In mid- August every year , as the entire country celebrates the anniversary of its Independence , the ONGC gears up for a double celebration- one for the Independence Day and the other for its foundation day. The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, one of India’s Maharatna companies, celebrates its Foundation Day on August 14.
All employees and also retired employees get together at The KDMIPE campus to enjoy ONGC Day celebrations on August 14 and then rejoice together on August 15 on Independence Day. People look forward to this event. An “At Home” is hosted by the Chairman and Managing Director which is followed by a colourful cultural evening.The independence day is celebrated at the Dr.B.R.Ambedkar Stadium of the ONGC.
The Doon valley cannot be imagined without the existence of the ONGC as the growth of this corporate giant, since its inception in 1956 in this city, has been almost synonymous with the growth of Dehradun And the ONGC’s top officials have always conveyed their sentiments towards their organisation’s long association with the city of Doon. They have ,time and again, reiterated their commitment to maintain Dehra Dun as the ONGC Headquarters.
The story of the birth of ONGC in Doon is indeed interesting and engaging. And the Patiala House ,on 6,Young Road, where the ONGC’s Tel Bhawan is still housed in the Doon valley’s beautiful cantonment area had a crucial role to play in this story. ONGC’s first name was Oil and Gas Division that was attached to Calcutta-based Geological Survey of India (GSI). And it was mainly from GSI that the first nucleus of ONGC’s leadership came- Austin Manindra Nath (AMN) Ghosh , Mandagere Bhardwaj Ramchandra (MBR) Rao, a geophysicist, lP Mathur, BS Negi and Dr.BC Deshpande. All of them were among the founding fathers of ONGC.
MBR Rao had earlier been sent Doon from Calcutta to identify a suitable premises for housing the headquarters of the Oil & Natural Gas directorate. Patiala House was chosen on a monthly rent of Rs 2,500. Patiala House had been purchased by Rajamata Bakhtawar Kaur, wife of His Highness Maharaja Bhupender Singh of Patiala.
The Rajmata later gave the palatial Patiala House as a gift to her daughter ,Maharani Yadunandan Kumari, fondly called “Honey” by the family. Honey married Col. Raja Surender Singh of Nalagarh State, and became Rani of Nalagarh. Captain Amarinder Singh is the grandson of Maharaja Bhupender Singh and was a student of the prestigious Doon School during the days when the ONGC took the Patiala House on rent.
Rani Yadunandan Kumari was the owner when she sold the Patiala House on April 2, 1957 to the President of India. It then came to ONGC at a total sale consideration of Rs 6,20,000 (rupees six hundred and twenty thousand). The sprawling property, earlier known as Firland House, comprised the main Patiala House and several cottages built over a vast land area of about thirty acres.
With many mango and lichi trees dotting it ,the Patiala House estate is a wonderful legacy which the ONGC has lovingly preserved in the form of the Subir Raha OilMuseum without disturbing the original architecture. The museum is the only one of its kind in India and has established itself as an extremely popular destination for tourists from India and abroad besides school and college students from all over the country. It was earlier known as the “ONGC Golden Jubilee Museum.” It was rechristened after the death of Raha who was the ONGC chairman for five years from May 2001 and was instrumental in setting up the museum.
The Museum was inaugurated by APJ Abdul Kalam on the occasion of the golden jubilee of the ONGC. It was envisioned in the year 2002 by Subir Raha. A Multi Disciplinary team of in-house talent led by MR Rao prepared the blueprint of this historic museum under the guidance offamous museumologist Sadashiv Gorashkar, former Director of the Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai.
Patiala House was first restored by a team of civil engineers of the ONGC ,to its original regal splendour with the help of conservation architect Vikas Dilawari . The ground floor of the museum depicts the search for oil and the history of the oil industry. Also on the Ground Floor is a 3-D theatre where visitors can enjoy watching films related to the history and development of the ONGC. The first floor has exhibits related to the journey of crude oil after it surfaces and the arduous process till it enters every aspect of life as a refined product. The second floor houses old photographs and paintings of the members of the royal Patiala household.