Month: May 2021

On this day, a year back we lost Pramod Thekkelthody, Manager of Operations at Orion India Systems, who was a beloved person for an infinite number of people. Why people liked him is because of only one thing, his ‘caring’.

People who know me personally knows that I am not such a person who bothers about deaths, or other events such as marriages. But for the first time in my life, I am feeling that a life event means something. I still do not believe Pramod is not with us today.

He was hospitalized for Angioplasty, and it was Covid season so entry was restricted, and I also did not have the intention to disturb him. I was getting regular health updates from other friends but we did not think things are going to be out of our control. On 5th May 2020, morning around 7:30am, after his discharge day from hospital, I thought to call him but since it was early morning so I did not do it. But by 10:30am, some unknown vibrations were haunting me and I sent a WhatsApp message to him.

But in 10 minutes, I got a call from the friend Vinod that, he left us few minutes back.

In 2010, I got the job as a Project Manager, R&D and had to relocate from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam. I was new to Ernakulam and sensing my frustrations, may be, I don’t know… Pramod has been calling me and explaining the route, guest house facilities a month early itself. On the way to Kochi, he called me multiple times to ensure I am okay, and he wanted to know where I am until I reached the guest house. Next day morning, he himself came to pick me up from the guest house to report on time at office. I was seated a cubicle away from his, inside the same room along with small HR team. I had to leave after six months and I have rejoined Orion in 2012. Again same story, multiple calls and helping to settle.

Between my tenure, twice I got offers from other companies and it is just because of this guy, I turned those down. We say “people leave managers not companies”, for me “it is people leave people”. On 2021 April, I left Orion. This time Pramod was not there to stop me. If he was there, I would not have even think about a resignation.

He was everywhere. He was a role model for commitment and dedication. He was a guide and mentor to many. Every friend of him has a story to tell. He was a power for us to boost courage. I also have many stoeis, will try to write when in good mood…

Orion has been a permanent home for K-MUG sessions for over a decade and it would not have been possible without his support. It was him who helped us by arranging the training hall, refreshments with snacks of our choice, and notepads, pen and the speaker mementoes. Many a time he even cancelled other company events to make room for K-MUG events and he even extended hand to renting hall outside when in unavoidable situations. But he never took credit for anything. He also played a big role in the success of K-MUG recent years.

We volunteered together for our charity initiative Smile O’n.

We lost a good friend. You are still with us, in our memories.