M. L. Puri - The reminiscences
Asha Puri [Niece]
M.L. Puri had a vision, one that he wished to share with as many people as possible. Thus, he documented meticulously his thoughts and experiences.
An engineer by training, he approached life adhering to certain core values which he came to personify. He began his career in the tumultuous era when India was struggling to achieve her independence. Apart from a few scattered attempts at industrial activity, it was by and large it was a period of deindustrialisation. But nature has a way of putting men with a strong sense of purpose in jobs they are cut out for. And so Mr. Puri joined the Indian Railways. He chose to work his way up, analysing and applying the principles he learnt during his apprenticeship.
Fate intervened once again. He was posted to Germany in the aftermath of the Second World War. He witnessed the economic miracle and the remarkable progress achieved by using a systematic and thorough approach. His convictions were reinforced by what he saw. To achieve the best results with the least effort, first, one had to define the problem, next examine it from all angles and then, on the basis of an informed opinion, implement the right solution.
His writings contain many nuggets of wisdom. They cover a vast array of subjects: training, workshop relations, management, technical arts, productivity enhancement, foremanship, design and cost benefit studies… In all this, the core values that emerge are: understand and do yourself before you ask others to do, the importance of fostering team spirit and most of all, integrity without which nothing worthwhile can be done.
In an environment of quick fix solutions and glitzy facades, these musings of a man of reason, tempered with a deep humanism, provide us a solid foundation on which to build.
Other reminiscences: