Where ( In Hand >> CTC )

As part of my district training, I attended 6 weeks of settlement training in a village called Chakmoh in district Hamirpur of Himachal Pradesh. This training was all about learning the process of Bandobasti (settlement), how it is done, what revenue records are prepared during the process, Girdawari (Assessment of crops on the spot) learning to read and write revenue records and understanding the roles of Patwari, Kanungo and Tehsildars who work at the cutting edge of the revenue system of state government.

Toughest part of the training was learning the words being used in revenue records since the Mughal times of Raja Todar Mal (coincidently the name of my Patwari was Raj Mal). Plethora of words like Min, Labald, Tafriq Bach, Shamlat, Inteqaal, Wazib-ul-urz, Bainama, Hibba, Barast, Aadrahain, Tarq Hakuk, Takseem, Baraani Avval, Khadaitar, Gair Munkin, Kita, Gau-Mairuseean, Mahfuja, Rafayeaam, Sabik, Goswara, Kaifiyat, Indraaz, Majkoor and Badastoor can throw an english educated youth like me tangentially into a new universe altogether. On top of that you have the records of last Bandobasti prepared in 1911 totally written in Urdu to cross check the current settlement work. And trust me both should match to the last details.

Land may be a commodity in cities and towns but in villages it’s an emotional issue. One day I was out in the field to learn survey work. We identified three base-points (Chanda) for Chandabandi. We set up all our apparatus and instruments and the musabi on the table was fixed in appropriate direction using a compass. I being an engineering graduate could easily figure out what they are going to teach me. I asked Patwari now let me do it and you verify whether I am doing it right or not. Patwari said, “Sir do minute ruk jaiye” (Sir wait for 2 minutes). He took out agarbatti, dhup and a small packet of sweets, washed his hands with water and started performing pooja. This was totally unexpected scene on the spot. First of all he was not there for actual survey for settlement per se. He was out there to teach me how it is done. But still such emotional attachment with his work was a delight to watch.

Another day we went out for demarcation of a land in a nearby village, Jaral. Owners of the land were no longer residing in the village. They had applied for Nishan-Dehi (demarcation) long back as the Takseem (Partition) was done some 15 years ago in their absence. All they wanted to know was the exact location of their share of land so that they can pay obeyence to their ancestors by performing some rituals on that land. It took us half a day to figure out the exact location consulting the lattha (Cadastral Map with Patwari) and copy of mommvi (Cadastral Map with Tehsildar) attached with application of demarcation in the scorching sun. Finally when the location of his Khasra (Land) and Rakba (Area) became apparent the owner performed pooja and kissed the land facing east direction. While making the Kaifiyat Indraz (Remarks Entry), I could not suppress my curiosity and asked his story. While narrating his four generation old story of land he was almost in tears.

There was this tea stall near my guest house. First day when I had this special tea there I paid for it like a normal customer. Second day when I went there in the evening and ordered for a special tea I could see a change in his mannerism while serving me. He must have come to know of my identity. And when I offered money this time, he said “saab aapse paise nahi lenge bura mat maniye aur mujhe sharminda mat kijiye aap log to kitna kuch karte hai logo ke liye” (That's what I understood of what he said in Punjabi-Kangri-Hindi mix). This sentence and gesture induced Avogadro sense of responsibility in me which i can’t encapsulate in my limited vocab. These kinds of social gestures can lead to sudden gush of adrenaline given the intensity of emotion and genuine expectation. The takeaway from this encounter was that such exchanges will keep the true spirit of public service firing in me. But then I had to stop visiting his tea stall in the evenings.

Innocence is still alive. You need to visit some remote village in Himachal to experience it. These villages are the last bastion of this rare emotional phenomenon which make us most warm blooded animal in the Animalia kingdom.

I used to walk down to settlement office from PWD guest house each day, a short trek of 5 Kms. This was a conscious decision to shed some unwanted ounces of fat around the abs to look fit on my soon to be solemnized marriage. It took just two days when the whole area came to know that I was an IAS officer and had come down to this remote place for settlement training. And third day onward people in cars and bikes started offering me hitchhikes. I had to very humbly turn them down for the reason mentioned above and trust me it used to be a challenge. So I started taking short cuts in the hills to avoid the delay and hurting genuine people extending help on the way. Chakmoh is seat to famous Shri Baba Balak Nath temple where annual collection of offerings is around 20 crores INR. Mythology of Baba Balak Nath, an ever twelve year old hermit is a pilgrim pulling factor for the district. Due to presence of temple in-numerous battalions of monkeys live in the area and they are a big menace for the pilgrims as well as for the residents of the village. So everyday I had to carry a stick to ward them off on the way. It was an experience in itself living a simple and no fuss low frill life.

Stairs Lading to Temple

Baba Balak Nath

Everyday during training period I used to go out in fields for Jaiza (survey), Nishan-Dehi (demarcation), Paimaish (measurement) and Durusti (correction) of revenue records which are like the most reliable records in the possession of government. Guy Fawkes masked “V” of “ V for Vendetta” had rightly said that if you have to dig out the historical truth then unearth revenue or Tax records as they are the most reliable records in the government irrespective of tirade of time. No wonder the whole process of record preparation is a tedious and time consuming process as attention is given to details and many layers of attestation and verification at various levels are carried out during the process. At times for a single revenue village in Himachal it may take 6-8 years to complete the settlement process. If you get down to field you will realize computerization of the whole process is a Herculean task and may in fact lead to more problems if brought in haste without due consideration to grass-root realities and complexities involved.

Not even a single day passed without people in this village offering me lunch and they used to actually compete for who will serve food to me. I was asked for and served tea and water almost every hour. People used to run to fields with thermos-flask filled with tea and cups. This was overwhelming and touching. Money is not that important for good hospitality or to entertain your guest. All that is needed is a large heart and this you can witness in villages in ample amount. In villages unlike urban areas, hospitality is still a rule and not exception.

Respect in the Indian Administrative Services is not for the person in the hot seat but its for the role and responsibility the officer carries on his shoulders. Recognition that an IAS officer gets is infectious and many of my colleagues do get a kick out of it. I feel they have every right to get a high from their infinite job profile which actually keeps them refueled and helps them to endure the rigors of the job. In a normal size district balancing the verbal orders of a dozen odd all powerful politicians, innumerable laws and acts, supervision and co-ordination of 50 odd departments, a vigilant high court of the state, expectations of the millions and one’s own moral and ethical standards is no child’s play. So the respect and recognition is well deserved except for the odd foul fish in the pond. I think IAS must be the only job where in hand is greater than CTC. Respect, recognition, job satisfaction and pathetic in hand salary will add up to astronomical figures.

On a serious note, living in these villages makes me more aware of my future roles. Last stay was more fulfilling in the sense I got to understand what a person sitting in the village expects from the administration. Their demands are very simple and officers sitting in high offices ignore them for being too trivial. One great learning from this settlement training apart from revenue knowledge would be to unlearn differentiating between problems. Problem of a village folk unable to get a caste certificate is as important if not more than as a problem of an industrialist seeking single window clearance for all his permits and licences. By differentiating between the two problems an officer will be creating a small and invisible division in the society as of now of which integral summation over a long period would translate into a  social unrest. So better appreciation of uniqueness and gravity of each problem pertaining to any person irrespective of his status is must for social, political and economic justice as our constitution envisages for this country. And IAS officers are suitably placed to ensure the same in these changing times.

Diabolic Mutant

Corruption based on “Doctrine of Functionality”, must be the biggest social game changer of recent times apart from Jasmine revolution shaping our societies and changing genetic composition of its fabrics. Corruption is like HIV virus weakening our social, political and economic fabric’s immunity and resilience. Corrupt people are like cold zombies gobbling onto normal warm blooded humans as in the movie “I am Legend” starring my favorite Will Smith. Corruption reinforces belligerent corruption and leads to vicious cycle of corruption like malign viral multiplication and acquiring a demonic status in the society. We know the problem even the causes and the processes of the virus but then we are far from any “Anti-Corruption Vaccine”. Away from the Corruption of Avogadro numbers in Delhi, corruption at the cutting edge level of governance is demeaning the social and ethical fabric of this country. And this cutting edge includes executive, judiciary and legislative (so called “Panchayati Raj”). I get a shiver down my spine thinking of such a ubiquitous nature of corruption.

Patwaris or Halka Patwaris form the lowest rung of revenue officials. But for common man they are next only to crazy gods when it comes to revenue/land matters or disputes related to them totally indifferent and vague. It’s easier to persuade IndruNag Devta of Dharamshala not to rain when India is playing a cricket tie in controversial HPCA stadium than to get a revenue work done by these Patwaris without the under table payments. And think of the poor who can hardly make their both ends meet, if they have to get their small holdings partitioned or demarcated only the demi-god Rajanikant can rescue them. These officials wield influence and are powerful agents in society on account of their indifference and corrupt practices. The story I am about to narrate will further explain their clout. My colleagues in IAS will find it more humorous. Once an old lady aggrieved by the long standing problems related to her small land holding went to a young IAS officer who was working in the capacity of an SDM. This young, energetic and dynamic officer solved her problems in a few phone calls and said, “Mataji Ghar jao aap ka kaam ho Gaya” (Mother your work is done, go back home). The old lady was so overwhelmed by the quick disposal of her problem that she started crying and blessing this officer. She said to him, “Beta jaldi promotion leke Patwari ban jao humara Patwari bina paisa liye kaam nahi Karta”. That’s the sordid tale of corrupt revenue officials at the cutting edge.

Corruption is directly proportional to governance deficit. And this deficit at the grass root level is preposterous. As per the Gandhi’s vision of ‘Gram-Rajya’, we have an elaborate system of three-tier Panchayati Raj system in place with 33 % reservation for women in representation as per article 243(D) of constitution. Finally after each election what we get in reality is 66 % Pradhans and rest Pradhan-Patis and no women representation for any practical purposes. Corruption in Panchayati Raj institutions is humongous. MGNREGA has become the biggest tool of corruption at the grass-root level. When people in Delhi were busy planning for big ticket corruption they thought over how to keep our brothers at grass-root busy. So they devised an immaculate system of siphoning money from the government treasuries into the hands of petty politicians breeding like cockroaches at the grass-root level. MGNREGA has actually funded the party cadre growth at the grass-root level. MGNREGA has given implicit crutches to oblivion grass-root democracy. MGNREGA could have been a magic wand for rural development, financial inclusion and the elusive idea of Inclusive growth but thanks to corrupt intentions.

Historically during British era most corrupt and lethargic Indian Civil Servants were posted as judges in the High Courts of Presidencies. They were not fit for or rather ineffective in carrying out any kind of developmental activities in far flung areas so were made to sit in courts to decide cases, as Justice was the least of the concerns of British Raj. And ironically we are still blessed with that legacy. Today talking about the corruption in the cutting edge or lower judiciary only one word comes to my mind, ‘Chindi-Chori’. More than 2 crores cases are pending in the lower judiciary not because we are a litigation loving nation or because of inadequate staffing of lower judiciary but more so because of corruption. Wait a minute I will explain.  Have you ever heard that most of the cases in lower judiciary are decided on day one depending on the bargaining power of parties? And then judges take power naps during the hearings. Once the hearing is over judge asks the winning party advocate to write the judgement and decree as well. They are least bothered even to do the last rituals. Where is the principle of natural justice in all these? And have you ever pondered over why even straight forward and petty cases run into several years? The advocates in order to maximize their fees in collusion with judges keep on pleading for more dates and it’s a win-win situation for both. Sometimes poor parties are unable to pay even the fees of their advocates and advocates are left with no choice but to keep postponing the final judgement to recover their fees and off course they can’t do so without the help of ever gluttonous judges. What impact this is going to have on the society? Justice delayed is justice denied. This injustice is not only going to produce huge unrest among poor masses but also will tear down the fabric of rule based just society and the result would be a total chaos someday. And then poor will not require the escape velocity of Jupiter but corrupt and suppressors would have to find safe havens at the speed of light to escape the fury of suppressed.

As a part of our IAS training we had a tribal tour of Himachal Pradesh for an exposure to gain insights into lives of tribal people and to experience the unforgiving terrains they inhabit. We started from Shimla crossed USA (That’s Upper Shimla Area not to be confused with Uncle Sam) reached Reckong Peo, Kinnaur. From Reckong Peo went to Kaza in Spiti, crossed Kunzum pass entered Lahaul and after a brief stay in Lahaul crossed Rohtang pass to reach Manali. I am an avid traveller and must have visited most of India. But after roaming in these areas and meeting hospitable beautiful and innocent people in the inhospitable topographies, I realised god has his own mysterious ways. When gods started making India and its people they must have started the ardent task from these regions. Soon gods realised they have created breath-taking landscapes and equally mesmerizing people. They started experiencing ecstasy at their creation and lost in high of their day created rest of India and its people. So if we really need to curse anybody for all our miseries then crazy gods must be blamed for that. But since taking revenge from the almighty is inconceivable like beyond infinity and technically near impossible, we have started marauding these areas corrupting their culture, their ethos, the peace and serenity in the region.

