Posoowa and the Assam Association, Delhi is proud of the fact that you have joined OIL as the 6th Assamese CMD of OIL.
NM Bora: I would like to begin by thanking ‘Posoowa’ and the Assam Association, Delhi for remembering me and trying to highlight whatever little I have achieved in life. In fact such gestures as shown by you go a long way in motivating working professionals to further excel in their spheres of activities.
Please tell Posoowa about your journey, how did it all begin and culminate into this position where you are today?
NM Bora: My journey, or to be more precise, association with the oil industry started as early as the late sixties, when as a young boy from a relatively small, but culturally rich, town of Tezpur, I decided to join the prestigious Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad to take up an undergraduate course in Petroleum Engineering. This branch of Engineering was not very well known at that point of time. Perhaps abundance of this scarce commodity, liquid gold, in our part of the country did have a role to play in my decision to take up that course.
Having completed the Engineering degree reasonably successfully, I must confess with some bit of satisfaction, it was the time to look for employment. Employers for this specialized group of Engineers were very few and the biggest employer was the state run ONGCL. I was, however, fortunate to land up an employment with Oil India Limited (a private company at that point of time) with its headquarters at the beautiful oil township of Duliajan in Upper Assam. During my stint with the company, I also completed a Post Graduate course in Petroleum Prospecting and Reservoir Evaluation in the Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH) in Trondheim, Norway which was a rewarding experience.
On the professional front, I must confess, nothing comes easy and it is always a tale of hardwork and grind. But life was exciting, work was fulfilling and the scope for professionally enriching oneself was tremendous. With time, opportunities to learn and grow, both horizontally as well as vertically came. In OIL, rewards were not very far for the deserving and I was lucky to grab most of the opportunities that came my way. And finally, after almost three decades of my association with this great company, it has been possible to reach this stage. For me it has been a long and satisfying journey.
Did lobbying and politics ever come in your way of growth within the company in any form?
NMB: From the very beginning, it has remained my endeavour (and for most of my colleagues as well) to remain a true professional, dedicated to the work in hand and progress of the Company I serve. Whatever I have achieved, I truly believe, is the fruit of my dedication and professionalism. So called politics and lobbying did not play any role in my selection for the CEO’s position. A good service track record, commitment and desire to work selflessly are the attributes which really matter.
Could you please tell Posoowa a bit about your area of specialization...
NMB: I am a geoscientist by profession, and even today, when opportunities for getting involved with hardcore geo-scientific activities are far and few due to other commitments, I remain a true geoscientist / petroleum engineer at heart. Amongst other areas of upstream petroleum operations, I feel I have developed a passion and some level of competence in the area of optimal operation of matured fields.
You’ve had a long and successful professional career. What are the lessons you have learnt from life?
NMB: As you all are aware, life is the biggest of all teachers. One’s journey in life is full of memorable events manifesting into ups and downs and each one of such events is a lesson in itself. From my travel through the journey of life so far, I have learnt that humility, compassion, transparency and professionalism are the four most important virtues that can help one achieve as well as enjoy the achievements. It is not difficult to see that some of the biggest achievers are also the people endowed with considerable amount of humility, compassion, transparency and professionalism. One must have a vision and a dream to translate that vision into reality and steadfastly work towards the goal.
This is a simple question. What was your aim in life initially and how much do you think you have deviated form it?
NMB: I am not very sure, what was my aim in life as a very young boy. But I always believed one thing that I must ultimately grow up to be a good human being and a responsible citizen of this beautiful country, India. I do not think I have deviated from this aim, but how far I have progressed towards achieving the same, that is for others to judge. I always have this burning desire to excel in whatever I try my hands on.
On a lighter vein, as a non-resident Assamese, what is it that you miss the most being away from Assam?
NMB: What do I miss the most being away from Assam… Well, I miss the rich natural beauty. I, at times, miss the easy pace of life over there; but what I miss most is the extremely simple nature of the people of that region.
What would you tell the Assamese youth?
NMB: For the young generation, especially from Assam, my simple message based on my experience will be “Have a positive outlook towards life, be honest in your belief and deeds; you will not fail in life. Life is beautiful, - go ahead and enjoy it to the fullest extent”.
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