On My Mind

Few things in life satisfy the soul like food or playing super mario. I believed success would have the same effect, but successful people tell me they also feel empty. However, while they crib, their eyes lighten up with the intensity of Rohit Sharma's on spotting a short ball. Though not as good as super mario, cribbing is perhaps one of those few things. And the ambitious person I am, here is another attempt at chasing success! The district administration is a widely complex web of rules, judgments, and an overwhelmingly huge number of precedents. There are endless departments, some of which one learns about through newspapers. Having said so, few are important at any given time. This depends on the priorities of the government. As a young trainee, it was challenging to identify such departments. After pondering it for many nights, I finally came up with the 'Snacks Index' to measure the importance of any particular department. The snacks served at an essential departmen...

Some days are good, and some days, I don't remember. I am sure all of them must have something of note, though. That's the district training in a nutshell. Since I last wrote about my field training, a lot has changed globally. India crashed out of T20 World Cup, the central government presented its budget, and we even celebrated Pathan. However, the quaint town of Kakinada has taken a vow to stay within 20° C ± 1°. I have no complaints, in any case. It keeps me sane. Besides, some rants have to be left for the summer.  In the intervening period, I have been trained in many departments. When I visit them, I usually invite two kinds of reactions. Few officials welcome me with open arms. They love sharing their wisdom and solutions to existing problems with me. They make an effort to ensure I actually understand the nitty-gritty. A few others hate that I disrupt their routines. They are set in their pattern, and any divergence makes them uncomfortable. Getting information out fro...

"Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board." With this, Zora Neale Hurston begins her seminal book 'Their Eyes Were Watching God.' As one pursues a career wished for by many, Zora hits right in the feels. The ship of civil services has a charm, but it isn't without its demands of sacrifices. District Training forms an essential part of the IAS Professional Course. The objective is to help new inductees learn by seeing and doing before they are given independent responsibilities. Probationers are sent to a district in their cadres, where they get to see and become a part of the district administration. Basically, Robin to the Batman. I am doing my district training at Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. This is my first experience working in the government. The hierarchy of the government and the nitty-gritty of protocol appeared to be daunting initially. To sir or not to sir was the question that bugged me. Having successfully mastered the art, I have better tr...

Austerity, Anonymity, Ability, Empathy, Humility, Leadership, and Accountability are just some of the keywords that have been drilled into us during our short training period. Sometimes, it gets a little overwhelming. Only a few months ago, there was uncertainty in my life. I wasn’t entirely sure where I would be, what I would be doing! And today, I am supposed to be the embodiment of virtues of the highest order, carrying a legacy built slowly over the past decades by the doyens of the service. Will I be able to bear the burden of the immense responsibility entrusted to me? The answer to this question doesn’t come easy to me. But the various facets of the training over here at LBSNAA have something to offer for every doubtful soul. For me, it was the Field Study and Research program that took me to the Goshani village of Champawat district in Uttarakhand. I have lived in villages, but this was the first time I was in one as an Officer Trainee or, as I would like to call it, People...