Don’t mind my language when I take the liberty to narrate you the stories of innocence of tribal people of Himachal Pradesh. I will be careful in the choice of my words. Not long back any outsider in Chamba district could have had coitus with a tribal female in exchange for a bundle or pack of ‘Bidis’. And this was very common till 1990s. Still registering a rape or sexual assault case in police station is rare occurrence in the region. Officials in Spiti complained they have no (I mean ZERO!) revenue and criminal cases pending in their courts. Is that not a conflict free Utopian society which many arm chair social theorist advocate for?  Conspicuously I used the word ‘complained’ to denote the money garnering opportunity eluding those officials in these regions. People of Kinnaur were very generous to people from intellectually stimulating land of Bengal when they used to get down from their hired tourist buses to devour their apple orchards. Soon Kinnauris got apprised that apart from eating apples for themselves they were carrying back bags for their folks at home for free. And Hospitality took a U-turn thanks to our greed. Kinnauris would have never heard Gandhi but surely they believe in his preaching, “Kinnaur has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed”. Only the eldest son of families in Pin valley of Spiti gets to enjoy the marital bliss and rest go to monasteries without any complains. But people from Pin valley (land of ibex and snow leopards) hurl abuses at government officials not because their Buddhist rich culture coerces them to do so but for agony they face at the hands of corrupt official present in the area flouting the vigilance scanner of so called good governance.

Corruption is distorting every facet of life in the tribal belt. Their society and primitive yet solid economy unlike the rest of India is taking a beating for no fault of their own. We mentally and physically corrupt people are injecting viruses in their perfectly alright ecosystem and disturbing their homeostasis. All this is happening in the name of development and to bring them to mainstream. What is main stream? Will the quality or quantity define mainstream? I would prefer the former over the latter. Per unit infrastructure cost in these areas is beyond the comprehension of absurdities of planning commission. These people would be like the last men and women on earth to reap the fruits of economic development even if they want so. And whatever they will experience will be attached with a heavy cost on their social, moral and ethical ethos. As of now all they have are barren terrains, mercy of god, never say die attitude, truckloads of innocence and floppiness of government officials.

It took 2% mutation for humans to evolve from Chimpanzees. How much more mutation is desirable to evolve as corruption free society is a million dollar question. Plato once remarked, “Only the dead have seen the end of war”. My question is, “Who will see the end of Corruption?” Plato’s Dead or Human 2.0? Who will be “The Legend”?

 

Governance Deficit and Resulting Innovation

Solan with population roughly equal to nation of Solomon Islands is one of the twelve districts of Himachal Pradesh and gets its name from revered Shoolini Mata. Solan town is the largest municipal council in the state. The town is also known as “Mushroom City of India” for vast mushroom farming in the area as well as for the Directorate of Mushroom Research, a central government organisation located here. It is also famous as “City of red Gold” for the bulk production of tomatoes in the area. The town is located on the Kalka-Shimla National Highway 22 and Kalka-Shimla Narrow gauge Heritage railway line passes through Solan. Some places of interest in the district are Chail, Kasauli, Barog and Arki. Enraged by arrogance of Lord Kitchener, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala built a summer retreat for himself in Chail when restricted from entering into summer capital of British Raj. Chail Cricket Ground built in 1893 and located at an altitude of 2444 meters is the highest cricket ground in the world. When you see a patch of clouds passing over this ground it feels as if somebody is doing serious smoking business in Malana. Anglo-Indian author Ruskin Bond was born in Kasauli. The Christ Church of Kasauli of Madras Café movie fame constructed during British era at around 1842 in Gothic style architecture is a major tourist attraction. Thodo dance performed based on archery is a local favourite. Some popular traditional dishes of Solan are Lushke, Patande, Poode, Sidu, Askalu and Pachole etc., and these names should not be mistaken for some kind of Alien Delicacies.

          Father of General Dyer (So called Butcher of Amritsar), Mr Edward Dyer was more generous to Indians who set up Dyer Breweries, the first brewery in Asia in 1855 in Kasauli which produced Asia’s first Beer by brand name ‘Lion’. Lion was a big hit with thirsty British army men in tropical Indian subcontinent for whom it was “as good as back home”. Lion was the number one beer of India till 1960s for almost over a century. Lion is still number one in Srilanka and the only reason I can think of is their pride in their national flag. It is hard to find in markets these days but for vintage lovers who can do a little bit of scooping, it is still sold in North India. The brewery now converted to distillery is owned by Mohan Meakin Limited. Old Monk, an engineering student’s delight in winters, is produced by the same company.

          This story is about a small village called Nauni in Solan district located 14 kilometres from district headquarters. Nauni village Panchayat is a silver line in the sky for other village Panchayats in the country. Ten years back Nauni was like any other Village Panchayat stagnant and with almost zero or no growth. But Nauni Panchayat has achieved in last one decade what bureaucrats and think tanks keep discussing in their futile board meetings for years which finally ends in a Big O. ‘Convergence’ is the word. Nowadays a number of Government training institutes have gone crazy over the concept and training their future generation administrators to fill in the gaps left by their super seniors sitting in silos in the secretariats when drafting a scheme or policy. Theory is all that these institutes of national importance offer but how to go about it is beyond their reach and imagination. This is where the grass root innovation, imagination and magic kicks in. Hero of the story Mr Baldev has been able to achieve what people like me are being trained for. He needed no formal training by great institutes and never read any great research work by some wandering soul. All he had was desperation to take his Panchayat to new heights and definitely an EQ beyond average souls. After a number of hit and trials and biting the dust he discovered the magic formula of ‘Convergence of various Government Schemes’. While individual government schemes could not fulfil and sustain his vision and big dreams, pooling in money from various beneficiary schemes for a particular purpose did. By converging money from various schemes he was actually correcting the mistakes of top down planning like an effective antivirus. Riding on the will of this great individual, Nauni Panchayat prospered and won accolades from world over. Nauni Panchayat became the first Nirmal Gram Panchayat of Himachal Pradesh as well as of India. Mr Baldev won district, state and national level honours for his efforts and dedication. Today Nauni Panchayat has water tank in every house and a few community owned water tanks for entire Panchayat. It has an excellent drainage system to the envy of any modern city in the world. Every house has provision for solar power. There is a fantabulous network of solar street lamps. Each house is connected by pucca roads. Villagers are doing agriculture based on modern methods. They are using Greenhouses for horticulture. Nauni in the backdrop of Himalayas is better and more picturesque than any European countryside I have been to. Mr Baldev has not only induced infrastructural changes but behavioural as well. Every member of the Panchayat is a stakeholder in the growth story and is contributing his bit. Cleanliness seen around in the Panchayat is infectious and every Panchayat member is responsible for it. Panchayat has a fully functional waste segregation and disposal plant as well. Mr Baldev says he did no magic but only converged money from all known schemes and could get remarkable support of villagers based on his convincing power. No doubt he had to face the wrath of jealous officials and at times was blamed of embezzlement too. And the unceasing problem he faces today is poor or no allocation of money for his Panchayat on account of “All is well in Nauni”. He rued to me and lamented over the apathy of officials who take him as a rising political entity and the party in power is averse to it. People from all over the globe visit this Panchayat to study the magic but government is least interested in appreciating such a feat. Mr Baldev is still hungry, he wants to do more but his fame is being the biggest obstacle in his way now thanks to local politics. Such Panchayats are islands of excellence and need to be emulated and promoted further elsewhere in the country. And Mr Baldev as an ambassador of innovation in governance at the grass-root level should be invited to training institutes which are serious about this whole issue of convergence. And planning commission should take a note that Mr Baldev is a product of its top down planning and do some serious introspection about its future role.

