AN OFFICIAL NEEDS TO BE ACCESSIBLE

 Greater a man is, the more is he accessible. I hold this view. I have learnt it from experience.  Years ago, in early seventies, while I was serving as Additional District Magistrate at Rourkela, both I and my wife paid a visit to the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata. I recollect the warmth of reception we received from none else than the legendary Mother Teresa who spent almost two hours of her valuable time showing and explaining to us various activities in the campus and talking to us with great interest as if she knew us for years. There was no barrier of officialdom; no showing off; no inner chamber which was out of bounds for ordinary mortals like me. “Atithi Devo Bhava”, the great Indian tradition which treats the guest as God, was the pervading atmosphere where the noble Mother was the presiding officer. Another experience comes to my mind. About a month before I was to retire from the IAS, I requested the Secretary to the President if I could have the privilege of a courtesy call on the President. He was nice to remember and about a fortnight later, I was informed that a meeting with Rastrapatiji had been fixed.  I called on the President, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, in his office and had exclusive time for an hour with the great Indian. The simplicity and the versatility of the person and his eagerness to listen to you, left an indelible mark in the memory.
A leader has a natural urge to reach out to the people. If he is genuine, he not only makes himself available to hear the people and talk to them; he does his best to meet their aspirations. He redresses their grievance too. I remember a case when a group of people called on the then Chief Minister, Biju Patnaik, and conveyed their anxiety over the proposed location of an establishment of a para-military organisation just at the enhance of their village ( not far from Bhubaneswar) which would cause a lot of inconvenience to the villagers, and, particularly, the ladies. Chief Minister immediately asked the concerned officer to visit the spot and furnish a factual report. The report was made available to him and the Chief Minister was convinced of the genuineness of the grievance. Decision to shift the location of the establishment was taken. But what happens if a Chief Minister, for years, prefers not to meet any one in his grievance cell? One finds government functionaries are getting  inspiration from the Chief Minister and becoming increasingly inaccessible or-- to be fair-- selectively accessible. There is a widely held perception that a person getting elected or selected into an office, soon chooses his priorities. These are mostly pursuits meant to benefit him in the short and long run. He looks for the advantages which the office is capable of offering. With such an attitude, the person opts for inaccessibility. I would view this malady as a major contributor to governance deficit.

I would request government officials to be accessible; pleasant and helpful. Such a disposition, not their arrogance or inaccessibility, only enhances their efficiency and usefulness.

AVOIDABLE LIFESTYLE

Avoidable lifestyle like sleeping too late and waking up late; overeating; skipping breakfast ; liberal recourse to medicines including sleep     inducing pills, even without advice of doctors; indulgence in fast-food; love for deep fried snacks and indulgence in intoxicants including tobacco, has been making thousands of young men and women susceptible to ailments which would have severe impact on the length and quality of the working life of these well educated youth. They know intake of fresh vegetables would be desirable; yet they would go in for food in restaurants where very often they would settle for spicy and oily dishes. The other day the revelation of an old friend of mine was shocking. He has provided accommodation  to a family in his house that looks after him. The family has three members including a child. Therefore food is made in the house for four persons including a child. They consume at least eight litres of cooking oil per month. My advice to him was to curtail the consumption drastically. “We, five consumers including our support staff, consume 1500 ml of oil per month” I told him. I had to make efforts to make him believe that I was honest.

Many in the society are silent persons by temperament. They prefer to work and read; they would avoid a crowd or commotion. While this trait need not be decried, I would feel that people should not be averse to engaging themselves in lively and healthy discussions. Intellectual conversation promotes efficiency of the brain. Positive thinking is a sure way of keeping our brain in shape.

We do not limit our crusade against our natural endowment only to these aberrations I have narrated above. We have gone beyond. How many of us, including the brilliant ones of the emerging generation,  derive pleasure in writing by hand? Calligraphy used to get reflected many a time in letters written to friends and near and dear ones. Letter writing is declining. I had great pleasure seeing my grandson writing by hand when he was younger and was completing his home work. Now I have started seeing his feelings through e-mails. I only hope he does not abandon writing by hand when he grows up. Regular writing by hand— not limited to putting our signature or writing a cheque --  keeps our reflexes strong and the fingers agile. Handwriting is a reflection of the state of the brain.

Sadly we seem to be under the impression that the human body is strong enough to withstand relentless abuse. We are wrong. Let us not drift too radically too fast. The youths may keep this in mind and ensure that they too enjoy the scene of the rising sun every morning. Bahagvad Gita speaks about SAMATWAM YOGA UCHYATEY. A nice example of the precept is the Anantasayam posture of Lord Vishnu. Appreciation of this precept would make our young generation aware of the virtue in being in peace with self. It will make them see virtue in moderation. They may be convinced that it may not be wise to tinker too much with the law of nature.

********
17th November,  2012

THE KINDLY WORLD

       Most readers admire Paulo Cohelo’s famous line in The Alchemist “When you really want something to happen, the whole world conspires to help you achieve it.” I am narrating my experience about nine years ago, much before I read The Alchemist.

       My wife and I went to Shimla sometime in 2002 when Delhi was warm enough and we spent three nights there, in the State Guest House. On the first day, we had dinner and talked for a while when my wife suddenly said “I had seen clouds hitting the hills and rain pouring in the Hills years ago; how I wish I saw clouds, thunder, lightning and rain in the Hills again .” The next morning we visited places in and around Shimla. Chief Secretary, Himachal Pradesh, Harsh Gupta, a good friend, had made avaialble a good car and a still better Driver. While the car was negitiating a climb and the weather was pleasant, my wife asked the Driver “Do you get rains in Shimla in this part of the year?”  . He slowed down the car, craned his neck out of the window, looked up and smilingly said “No madam, we do not get rains these days; but you should come during the rainy days and see the play of clouds and the hills and the bubbling rain water flowing down the hills”. 

       We had a busy day, our second day in Shimla. That night around eleven, we woke up at the sound of thunder and flashes of lightning. It rained heavily, for about a couple of hours. Perhaps nature conspired to fulfil her wish. She was ecstatic; I found no explanation how it could have happened. We talked for a while, watching the rain outside. 

She unfolded yet another wish. She longed to see a pahari wedding and wondered if this could take place while we were still at Shimla. She was born in Garhwal but lived mostly in Delhi. During her infrequent visits to the Hills in childhood, she might have seen a few weddings. 

      

We woke up early, to the sound of digging of the ground nearby. I looked at the garden outside the room. In the front portion of the State Guest House I saw around fifteen people and a lot of activities. Curious, I went out to unfold the mystery. The daughter of a Member of the Himachal Public Service Commission would marry a boy from Gujarat that day and arrangements were being made for the wedding in the State Guest House. 

     

I could not believe that her second wish would also be answered. I rushed to the room to tell her about an impossible wish of hers materialising. We decided to be detached onlookers to the Pahari wedding. Our curiosity caught the attention of the bride’s father who was equally happy that my wife’s wish was getting fulfilled in his daughter’s wedding. We could not refuge his warm invitation to stay on for lunch. The sight of ladies carrying brass pitchers and coming to the marriage pandal was a memorable sight. 

    We left Shimla happy. I cannot be a cold blooded rationalist to treat both the experiences as mere coincidence. I would rather acknowlege the pervading presence of a benevolent Higher Force that guides us, protects us and makes us live happily.

********** 

10th November, 2012

A POIGNANT WALK IN THE MEMORY LANE

A visit to Sambalpur on December 2, 2007 was a poignant walk in the memory lane. I had spent a few years of my adolescence in the town. When I joined the Zila School in Class VII, the school was in a temporary, unkempt barrack-like structure in a small portion of the sprawling campus of the Gangadhar Meher College. A new building for the Zila School was under construction in Pension pada, just below the hillock atop which is located the Circuit House. 
It was indeed a great day for me, and I believe, for all the students and teachers, when the school shifted to the new imposing and bright building. It became an important landmark of the town and was in harmony with the great tradition of the school. I was in Class VIII. Our Class Teacher, the respected Sarat Sir, asked his students to suggest a leader whose photograph would be displayed in the new classroom. I remember to have spontaneously suggested the name of Chandra Sekhar Behera and this suggestion was accepted. A few days thereafter, a nice photo of the great leader adorned the Classroom. I felt elated. Daily walk to the new school building from the Commissioner’s colony, where we used live, was a walk with pride with my head held high.

