• Capt. Jitendra Misra

    ...treat others the way you want them to treat you

    Have you ever thought why the elderly emphasizes the fact that you must try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself? It is the law of nature that what you sow is what you shall reap. The way you treat others will determine the way you will be treated by life and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence. This is something our next achiever on the trail firmly believed in, another eminent personality of this industry whose remarkable achievements says it all.

    Capt. Misra was born into a family of illustrious soldiers on the 1st October 1955, His Grandfather, Col. S.N.Misra, OBE, OBI, SARDARBAHADUR, was the highest decorated Indian Officer during the second World War and first Indian to take command of a Battalion of the Royal Indian Army as it was known then. His father Brig. R. N. Misra, VrC, who joined the Indian Army as a second lieutenant during the second World War, fought every war thereafter until 1971, winning numerous laurels and acclaim during his illustrious career. It follows that Capt. Misra's upbringing was in a highly disciplined atmosphere.

    Capt. Misra started his schooling at Bishop Cotton's, Bangalore and after spending a couple of years at Sherwood College Nainital, came to Dehra Dun where he finished his Senior Cambridge examinations. As a keen sportsman he excelled in cricket and squash. "I joined St. Stephen's college in Delhi to start my Graduation programme, but having been selected by India Steam Ship Company Ltd., Calcutta to join as Deck Cadet in December 1971, I decided to quit college and went out to sea." To the teenager, a career at Sea appeared full of adventure and excitement. "Although my first preference was to join the Army and follow the footsteps of my father and

  • Capt. Jitendra Misra

    grandfather, I could not resist when a career at sea beckoned me to join. Since then, there has been no looking back and no regrets as I have completed almost four decades in this profession which I have grown to love and respect."

    After clearing the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers examinations in which he stood third on the International Merit List, Capt. Misra joined a Ship broking firm in London to start a career ashore. "In February 1990, a call from the Middle East brought me to Dubai and I joined my current employers to assist them in setting up the ship owning division, which is now in its 20th year and known to all as Emarat Maritime."Today Capt. Misra is the Managing Director of Emarat Maritime LLC. His contributions to the Shipping Industry have been recognized by a number of organizations. In 2007, ClassNK set up their Middle East technical committee with Capt. Misra as the Chairman and American Bureau of Shipping have elected him as a Member of the Society for 5 year term. In 2009, he was also elected Director of BIMCO.

    Accomplishments in life are always a matter to be cherished in life; it works as a boost for the morale of an individual when he/she is in trouble. According to Capt. Misra, one of the most satisfying moments of his illustrious career was when he cleared his 2nd Mate's examination in 1976. "This transformation from being uncertified to a Certified Officer brought to me a feeling of elation and a sense of importance and responsibility". He cleared his Master (FG) examinations in 1980 and was promoted to Master and took command of his first vessel, m/v "Indian Freedom", at the age of 25, thus becoming one of the youngest Masters in the Indian Merchant Fleet.

    From every person we met on this journey, we had received a unanimous answer, when questioned on whether important decisions were taken alone. Thus we decided to know if Capt. Misra differed from the views which we already had. "It is the circumstance which dictate whether the individual would agree to make important decision alone. As an example the Master of a vessel invariably has to make every decision alone. However under different circumstances people would have the luxury of discussing important issues with others."

  • Capt. Jitendra Misra

    What a person requires is skill to survive in any industry. These skills may be managerial, technical, leadership, teamwork etc. As a person who has had exposure in various wakes of life we decided to know what according to Capt. Misra was the major skill which a person must posses to be successful in his career "There are a number of such skills but probably the one most important is to respect one's peers and colleagues. One has to be honest, just, caring towards other people and he must demonstrate the values that he would like to see in others."

    We decided to lighten our talk and pep it up with a few interesting questions to know Capt.Misra a bit more up personal. First we started with his family. Capt. Misra is a happily married man. He and his wife Archana Misra have been blessed with two children - Akshay and Anisha. Akshay Misra completed his Post Graduation in Environment Law (LLM) from Newcastle University in the United Kingdom in 2007 and is currently employed with Steamship Mutual P&I Club in London. Also a keen sportsman and physical fitness enthusiast, he regularly participates in marathons and endurance races. In April 2008, Akshay gained the unique distinction of becoming the youngest Indian to ski to the North Pole. Their daughter Anisha Misra is on the verge of completing her undergraduate programme in Bio Medical Science from Newcastle University in the United Kingdom. She intends to complete her Post Graduation in Public Health from the United Kingdom. She is a keen social worker and enjoys working with under privileged children through various charitable organizations. His wife Archana, whom Capt. Misra refers to as "the pillar of my life" is a very keen Bridge player and with both the children away and her husband often on extensive travels, she spends a lot of time playing competitive Bridge. Capt.Misra gives full credit to his wife for the upbringing of their children.

    Being a busy man of his stature it was really a tough task to find out quality time to pursue his hobbies. But it was really interesting to know that even in his busy schedule he takes out time to spend quality time with family as well as to play golf.

  • Capt. Jitendra Misra

    Shifting our focus we asked Capt. Misra to envision himself 80 years from now. With a smile on his face he said "I will be doing the same thing what I am doing now because for me shipping is an addiction."

    Finally it was the time for our last but a very important question to Capt. Misra, his valuable advice for the youngsters who want to pursue their career in the maritime industry and hope to make it big. "There is no substitute to hard work, be honest, truthful and treat others the way you want them to treat you" is what he told us.

    With that special piece of advice we had to say our adieu to Capt. Misra who was kind to spend time with us to share his experiences in life - A worthwhile experience for us indeed.

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