          Within a week of visiting the Nauni Panchayat I had an opportunity of attending a workshop on ‘Right to Hearing Act’ (RTH) in Jaipur. It was organised by the public services department, Government of Rajasthan in collaboration with NGO working for RTI led by Ms Aruna Roy. RTH is one of the latest and innovative piece of legislation by the Rajasthan Government to literally bulldoze their lazy officials to discharge their normal duties. RTH aims to strengthen Rajasthan Guaranteed Delivery of Public Services Act which was enacted earlier. To give us a feel of RTH in action we were taken to Dudu sub-division of Jaipur where a JanSunwai was being held. In RTH complainant needs to register his complaint with Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendra which can’t be refused. After receiving a complaint, a unique registration number will be given to the complainant in a receipt that will also have the date when the complaint is to be heard, the officer hearing it and the place for hearing. Hearings will be done at the Panchayat Samiti level, Tehsil level and the district level every Friday. During hearing the complainant is given respite by the officers concerned or given a written reply for refusal to do so. The idea is good and looks far fetching on paper. But what are we trying to do by such legislations. Is not it that the government has accepted that its officials are now being forced to do what they are ought to do and RTH is quick fix solution to do that. And for that matter RTI, Public Service Guarantee Acts, Right to Food and even RTE shows that government has accepted its failure as a welfare state thanks to its inefficient and ineffective execution and these acts and legislations are mere patch works and are making the so called “System” more like a big fat Panda.

          One Governance innovation which I came to hear of during the above workshop from my counterpart from Karnataka is “Challenge Fund”. A Rs. 10-crore ‘Challenge Fund’ was kept aside by Karnataka government to conceive, design and implement innovative ideas by any individual, group or agency that would ensure speedy and cost-effective delivery of public services to the people and could prove to be better alternative to existing delivery mode as being run by government since ages. So by and large governance deficit is being filled by breaking age old set patterns of traditional governance. Necessity is mother of invention. Government will have to keep pace with the expectations of people and changing times to keep itself relevant and alive in long run. Success is the end product of desperation. But that desperation is lacking. Stagnancy has set in. Government has the clout and the skill pool to be up and running but the need is to wake up and shake itself a bit and GO LIVE.

Above and Beyond the Call of Duty

Less travelled, yet spectacular- a tourist circuit increasingly getting popular in Himachal Pradesh for foreigners as well as the young, energetic and adventurous Indian youths, is Lahaul and Spiti.  It is by and large one of the most inaccessible and thus the least explored region by the adventure enthusiasts. Most part being a cold Desert results in Lahaul and Spiti being the third least populous district in the country but interestingly has the highest per capita income for any district in India. Lahaulis till recently practiced Polyandry and Spiti Bhotias have still primogeniture system of Inheritance. The entire landscape is breathtakingly picturesque and places like Baralacha La (connecting Lahaul to Ladakh), Kunzum Pass (Connecting Lahaul to Spiti), Tabo Monastery (aka Ajanta of Himalayas), Guru Ghantal Monastery, Solang

Chander Tal

Valley, Suraj Tal and Chander Tal (of ‘Lootera’ movie fame) are highly recommended to be on any mortal’s ‘Places to Visit before I Die’ list. The district remains snowbound and landlocked for six months a year from December to May and thus there is a single line of Administration and the Deputy Commissioner is virtually the King of the place. Emergency Helicopter Services is the only lifeline during these six months. During the rest of the year Lahaul is connected to other parts of Himachal by motor-able Rohtang Pass which literally means ‘pile of dead bodies’ capturing the idea of terrifying terrain. Situated at around 13000 feet, Rohtang Pass connects Manali on Kullu district side with Keylong on Lahaul side. The Pass receives heavy snowfall and blizzards during most of the long winter season and is open to traffic only for 4-6 months. Now, an 8.8 Kilometres long tunnel is being built under the Pass to provide all weather connectivity, and to reduce long hours in traffic jams.

This story dates way back to late 1970s when this young SDM of Keylong, belonging to Hamirpur district, was returning back to Duty after a small winter vacation. It was mid-December and the winter season being at its peak, there was incessant snowfall. He was accompanied by three more junior officers and a policeman who were also returning back to Keylong to report to Duty in the same vehicle. Journey from Hamirpur to Manali was pretty smooth in the larger context of their entire journey. They reached Manali by 6:00 AM as planned to cross Rohtang Pass by 8:00 AM which is the ideal time to cross the Pass. Just as they were nearing Manali, the snowstorms and blizzards got gravely intensified. They didn’t want to miss the best time window to cross the Rohtang Pass and in a hope that blizzards may calm down they continued moving forward. Right before they could reach this place called Kothi, 16 Kilometres ahead of Manali at around 7:00 AM, they stared with their eyes wide open at what laid ahead.  The road was totally covered with thick sheet of snow and rendered useless for any further vehicular movement. They were stranded at Kothi along with hundreds of other commuters. Kothi is situated at around 7500 feet. Back then, Kothi had no telephone services making them completed disconnected from rest of the world. Now the officer had two choices at his hand. One was to wait for weather to clear a bit and return back to Manali and call the headquarters at Keylong for further instructions. The other choice was to walk on foot carrying the luggage and cross the Rohtang Pass to report for Duty next morning. Easy as it may seem, but the choice to return back to Manali appeared bad to him as he thought that these snowstorms are only going to intensify in coming days and he will not be able to reach Keylong till next June or so unless emergency helicopter services drop him at Keylong which was highly unlikely in those days. Between Life and Duty he chose the latter. He conveyed his decision to junior officers and the lone policeman and told them to decide independently. Since their senior officer was taking the lead others too got motivated to march ahead. Little did they know what horror awaited them!

All five of them joined a human chain of some hundred odd other travellers and started moving up towards Rohtang Pass. The sweeping past wild blizzards showed no mercy and kept breaking the human chain at many points.  The visibility too was reduced to just a few metres. Before these five could reach a place called Madhi located at the opening of Rohtang at around 13000 feet they lost sight of all others in the chain. They realized that they were lost amidst the heavy snow and unruly blizzards which were tearing them apart. They were unable to walk and were losing the sense of direction now. Breathing was becoming a strain and they could hardly hear each other. It was gradually getting insurmountable to carry luggage any further so they got rid of their luggage except for the essentials.  All of a sudden, one of the junior officers started getting breathless.  He gave up and sat down gesturing with his hand asking others to move on and he will catch up later. SDM knew if left there alone the guy would die and would be buried under dense sheet of snow within no time. So they decided to drag him along. They kept him dragging and lifting him at times till they reached a point on the Pass from where the down slope began. Now on the downhill slope, they began rolling this guy down. He would reach some distance rolling down like a tyre and lay there till the rest four reached there and pushed him to roll down again. This way all five struggled but managed to reach Kokhsar located at around 9000 feet in Lahaul on the way to Keylong after traveling non-stop almost for half a day, at around 6:00 PM in the evening.

They somehow managed to find a government guest house in Kokhsar to their utter respite. All were badly frost bitten and in totally bad shape. They would have probably died had they had to walk another extra mile. But fortune favours the brave. They had managed to escape from the horrible clutches of an unforgiving weather. The guest house staff quickly arranged for fire to raise their temperature. When the SDM sat down at some distance to the fire to warm himself, he experienced the worst moment of his life. As if the blood in his legs and hands had frozen and on receiving heat it started to melt steadily.  He felt the blood forcefully gushing through his narrowed veins. He was under unimaginable pain, as if some hundreds of needles were piercing through his legs and hands at the same time. The policeman could not bear the pain and wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible so rushed towards a bucket full of hot water and put his hands into it. To his shock, his fingers were badly frost bitten to an extent that they came out detaching from his hand in a snap second, as soon they came in contact with hot water. He started crying in unbearable misery, fell down and went unconscious. The SDM too was losing consciousness and eventually fainted.

Survivor in true senses! Next day when he woke up the weather had cleared a bit so he proceeded for Keylong.  He reported for Duty the same day just as he had determined. Later during the day he heard the news that many people died while crossing the Pass previous day and were buried beneath the snow.  A rescue operation was in full swing to recover their bodies. SDM on knowing this, thought for a second and realised that he might have walked past over the bodies buried under the snow. This very thought ran a shiver down his spine and he stood motionless as if along with his body even his soul had frozen.

                Such use to be the commitment of officers in those days. Ethics, moral values and call of duty carried huge significance in their lives. Due to such commitments by young and old officers alike, Himachal has steadily progressed since its formations and reached to this stage where it is considered a model state. Multiple factors have been responsible for the steady progress apart from committed bureaucracy and polity. One such factor and still the biggest asset with the state is its law and order situation which is prerequisite to any developmental initiative. It is much better than any other state and to some extent unmatched in the country providing congenial environment for progress. The biggest contributors as well as stakeholders in this situation are the people of the state who are always cool, calm and composed. Jocularly people say that forget about police even 'Hanuman Ji' is so jobless in the state that instead of keeping his ‘Gadda’ on shoulders i.e., ready to fight mode, he has kept it down on ground as portrayed in the statue installed in Jhakhu Temple of Shimla.

                Ministers in Himachal walk without a gunman on Mall road and it has not changed since the days of Dr. Yashwant Parmar, the first CM of the state who used to take strolls on the Mall Road without any paraphernalia like a so called ‘Mango man’. Which other state can boast of such a remarkable law and order situation? It’s just not a conceivable idea for most of the states. But it is for real in Himachal Pradesh. Himachal is one state where you will still find that old brigade ICS kinds who are still like Caesar’s wife beyond suspicion and their commitment is unquestionable. All Himachal needs is a leap of faith that would take it to the next level setting benchmarks for the rest of the country in every field possible.

But then what actually is ailing the system? My personal take after talking to some very senior bureaucrats in the state is that Risk taking ability is vanishing in the Indian bureaucracy in general. The inertia and complacency setting in the services is actually harming the steel frame more than anything else. It’s not corruption but politics of vendetta and vote bank which is ruining the efficiency and hampering the delivery in Himachal Pradesh per se. The political class is highly educated and enlightened in the state. The synergy between the bureaucrats and politicians is however missing. The next administrative reforms committee should actually deliberate on this aspect more than anything else if this so called 'System' has to be brought back to consciousness or snowballed to happy ending.

Toll tax on Development

‘Switzerland of East’ aka ‘Unforgettable Himachal’ is hurling surprises at me every day that I am passing in its majestic lap (being a curious kid in the lap of Himalayas).The diversity existing in these hills are baffling me and trust me I am experiencing ecstasy every day even without relishing the so called famous ‘Malana Cream’. Day by day I am kind of developing a sense of ownership and my heart is no more an outsider in this newly found home for itself. Slowly but mostly my status has changed from being a clumsy guest to a responsible host. The secret is ‘Once you go to hills you belong to them’. Now I get upset on seeing a tourist littering around. I feel like saying, ‘gentleman don’t dirty      my place’ as I am yet to host some more like you. While jogging through the apple orchards in the morning I realize what I missed in the jungles of Fontainebleau. And while on the roads when I am engulfed by a passing cloud I wonder what more I could have asked for in this life. But while looking at every smiling and contended face around I get confused about my role as administrator. Do I really have anything to offer which can add to their happiness or will my future roles in various capacities only deteriorate the Gross Happiness Index of these beautiful people? And this very confusion gives birth to a series of fluctuating thoughts and raise questions as to what is development and what really an inclusive and sustainable development is all about? Does anyone really understands the concept or it’s just a frenzied propaganda of a few arm chair theorist who are minting money and earning their bread and butter out of it? Are there any serious souls around?

                Classes are invariably boring for everyone except for a few who can beat any odd and will always be the winners. During one such boring class I met this interesting IAS officer who remarked, “Shimla is Himachal but Himachal is not Shimla”. The remark encapsulated the diversity existing in the state but generally overlooked by the uninformed tourists visiting the state. And the person who said this was none other but an ex-Director of Himachal Tourism Department. And this was the premise based on which he pushed two projects namely ‘Har Ghar Kuch Kahata hai’ and ‘Har Gaon Ki Kahani’ which won Himachal a number of national awards leaving even the ‘Gods own country’ behind. These are coffee table books. The first book captures various buildings in and around Shimla of British era and their grandeur. The second book presents anecdotes and folklores from different villages portraying their culture, custom, history, ritual, festivals and mythology. And these books have helped in promoting ‘Rural Tourism’ in Himachal attracting far more number of tourist each year especially foreign tourists which has even exceeded the numbers in Goa (Difficult to digest but true!). Himachal lives in its villages is just not philosophy but statistics support too as 89 % population of state is rural. Every village and every town of the state is unique and offers ample opportunity and can cater to diverse tourist profiles needs.

                My first story is about a village known by different metaphors like ‘Shangri-La of Himalayas’, ‘forbidden land’, ‘Athens of Himalayas’ and ‘Utopia in Himalayas’ etc. Yes I am talking about ‘Malana’, a village in Kullu district which must be by and large the most famous village of India on the world map partially thanks to ‘Malana cream’. Villagers here trace their origins to Alexander the Great and call themselves the descendants of Alexander’s army which decided to stay back after their victory against King Porus. Legend has it that once Akbar the Great too visited the place looking for cure of an ailment (he must have been too stressed I guess!). Villagers speak a language understood only by them. Kanashi, the language of Malanis is totally different from dialects in its neighbourhood and is probably a mix of Sanskrit and Tibetan dialects. The wooden houses in the village have unique architecture with Greek styled motifs decorating them. The village must be the oldest republic in the world. Local deity ‘Jamlu Devta’ rules the village with the help of a council elected by the villagers. Villagers have immense faith in ‘Jamlu Devta’ and his fiats. His Temple is an imposing structure in the upper Malana. For Malanis, Malana is a different country altogether and rules of India don’t apply to them. They consider themselves superior to outsiders who are instructed to walk on designated roads while crossing the village. Outsiders can’t touch anything in the village and if they do so are fined to the tune of a thousand bucks. If Malanis by chance come in contact with an outsider they sacrifice a lamb to Jamlu Devta to purify themselves.  Mystery surrounding the village has been a theme of research for many inquisitive souls and script for many documentaries. Inaccessibility of village and the ‘Malana Cream’ in the past has been the motivation for enthusiastic trekkers more so foreigners. State Police reached the village only in 1996. By 2006 some kind of rural tourism has developed with ‘Hotel Dragon’ catering to the tourist in lower Malana. Till last decade civil administration had hardly any clue about what goes on in the village located at around 10,000 ft. and Malanis were living there since 326 BC (as the legend has it!) in peace without any demands from outside world. Last decade saw a flurry of changes which has unsettled the life of Malanis to a large extent. Two hydro projects have come up the vicinity and roads are being constructed all around. The place is losing its peace and charm not only for Malanis but also for tourists. If that was less, a major mysterious fire in 2008 destroyed 40 % of the village reducing some unique wooden structures to ashes. In 2011 a school started functioning as well which was desperately needed by the Education Department to interface and integrate Malanis with the rest of the world. But no sooner administration entered into the area, the village has been in shambles. All that civil administration wanted was to bring Malanis in mainstream but results have been devastating. Did Malanis aspire for it? Is inclusive growth really worth it if not sustainable and damages traditional social ecology beyond repair? Who is at faults: The Administration, Malanis or the Concept of Development?

                Last weekend along with my friends I visited a place called Tattapani in Mandi district located on Shimla-Mandi Highway around 55 Kilometres from Shimla on the banks of river Sutlej. We started at around 5 PM from Shimla. It’s a beautiful drive descending from an elevation of 2200 metres to 660 metres

at Tattapani crossing beautiful places like Mashobra and Naldehra. As we go downhill, the change in vegetation presents a spectacular view. Amazingly you find date trees on your left side in Suni, a place just near Tattapani indicating presence of inland sea known as Tethys once upon a time under mighty Himalayas. Tattapani means ‘Hot Water’ and as the name suggest there exist hot water springs on the banks of Sutlej in this expanse. The hot water coming out of these springs contain sulphur and some other rare elements which are considered good for skin. As soon as we reached, we headed towards a restaurant set just on the banks of Sutlej. We had tea while taking a walk on the bank of the river and had a brief photo session too. Being rainy season Sutlej was gushing down at its full might. For dinner, to our surprise the restaurant owner suggested us a place in open just next to the river. A table and some chairs around it where placed on the sandy bank. And while the order was being served, they lit a candle creating a perfect ambience for dinner. And to add to it the restaurant owner also arranged for chilled beer. I could not have asked for more. I was experiencing a trance and tripping now and then. The entire situation was implausible. One of my friend who belonged to Indian Forest Services said ‘I never had a dinner in such a setting before’. The gush of water was musical and the beer was marinating my soul and I was experiencing a high least concerned of the conversation going on the table. So overwhelmed were we that for a dinner bill of measly thousand bucks, we gave the waiter five hundred as tip. The place had won us over. We would have never desired to leave the place but the call of our duty next day was sufficient reason to push off. As we started to get into our vehicle the owner came running to us handing over a pamphlet of his resort which was up hill away from the bank. He was inviting us to visit the resort in future. I said forget about the resort your restaurant here near the bank is an amazing place and we would love to come here again for dinner sometime. On this the owner looked down and said with a heavy heart, “Sir, this place is going to submerge by the year end when a hydel project nearby gets commissioned”. Ground slipped beneath my feet. His account jolted my soul and mind which was in trance so far was struck by the reality. We all returned back to Shimla with a heavy heart.

                Next day while surfing on the net I found that Koldam Hydro project of 800 MW is coming up on Sutlej River in Bilaspur which will lead to submergence of 68 villages in the area. But these villages have been more than adequately compensated as Himachal has one of the world’s best Hydel power policy benefitting the project affected people (PAPs). So it’s a win-win situation for the operator NTPC (Interestingly my previous employer!), people and the state government which will get the 12 % share in electricity produced. But the coming generation will miss what I had experienced that evening. This is the toll tax on development that the society is paying unknowingly. I am a budding administrator and I am not supposed to or rather I can’t afford to get emotional about these things. Government expects me to be an agent of change and development and so will I be. There is not an iota of doubt in my mind whatsoever. But the kid inside me keeps me restless. And I love that kid enough not to part ways with him. But the kid is oblivious, so there is a way out.

For the fans of the Sitcom: “Yes Minister”

Bureaucrazzzy

The collusion between politicians (P), bureaucrats (B), capitalists (C) and religious leaders (R) is a known fact worldwide and it has mostly proved to be a recipe for disaster. Any scam originating in the country can be attributed to hands in gloves job of political masters and their subservient (debatable though!) bureaucracy. All recent scams which knocked India off its feet be it Chopper Deal, 2G, Coalgate, Tatra, Antrix Devas Deal or CWG, if there is any truth in them, then it has definitely left a bad example of this collusion. And the worst manifestations of P-B-R connivance have been riots and genocide perpetuating all forms of atrocities on the voiceless lowest strata of the society throughout the world. Ramachandra Guha in his book “India after Gandhi” while giving the Prologue narrates five axes of asymmetries running in this ‘Unnatural Nation’ namely Caste, Language, Religion, Class and Gender. I would like to extend his ‘Class’ definition which he restricts only to Capitalist (C) to others namely P-B-R. It is these rich and all powerful P-B-C-R (lets refer it as ‘PoBuCRacy’ hereafter) classes who rule and decide the faith of the humanity. It is this collusion of ‘PoBuCRacy’ classes which is increasing the Gini coefficient, social unrest and keeping social indices low in this country and for that matter in many other countries as well.

          At the same time co-operation and earnest intentions aided by vision in PoBuCRacy class can work wonders and can create a society may be just short of utopian. History is not devoid of such examples where vision of politicians and responsiveness of hardworking bureaucrats have set standards in public administration to reckon with. Works of many religious leaders like Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Swami Dayanand Saraswati gave a new direction to the society. Though for many CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) may be another piece of jargon but business houses through CSR and through their long term social contracts are making a positive impact on the society and contributions of Tatas, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever and ITC are noteworthy.

          But this article is not about portraying the serious business of PoBuCRacy. Politicians and bureaucrats have a life too and they can be funny, witty and jokes emanating out of their interactions can set the society ROFL and LOL. Come on give them a break and for once celebrate and explore the hilarious side of these poor chaps who are otherwise at the receiving end for anything and everything. These mortals might be on the face of it intimidating, stone faced, unapproachable and ‘touch-us-not’ types but then can be a source of  entertainment too if we take a pause from censuring them. Had there been no ‘Sardars’, ‘Wives’ and ‘Politicians’ in the society, this earth would have been a sad place to live robbed of its vitality and fun quotient.

                It has been just two weeks in this small Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh as a budding administrator and this state has already started amusing me with its amazingly vibrant diversity. Achievements in first two weeks have been my engagement (Not purposely planned though!), meeting the CM, Governor, Chief Justice and a fleet of top bureaucrats in the state and last but not the least meeting ‘The People’ and listening to their anecdotes. Art and culture bores me to death if it can’t increase the adrenaline gush in me. So conspicuously my interaction with the people of the state has been in the domains which will be of my interest in near future namely how the administration is run in the state, its various nitty-gritty and of course the relationship patterns between the Political bosses and their efficient (I know it’s debatable!) managers i.e. bureaucrats. And this relationship pattern is no different from the rest of the country and to my surprise it evades its geographical and economic conditions and shares the pan-Indian characteristics. So I was not shocked to get threatening looks showing off superiority from my boss and for not asking me to take a seat in chamber while making a personal appearance. Boss is Boss irrespective of altitude, temperature and humidity of the place. Himachal with roughly 68, 00,000 population and 68 assembly seat, which computes down to an average of 1, 00,000 population for each constituency. So literally every vote counts and thus MLAs have sleeves rolled up all the time and consequently bureaucrats are kept on toes. Margin of error for MLAs is very less and that is evident in 25-30% new faces in assembly each year. This makes the life of civil servants miserable and the only respite they get is the pleasant weather throughout the year to keep their cool which is always a jealousy factor for their counterparts in other states.

                For all those who are big time fans of British sitcom ‘Yes Minister’, I can tell you with conviction and take my words Sir Humphrey Appleby (One who plays the role of Permanent Secretary in the TV sitcom) would have tough time in Shimla from where once the British ruled Indian Subcontinent for 100 odd years. He would have been pulling every hair on his head to circumvent the present day political class of Himachal which is educated, easily approachable and totally grounded (Unlike MP Jim Hacker of the sitcom ‘Yes Minister’). In Himachal if a person wishes to meet the CM in the morning after waking up, he can meet him up and return by evening to his home with a photograph.

          But the story which I am going to narrate is about how a bureaucrat in this part of the world can give run for his money to the fictional character of Sir Humphrey Appleby of ‘Yes minister’. But to appreciate the story it’s important to understand the local worshipping habits of Himachalis. Most of the villages in Himachal have local deities/devtas who are revered and listened to by the entire village in decision making (wait you will know how?). Each devta has a peculiar personality traits and idiosyncrasies. They have a permanent place of stay in village or outside the village but love travelling on occasions in wooden palanquins decorated in a unique style. Many cultural characteristics of the village is influenced by these local devtas. When the procession is taken out at least one male member of the household front of whose house it passes joins the procession. And the final destination of the procession culminates as a place of a fair or Mela. One such famous fair is Kullu Dussehera where 1000’s of local devtas travel all the way to Dhalpur maidan in kullu valley. These local deities have local mortal representatives known as ‘Vazirs’. These Vazirs speak on behalf of these devtas (So these devtas speak as well!). These devtas also fight for superiority over other devtas and issue sermons to that effect through their Vazirs. In some villages people take permission of these devtas even before taking their sick members to hospitals. Villagers take their problems to these devtas and devtas through their Vazirs voice the solutions. And for feast Goats and other animals are sacrificed to these devtas during ceremonies.

          This story was told to me by a subordinate administrative officer and dates back to emergency period and took place in Mandi district of Himachal. Erstwhile Politician Mr Yashpal Kapoor was a close aide of Indira Gandhi, a senior Congress leader and also chairman of National Herald at that time. He planned a visit to a sub-division in Mandi during a very awkward time of year when he could have hardly got a crowd for his rally. The SDM of that sub-division was informed about the same. Yashpal being so close to then Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi that this officer was left with no choice but to make all the arrangements. The first challenge was to gather a crowd for rally. This officer a seasoned one, thought why the local deities can’t help him out of this difficult situation after all why these gods exist if they can’t bail out the needy. These devtas run the justice system of these places and people have blind faith in them. So the Venue for rally was decided and this officer banked on local gods for his salvage. He persuaded the Vazir of the most powerful local devta of Chuhar valley, ‘Dev Hurang Narayan’ to help him out. So ‘Dev Hurang Narayan’ passed a farmaan calling a meeting of other devtas namely ‘Adi Purkh Brahma’, ‘Buda Bingal’ and ‘Sukh Dev Rishi’ at the decided venue. Now on D-day when these local devtas where taken out of their temples to the venue through villages in a procession a large crowd automatically gathered at the venue. So the First task at the hand of Officer-in-Charge was accomplished. So far so good. Now came the next disclosure to him. He was asked to arrange a lunch and the menu specifically demanded mutton. The wise officer again requested the Vazir of ‘Dev Hurang Narayan’ to offer goats as sacrifices to all the devtas present. As this was the only mode to serve mutton in such a gathering of local devtas. Arrangements were made for offering goats to these devtas. But then another custom came in their way. Before making sacrifices water is sprinkled on these animals and if they shudder then they are said to be accepted by the devtas and consequently they are sacrificed. Water was sprinkled by the Vazir on the first goat. The goat didn’t shiver at all. Again our wise officer got in charge. He whispered to the Vazir instead of normal water use hot water. Now when hot water was sprinkled all the goats shivered due to high unbearable temperature. And consequently a good feast was prepared.

          The moral of this story is, nothing is impossible when PoBuCRacy gets down to work. There is no dearth of resources, brains and skills in PoBuCRacy. Need is to work with right intentions with a vision to deliver the best in the interest of the society. It’s high time for PoBuCRacy to change its image and usher into era of inclusive growth taking along even the most vulnerable members of the society. And mind you PoBuCRacy alone is equipped for this transformation by virtue of being at the helm of the affairs.

What would it be like?

I belong to a breed of professionals identified more promptly in Indian context by the name ‘Babus’. The word ‘Babu’ is profoundly used in North India particularly in Eastern UP, Bihar, Nepal and Bengal as a mark of respect towards men. I being the eldest son in the family always had the privilege to be referred as ‘Babu’. My Hindi teacher out of respect for the class topper used to call me as ‘Rakesh Babu’ during my KV days in Hyderabad, the bastion of superstar ‘Mahesh Babu’. During the British era the word ‘Babu’ was used to refer to native Indian clerks. But the so called fourth pillar of our democracy “The omnipresent Media” corrupted the word and associated it with ‘comfort’ and ‘laziness’ and now bureaucrats feel they are being compared to lazy and corrupt clerks when referred to as ‘Babus’ doing ‘Babugiri’ in the ‘Babudom’.

          I am all set to enter the next phase of my IAS training and heading towards District Kangra in H.P as Assistant Commissioner (U/T). I have not yet signed a single Government file. But whenever and wherever I am asked the question “Kya karte hai aap?” (How do you make a living?), I can instantly anticipate the reaction coming my way when I respond to inform them that I am an IAS probationer. Pat comes their next “Sarkar mein bahut corruption hai” (Government is very corrupt).  And that would unwind a whole new thread of discussion on political pressure on IAS officers, “Neta logo ka bahut pressure rahta hoga?” If the questioner is a well to do person belonging to Uttar Pradesh and earning more than what is required to make a living, he will without fail over jealously taunt and will talk about the humiliations an IAS officer faces at the hands of mighty politicians on daily basis. As if they are mythological ‘Sanjay’ or some evolved ‘Human CCTVs’ taking stock of every closed door meetings between politicians and bureaucrats. The other day one of my lawyer friend from my previous job called me. I was sad to hear that his wife passed away recently. And he is fighting a bitter case with his in-laws for the possession of his three year old kid. To make him feel better I started telling him about how my life has been given the rigors of IAS training. I tried to sound living a very hectic and torturous life to make him forget his own sorrows. But soon our discussion treaded into another very intimidating terrain for IAS Officers. He started telling me how senior IAS (Principal Secretaries) and IPS (DGP, IGs) officers are reprimanded more to an extent of harassment in the Allahabad High court and face contempt charges on regular basis. They are made to wait for hours in the court and chided even for their dressing sense forget about their official delinquency. To save the face of my race I candidly asked why judges behave that rudely. Pat came the reply, “Since they could not make it to IAS”. From the member of a legal fraternity that reply was surely comforting.

          Except for their parents (not even spouses), everybody blames IAS officers for the sorrow state of affairs in this country. Nobody will understand the pain of responsibility that a handful of IAS officers running this $2 Trillion economy face today.

How they invariably have a screwed up personal life while delivering their best to this nation. Only a Collector can understand what it feels like to be a Collector coordinating 50 odd sluggish Govt. departments and chairing endless meetings. He is literally one person running the whole show which really matters in the governance of this country at the end of the day . Given what a Collector does, I think it must be the most challenging job for any manager in the world, yet he is expected to carry a magic wand.

I still remember my interview with a Hindi Daily upon successfully clearing the Civil Services exam. This was a telephonic interview and the interviewer sounded a middle aged journalist. He was hell bent upon extracting how I will solve the innumerable problems this country faces today. He almost investigated me for my stand on corruption and lust for power .He was trying to outsmart me for no reason. Finally when he told me that he had appeared for UPSC interviews twice, I came to understand his psyche. And finally the article carried my photograph and my views on how to crack civil services. I was amazed as to why I was asked such absurd questions which had no relevance and particularly when the reporter knew that they won’t be published anyway.

          Why every representative section of the society carry such prejudices and hatred for the steel frame? To my understanding the abhorrence for the job may be a remnant of the anguish prevailing during the British times, or the very nature of the powerful positions this profession brings along or propaganda of many who could not make it to this elite service or it could be as simple as “Indian Bureaucracy has failed to deliver”. The time has come to explore the reasons of failures, prejudices and hatred and embark on a journey to correct the mistakes of past and to give India a better responsible, commendable, clean and admirable Bureaucracy. The time has come knocking at my door steps. I will see the Indian bureaucracy at work while being a part of it now. It would be exciting to see how the elephant works. It would be even exciting to contribute than being a mere fence sitter in mostly a hostile yet challenging environment. District Training would be a great opportunity to explore and to dirty my hands with nuances of administration. It would sound little philosophical but I am all geared up to add more meaning and a few more shades to my journey.The journey begins now and totally eager to find out “What would it be like?”