By Rasika DeshpandeBorn in a small town near Kolkata, Tilak Sengupta, CIO, Carrier Midea India Private spent four happy years in Uttarpara, before his father was transferred to Durgapur, an industrial town in West Bengal.
Remembering his childhood days in Durgapur, Sengupta says, “The company that my father worked for had an excellent employees’ colony. It was great fun staying at the colony. My father was allotted a bungalow that covered about half an acre – with a large garden area with many fruit trees. I loved climbing on guava and mango trees and eating fruits right off the trees. A neighbour remarked that she saw me on trees for 8 hours a day, and considered this the final vindication of Darwin’s theories. The colony had a club with indoor and outdoor sports facilities – the biggest attraction was the weekly movie show. Movies came in many flat cylinders containing film rolls, played through a projector. There are large playgrounds and wild areas with forests and streams that you could just wander through on holidays. Durgapur is next to Damodar river. A large barrage and sandbanks provide a great spot for cycling and picnics. I made many lifelong friends during my stay at the colony.”
Sengupta’s father was a Civil Engineer and worked with Damodar Valley Corporation (offices in Kolkata), then moved on to Durgapur Projects Limited (DPL). His mother was an Arts Graduate and acted in many plays organized by their colony’s ladies’ club. He says that she used to mostly play a male character in those plays because of her higher than average height. Tilak Sengupta says he learnt a lot from his parents, some things which his parents taught him and some things he observed and learnt from their actions like respecting everyone, hard work and Life is mostly good, but it may not seem so at all times.
At Durgapur, Sengupta was enrolled into St Xavier’s School. Remembering his school days, he says, “The school has a lovely campus with sports fields and a small jungle with birds, rabbits, snakes, and other small wildlife. The school instilled discipline and values in me. I enjoyed the company of school friends, walking in the small forest inside the campus, playing table tennis and other games, visiting the library, sharing tiffin among friends. My favourite subjects were English Literature and History. I remember a subject called Moral Science that was very interesting. We had excellent teachers. The History and English teachers made the courses come alive. I was good at table tennis. The library was another attraction at the school. Our Librarian, who was also the English teacher, was a voracious reader and collected an excellent selection of books. These ten years built up my base – the person I am today,” he recalls.
Growing up, Sengupta had many dreams. At some point, he wanted to be a mountain climber, pilot or join the navy or army. He says, “These are all fantasies. I am happy with what I am. We had no such thing as Career Counselling in our schools at that time. We relied on the advice of our friends, parents, and relatives for choosing the way after school. I appeared for multiple admission tests for Engineering and Medicine. Though my friend and family knew this for a long time, I was formally detected colourblind at the physical examination conducted during the admission process for Medical Colleges, so many specializations were eliminated. So, I went for Engineering at IIT Kanpur and based on my JEE score I got admission to the Mechanical Engineering Course.”
Sengupta has always been a good student. At school, he ranked top or close to the top of the class. He says, “college was a huge ego breaker – everyone was a school topper and some were extremely intelligent – on a different level altogether. My roommate in IIT was the holder of All India Rank 2, the most brilliant and knowledgeable person that I have met. In college, I never failed in any subject, but came close to the F grade in Fluid Mechanics – managed to scrape through with a D. I enjoyed my studies, but I think what really helped is a lot of reading that is totally unrelated to studies. I think my lifestyle as a child, amidst nature and with friends, helped a lot with my academic performance.”
Sengupta’s first job was at Kolkata, with a company called Metal Box India Limited. Talking about his experience, he says, “When I joined, the company was already on its downward path as it had not foreseen disruptive changes in its business segment. Working under extreme adversity is like working in a startup – need to take ownership and work outside the box. During my tenure with Metal Box, the company went from being a running business to a BIFR case. I was assigned to the Logistics and Supply Chain function. As the company went into the doldrums, all factories closed down. During that period, I transitioned to being an Executive Assistant to the Managing Director – assisted him in running day to day operations and making applications to BIFR for a revival package. But, my experience was good. A lot of learning of how a business actually works, innovative solutions to keep the company going and getting to know some wonderful people. All of these provided a tremendous learning experience.”
Sharing the challenges faced in life, he shares- “Our first child is on the Autism spectrum. This is a major challenge for us. We started early intervention with medical practitioners and managed to get her admitted to a school that is arguably the best in NCR for integrated schooling. My wife took up the challenge of making sure that my daughter gets all possible opportunities – interventions, crafts, arts, and education. We also managed to find a great support group of friends, teachers, therapists, and doctors. By the grace of God and with tremendous support from her school, she went on to pass class X and class XII levels with NIOS and then completed a diploma course in Library Sciences.” He adds that “For me, friends and support groups have been instrumental in managing crises. It is critical to develop a group of close friends and family that support each other as soon as required. My friends, family and neighbours have supported us in our toughest times.”
Tilak Sengupta says he has leant from his mentors that it is better to complete 90% accurate work on time than keep waiting for perfection, work is not complete till the paperwork is done and ask for help whenever needed, help whenever you can. He takes life as it comes. He says integrity is important in all aspects of work and life is critical to success and he will continue to contribute as long as he can.
