit any fault. And this firmness is also growing with the guidance of sir. In every aspect sir always says- to work honestly for the welfare of the society need not to be worried.
Sir was never found shilly-shally to recall his past. Rather he feels proud of his past. According to him it is a matter of proudness to go higher from lower. His ordinary story like tending of cows, fishing, sale of vegetables in village market are well known to us as received from him. I also believe that it is the credit to go higher from lower, not high to higher. Sir is not afraid of anyone except Allah & morality. He never gives indulgence to any dishonesty or fake attitude and is bold to anybody anywhere in the society.
I hardly see the firmness & attitude to be proactive in any odd situation and be easy in any grief like sir. In this situation sir believes that s/he provides what s/he posses. His advice to be cool and have tolerance astonished me. We the staffs sometimes go down to the pit of despair but sir is always trying to take us to the peak of probability by his highly proactive attitude. He is always cheered up. Reactive Rony was also trying to be proactive with the attachment of him. In any case I always feel that if I didn`t take lesson from sir then what would I achieve!
Our organization `CAMPUS` is now moving forward by the well-organized & extra-ordinary direction of sir. I have no distrust that if one does job here for 5 years, he will be a mastermind.
I austerely believe that one day Campus will attract everybody by its nation-building activities and will be a role model. Its not very far, when Campus will be success in its endeavor. I expect I will then be in, Campus.
May be I don`t have to write any essay in my life once more. But if there will be any probability to write an essay on `aim in life`, I will write without any hesitation `I want to be like my sir`
-usrony@yahoo.com
Umme Salma Rony
Asst. Director (Admn & Protocol)