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Book review

NGC: The Digging into the and emerged successfully
Untold Story without loss of any life. That
in nutshell blowout and how it was
is essentially phases of ongC tackled could have been
a narrative a case study in a business
O of its early school.
days. Raj Kanwar occupies a Many chapters in the book read like as if those In the foreword, Dr KK
niche position as a chroni- were first person or eye-witness accounts Paul, ex-governor of Utta-
cler of ONGC. In 2004, he rakhand has greatly praised
was commissioned by Kanwar. Several well known
the then ONGC chairman authors have also nothing
Subir Raha to write its his- but praise for The Untold
tory of 50 years. That book Story. Ganesh Saili says, “A
published under the title smooth, well-oiled read
Upstream India has been both for the professional
received with rave reviews. and the uninitiated”. Cel-
“Not many people, ebrated author Irwin Allan
not even those currently Sealy describes about an in-
employed in ONGC, know cident of 60 years ago when
about its early days. How, Kanwar interviewed Nehru
when and where it was
born, what were its labour
pains, what was it like in
its infancy, and finally how
did it overcome its teeth- ONGC: The
ing troubles and growing UNTOld
STOry
pains. Who were those early BloomsBury
stalwarts who built ONGC BloomsBury
brick-by-brick and who 206 pp; 399
were the young pioneers chairman in 2000 to return
who later became the to his first love of reading
nucleus of what was to grow and writing. His son Manav The chapter on
into the largest crude oil Kanwar now heads this the Blowout at
and natural gas company Mumbai-based company. and says, “Raj is still on the
in the country.” The profiles Many chapters in the Sagar Vikas on road – a character who
of those stalwarts depict book read like as if those July 30, 1982, is deserves all our admiration.”
their lifelike images,” says were first person or eye-wit- Likewise, Roshen Dalal says
Kanwar. ness accounts. In particular, a case in point. of Kanwar, “he has been
Kanwar has been associ- the chapter on Bombay In his account, closely associated with
ated with ONGC since its High reads as if Kanwar ONGC for much of his life,
very inception in 1956. He himself was present at the Kanwar narrates and this book represents
was its first public relations scene of the action. The how bravely part of his vast knowledge
officer in early 1960s and chapter on the Blowout at on the organization.” Arvin-
worked both in Gujarat Sagar Vikas on July 30 1982 the largely dar Singh, another author
and Assam. His associa- is a case in point. It was one inexperienced describes Raj Kanwar as
tion with this giant public of the disastrous accidents the scribe and chronicler
sector organization has that had happened offshore. crew and equally of the Doon Valley down
continued ever since, albeit In his account, Kanwar the decades and says, “he
in numerous capacities. He narrates how bravely the inexperienced now turns his prolific pen
is the founder of SK Oilfield largely inexperienced crew senior officers towards the narration of
Equipment Co Pvt Ltd that and equally inexperienced ONGC story which he has
he started in 1970. It is today senior officers who had not faced the known as an insider from its
one of the largest compa- ever faced such a blowout unprecedented nascent days.”
nies of its kind in the coun- before, bravely faced the
try. Kanwar resigned as its unprecedented situation situation letters@tehelka.com

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