Paltan Kuaan is a grand, historic well and was an old landmark of the town. The well was dug years ago, probably by a military unit. We had lived for sometime in a house in pension pada, in close proximity to this great well. It was an experience in adventure for small children of the locality like me to run to the well and crane our slender necks over the big circular wall of the well and peep into its great depths of mystery. Water inside was in the deep bottom of the well and the stony walls of the well would show cruel, sharp teeth protruding all over. When someone would put a bucket into the well to draw water, the bucket would commence a perilous journey into the depth of darkness with frequent contacts with the protruding rocks, thereby emitting tinkling sound, loud enough to be audible from a distance. The bucket in its return journey would also have its cruel tryst again with the teeth of the stones and always a good quantity of water would spill into the well. The tinkling noise from the well at dawn would always serve as a wake up call for a child like me and I would get up to start my day.

Hirakud reservoir was in its final phase of development and I remember the drive in a motorised boat with my father in the reservoir to go to a few villages. In the reservoir I would sometime notice a few big trees, partially submerged and also see the majestic pinnacle of a nearly submerged temple. I would be momentarily overcome by a feeling of remorse when my father would say that a prosperous village had been submerged in the reservoir. Our people had made great sacrifice by quitting their homes, land and emotions, to build a grand temple of modern India, my father would explain.

Years later, I remember to have had a discussion with the Chief Minister Biju Patnaik about agrarian prosperity. “I have travelled throughout the state”, I said, “ but I smell prosperity only when I cover the stretch between Hirakud railway station and Bargarh”. This has been possible through the enterprise of our farmers and the Hirakud Dam. Sambalpur farmers taught the farmers of our state the benefit of rabi paddy. Today the state is planning to procure as much as twentyfive lakh tons of rice for the central pool. When the prosperity of our farmers is so closely linked to irrigation, it is unfortunate and cruel that a government would even think of utilising the water of the reservoir for industry. The majestic reservoir seems to be under seize by the merchants of plunder, aided and abetted by short sighted and petty minded people.

My journey to Sambalpur was my modest gesture of support to those valiant farmers who would like the majesty of the reservoir to prevail and to free it from seize and plunder. While the huge turnout of the farmers confirmed the resolute posture of our farmers, I would address my concern to the present deterioration of the Zila School building, its surrounding ambience and to the state of utter neglect of the Paltan Kuaan. The building has lost its shine with cracks all over; the campus looks desolate and thoroughly inhospitable. There are shops all over so that the school building is barely visible from outside. The well looks abandoned. One can understand that people would prefer to use water taps but that does not mean the well would not be preserved well and looked after by a grateful and sensitive citizenry.

It is sad  the well  no longer makes its wakeup call. It is sad the majestic building of the renowned Zila School is in real bad shape. Both seem to be afflicted by the same malady that has affected Hirakud reservoir. Inhumane approach towards our public assets and institutions and growing inability to articulate saner feelings are creating havoc at many places. I would only hope the valiant people of Sambalpur would preserve the glory of Hirakud Dam and would not forget the venerable Zila
School and the majestic Paltan Kuaan.

********
6th December, 2012

REMEMBERING A FRIEND

Sribatsa Nanda was a classmate of mine in Ravenshaw College while we were studing Science in the Intermediate stage(1958-60). His command over Mathematics was awesome. He was never the type of students who would slog for hours over books. He was basically jovial by nature; liked to joke with friends and would wear a look of being nonserious in studies. Results would show otherwise. He would excel in all subjects. Occasionally I would see him in the Common Room of the East Hotel-- where we stayed--- alone, reading a newspaper or, in company, enjoying a cricket commentary in the radio. He was one of the few who loved to wear a Dhoti and was quite comfortable and proud of what he wore. He could have joined any discipline of knowledge and even could have made to other vocations. Like me he could have joined the civil service as well. But he had his vision set. And , he took to teaching as his profession and was a respected teacher in the Regional Engineering College at Rourkela. On superannuation, he joined a private College and continued to teach. Teaching was his passion.

We met accidentally one day in the morning on the road, near our house. We were meeting after years. We talked for a while and he remembered my father. His fondness and admiration for him moved me a bit and I told him about an incident relating to my father. On retirement from civil service, my father kept himself busy on many activities, mostly in the areas of social and economic mobilisation of the deprived segments of the society. He also spent some time in developing a good school in the area we lived. He  used to teach a few blind students of the BJB College residing in the Hostel nearby. I never knew about it while he was alive. After his demise, a close associate of his had told us of his pastime of teching the physically challenged students. 

One evening. this teaching schedule had got upset as my father overstayed in another programme. He suddenly remembered his promise to  teach the blind students for sometime that evening. It was examination time. He hurried to reach them while regretting the delay. His friend and he finally reached the Hostel. It was late but he kept the promise. By then the students had switched off the light and were on the beds in the protection of mosquito nets. My father entered the room with his usual endearingly loud voice asking them to get up. The children immediately came out of the beds; switched on the light. Father taught them for over an hour and left them only after getting an assurance that they would have no problem answering questions in the examination the next day.

 Sribatsa was listening to me with rapt attention like a child. I saw tears welling up and rolling down. I saw  a sensitive Teacher in him weeping. We spent some more time and then I returned home and he went to the place where he was staying.

That was the last that I saw him. One day I heard about his sudden passing away. It was my turn to shed tears.


******
3rd November, 2012 

NEED FOR HIGH-SPEED SHORT DISTANCE TRAINS IN BUSY SEGMENTS IN ODISHA

 We have seen that in the case of a Shatabdi Express, a drastic reduction in fare led to more traffic and more revenue between Mysore and Bangalore. Bangalore—Mysore route distance is 138 km and Shatabdi Express takes 2 hours to cover the distance.

There is need for similar pragmatic approach for ensuring people friendly arrangement, with a little more out-of-box thinking. Keeping that objective in view I am placing below the details of some rail routes where a more imaginative scheduling of fast trains could benefit thousands of people on high use sectors within Odisha. The distance and the fastest train now operating in these important segments are as below ---

Bhubaneswar—Berhampur---Distance –165 km. Train No 12845 takes 2 hours 3 minutes

Berhampur—Vishakhapatnam – Distance- 277 km. Train No 06057 -- takes 4 hours 30 minutes

Sambalpur—Bolangir – Distance – 118 km—Train No 12146 takes 1 hour 30 minutes

Rourkela – Sambalpur – Distance – 150 km—Train 28375 takes 2 Hours 33 minutes

Bhubaneswar—Sambalpur – Distance –273 km—takes 4 Hours 15 minutes by Train No 01662

Bolangir – Rayagada—Distance – 203 kms—Takes 4 hours 25 minutes by Train 08301

Rayagada—Berhampur—Distance – 342 kms—takes 5 Hours 30 minutes by Train 12843

Rayagada -Raipur – Distance – 342 kms—Takes 6 Hours 30 minutes by Train 12844

Bhubaneswar—Howrah – Distance – 437 kms—Takes 6Hrs 15 minutes by Train 22864

Rourkela—Howrah – Distance --- 406 kms—Takes 5 hours 4 minutes by Train 12768

Rourkela—Ranchi—Distance – 165 kms – Takes 2 Hours 42 minutes by Train 12836

Rourkela—Raipur – Distance – 416 kms – Takes 6 hours 5 minutes by Train 20822

The fastest trains mentioned above are however mostly long distance trains and most of these operate at a time of the day and night not convenient for inter-city travellers.

What I want to point out is the necessity of introducing inter-city (not necessarily Shatabdi ones, but equally speedy express trains, having both AC and non-AC Chairs only, with food) trains at convenient time of the day and night.

People of Odisha would then be having a very people-friendly Railway to talk about.

****** 

9th August, 2018

ଇଜ୍ ଅଫ୍ ଡୁଇଂଗ୍ ବିଜିନେସ୍

ଜଣାଶୁଣା ଯୁବକଟିଏ | ପରିବାରର ବଡପୁଅ ; ସେମାନେ ଦୁଇ ଭାଇ ; ତାର ତିନି ଭଉଣୀ | ବାପ ମା କାର୍ଯ୍ୟଦକ୍ଷ ; ଦାୟିତ୍ବବୋଧ ଜ୍ଞାନ ସମ୍ପନ୍ନ | ପରିବାରଟି ଆମ ଓଡିଶାର ସୁଦୂର କୁଡୁମୁଲୂଗୁମା ଗାଁ ର ବାସିନ୍ଦା ନୁହଁ ; ଭୁବନେଶ୍ବର ପାଖ ଏକ  ତହସିଲ ର | ଯୁବକଟି ଶିକ୍ଷିତ | ଗତ ବର୍ଷ ତା ମଝିଆଁ ଭଉଣୀ ବାହାଘର ପାଇଁ ସାରା ପରିବାର ଆବଶ୍ୟକ ଅର୍ଥ ଯୋଗାଡ କରିବା ପାଇଁ ଯେମିତି ହଇରାଣ ହରକତ ହେଇଥିଲେ ଆମେ ଦେଖି ଚିନ୍ତିତ ହେଇଥିଲୁ | କିଛି ପରିମାଣରେ ହାତବି ବଢେଇଥିଲୁ | ସାନଭାଇ ଚାକିରୀ ଟିଏ  ପାଇଁ ସାକ୍ଷାତକାର ରେ ଅସଫଳ ହେବାପରେ ମୁହଁ ଶୁଖେଇ ବୁଲୁଥିବା ଦେଖି ମୋ ପତ୍ନୀ ତାକୁ ବ୍ୟବସାୟ କରିବା ପାଇଁ ପ୍ରବର୍ତ୍ତାଇଲେ ଓ କିଛି ସାହାଯ୍ୟ ମଧ୍ୟ କଲେ | ମୋ କଥା ମାନି ଯୁବକଟି ଗାଁରେ ଇଟା ତିଆରି କଲା | ସେଇ ପଇସାକୁ ମୁଳଧନ କରି ବ୍ୟବସାୟ ଆଗକୁ ନବାକୁ ଉପଦେଶ ଦେଲି | ପକ୍କା ଘର ପରିବାର ର ନଥିଲା : ବ୍ୟାଙ୍କ ରୁ  ରୂଣ ଦେବା ପାଇଁ ପରାମର୍ଶ ଦେଲି ; ବ୍ୟାଙ୍କ ଅଧିକାରୀଙ୍କୁ କହିଲି  ; ସେ ରାଜି ହେଲେ | କାଳ କ୍ଷେପଣ ନକରି  ଜମି କାଗଜ ଦେଖିଲେ | ଜମି କିନ୍ତୁ ନା ଆବେଦନକାରୀ ନାଁରେ ଥିଲା ନା  ତା ବାପ ନାଁ ରେ | ସେହି ଅଂଚଳ ରେ ଜମି ବିକ୍ରୀର ରେଜିଷ୍ଟ୍ରେସନ ଓ ମ୍ୟୁଟେସନ କେଉଁକାଳରୁ ବନ୍ଦ ହେଇଚି ଅତୀତରେ ଜମିଜମା କାରବାରରେ ବ୍ୟାପକ ଚଂଚକତା ଯୋଗୁଁ | ବ୍ୟାଙ୍କ  ବାବୁ ଋଣ  ଦେଇ ପାରିଲେନି | ମୋ ସାହାଯ୍ୟରେ ଗୋଟିଏ ମାଇକ୍ରୋ ଫାଇନାନସ୍ ସଂସ୍ଥା ଋଣ  ଦେଲେ ; ଅଗତ୍ୟା ଯୁବକଟି ଅଧିକ ସୁଧଦେଇ ଋଣ ନେବାପାଇଁ ବାଧ୍ୟ ହେଲା ; ଘର କଲା ; ବର୍ତମାନ ଋଣ  ପରିଶୋଧ କରୁଚି | କେବଳ ତାକୁ ଋଣ  ମିଳୁନି ; ସେଇ ଅଂଚଳ ଯାକ ସେଇ ଅବସ୍ଥା | ବ୍ୟବସାୟ ପାଇଁ ଋଣ  ନାହିଁ ; ଘର