A Sheaf of Leaves

========================================================================

Once upon a time at IIT KGP everyone was entitled to 12 Casual Leaves every year. Casual in this context meant Chancy...unpremeditated. Meaning you don't have to be provenly sick, vacationing, delivering a baby or assisting the process...there were other leaves meant for them. But you have to inform the HoD and arrange your classes and duties.

And if you didn't take these 12 CLs, you would forgo them...they don't accumulate...you start with a clean slate next January.

So, everyone would try and accumulate them till December and take all the 12 at a go...with the result that the Institute would look ghostly at the year-end.

Then came the 5-day-week, and the number of CLs were reduced to 8...and one couldn't take them more than 3 at a stretch, and couldn't prefix or suffix them with other leaves...the screws were tightened.

Alas!

*****************************************************************************************************************

Then there were 20 Special Casual Leaves apart from the regular ones. Special means for academic purposes...like attending a Conference.

These had to be approved beforehand.

Calcuttans did some research and discovered that Journals like Revue Roumaine de Physique were not subscribed to by our CL and were only available at the Jadavpur Library...and Fridays and Mondays (preferably together) were auspicious days for Outstation Library Work.

Then these screws were tightened by arranging what was called Inter-Library Exchange or some such ingenious device.

Alas!

*****************************************************************************************************************

Then there were Earned Leaves. For non-faculty who don't have Vacations, these were earned automatically (about 33 per year). These could be availed in a bunch for valid reasons. The catch was that these accumulate and add up; and could be encashed at the time of retirement...but with an upper limit which was raised from 100 to 300 days during my tenancy there. Since the overflowing excess could be added to Puja Holidays, and Leave Travel Concessions came up to boost tourism, Labs wore a deserted look before and after DP (that was perhaps one of the reasons for upping the number of encashable ELs).

For Faculty however, these were not automatic but have to be 'earned' by staying at KGP during vacations and doing proven Research or teaching Summer Quarters.

Alas!

************************************************************************************************************

Then came Maternity Leaves...sad to say there were almost none who could avail them...

I am told that there are Paternity Leaves nowadays...but I guess, male truancy being what it is, I am sure very few of these are availed.

By the way, PLs (only 3 or so per paternity) were also imposed on Software Firms and were eagerly availed.

My son and D-i-L planned their child so professionally that my son could add in series 3 PLs, 8 CLs, 5 ELs and 8 Christmas-New Year Leaves, and weekends, amounting to almost a whopping month.

His Ultimate Bosses (a very kind KGPian couple) scolded him the day after the good news spread what the hell he was doing in Hyderabad instead of running to Nellore and assisting the Maternity...but his immediate bosses were not that kind and perhaps grumbled with every good reason.

Alas!

****************************************************************************************************************

Then there were Medical Leaves and French Leaves and so on and so forth.

In 1975 when I was still a Reluctant Bachelor, our HoD (HNB) called me to his Office and dumped on me the onerous duty of Time-Table-in-Charge which during those Emergency Days was a very powerful post, with many senior claimants.

I refused but he insisted.

I squealed, "Why me?"

And he said, "I have scrutinized the Leave Registers for the past ten years and I find you are the only one who didn't avail of any kind of leave including CLs".

True, spending even weekends was a big bore for a lonely bachelor in that god-forsaken campus...

Alas!

***********************************************************************************************************

It is beautiful monsoon nights here and I have been applying for a few days of any kind of leave from blogging; but my Ultimate and Immediate Boss (read wife) is refusing...she says that for at least a few blog-hours everyday I leave her in peace...

Alas!

But one should try try and try again like Robert Bruce and his Spiderman...I will let you know.


=======================================================================