ତିଆରି ପାଇଁ ଋଣ  ନାହିଁ | କାରଣ ଆମ ଜମି ଜମା ପ୍ରସଂଗ ବୁଝୁଥିବା ତହସିଲ ପ୍ରଶାସନରେ ଆଜି ଅନେକ ସମସ୍ୟା ସମାଧାନ ଅପେକ୍ଷାରେ | ପୁରୁଣା ଭୁବନେଶ୍ବର ସହର ଓ ପୁରୀ ସହର ଏବଂ ପାଖ ଆଖ ଗାଁରେ ଅବସ୍ଥା ମଧ୍ୟ ତଦୃପ | ଶହଶହ ଭଦ୍ର, ପ୍ରତିଷ୍ଠିତ, ପୁରାତନ ପରିବାରଂକ ବାସଗୃହ ଜମି ଆଜି ଅଯଥା ବିବାଦରେ ଛନ୍ଦି ହେଇ ପଡିଛି କେବଳ ସରକାରଂକ ଅପାରଗତା  ଯୋଗୁଁ | ଅବ୍ୟାହତ ସମସ୍ୟା  ପରିପ୍ରେକ୍ଷୀରେ  ଏକ ନ୍ୟାୟ ସମ୍ମତ ଆଇନ ପ୍ରଣୟନ କରିବା ପାଇଁ ଆମ ପ୍ରଶାସନ ର ଉପଯୁକ୍ତ  ମାନସିକତା ଏବଂ  ଦକ୍ଷତା ଆବଶ୍ୟକ | ଅଧିକାଂଶ ପରିବାର କୋଟ କଚିରୀ ରୁ ରହତାଦେଶ ଆଣି ବସବାସ କରୁଛନ୍ତି | ଅନେକଂକ ପିଲାମାନେ ବିଦେଶରେ ବାସ କରୁଛନ୍ତି  | ସେମାନେ ଏଇ ମାମଲା ମାନଙ୍କର  ପେଂଚ ବୁଝି ପାରିବେନି ଓ ସବୁ ସମ୍ପତ୍ତି ଦଲାଲଂକ ହାତକୁ ଚାଲିଯିବା ସମ୍ଭାବନା ରହୁଛି  | ଆମ ସରକାର ଗାଂଧାରୀଂକ ଭଳି ଅନ୍ଧ ପୁଟୁଳି ଲଗେଇ ମେକ୍ ଇନ୍ ଓଡିଶା ଯାତ୍ରା ଆୟୋଜନ କଲେ ଆମ ଲୋକଙ୍କ ସମସ୍ୟାର ସମାଧାନ ହେବନାହିଁ  | ଗାଲୁଆଂକ ବାରବାଟୀ ଚାଷ ନୀତି ଅବଲମ୍ବନ କଲେ ଆମ ରାଜ୍ୟବାସୀ ଉତ୍ପୀଡ଼ନର ଶିକାର ହେଉଥିବେ  | ଓଡ଼ିଆ ପୁଅ ଝିଅ ନିଜ ଭିଟାମାଟି ର କବଲା ବା ପଟ୍ଟା  ପାଇ ପାରୁନି ; ଋଣ  ପାଇ ପାରୁନି |  ଆମ  ସରକାର ଏହା ହୃଦୟଙ୍ଗମ କରିବା ଆଵଶ୍ୟକ | ଆମ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଯୁବକ ଯୁବତୀ   ବେପାର କରିବେ କେମିତି ; ଘର ତୋଳିବେ କେମିତି : ଆଗକୁ ବଢିବେ କେମିତି ? " ଇଜ୍ ଅଫ୍ ଡୁଇଂଗ୍ ବିଜିନେସ୍ " ତାଲିକା ରେ ଆମ ରାଜ୍ୟ ତଳ କୁ ଚାଲିଗଲା ବୋଲି ତୁମ୍ବି ତୋଫାନ ନକରି ;  କୁମ୍ଭୀର ଅଶ୍ରୁ ପ୍ରବାହ ନକରି ଆମେ ଘରକୁ ସଜାଡିବା ଯୋଗ୍ୟତା ଆହରଣ କରିବା ପାଇଁ ଉପଯୁକ୍ତ ପ୍ରସ୍ତୁତି କରିବା ଆବଶ୍ୟକ |

*******
1st November, 2016