tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post5966892642652484057..comments2024-03-29T13:08:40.107+05:30Comments on View from [Greater] Kailash: THE IAS AND ITS TEN COMMANDMENTS : A BRIEF HISTORY.Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-66468500831536896662017-07-20T10:29:39.071+05:302017-07-20T10:29:39.071+05:30Thanks, Pankaj. You've nailed it perfectly. We...Thanks, Pankaj. You've nailed it perfectly. We take ourselves so seriously-obsessed with our own self-importance. postings, perks, empanelment, promotions- that we lose touch with reality and the ability to look inwards or to laugh at our own pomposity.One officer who never let this officiousness get to him was Mr. Om Yadav-one of the most liked and respected of our seniors ( at least by his juniors, which is the real indicator of an officer's real standing). You knew him, unfortunately he is now gone. Once, as Chief Secretary, he was summoned by the CM who handed him a list of desired transfers across the table and asked him to issue the orders. Om held the note in his hand, upside down, and nodded. The CM said: " Mr. Yadav, you're holding the list " ulta"- hold it straight so you can read it properly." Om's immediate response was: " Sir, it would make no difference if I was to hold it straight- it makes no sense anyway!"- and walked out and issued the orders. But he had made his point without picking a fight. That is the beauty of humour. Avay Shuklahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-31506466298547919962017-07-19T19:28:00.041+05:302017-07-19T19:28:00.041+05:30It takes a certain amount of honesty to take a goo...It takes a certain amount of honesty to take a good, long, deep look at one's 'family' and be able to laugh at oneself. It is rightly said that Humour is the best medicine, but it is also true that he who laughs, lasts. A senior from school joined the Service a couple of years before me, and we met up in Charleville. He had a pipe stuck in the corner of his mouth and was carrying a book by Alexander Solzhenytsin in his hand. His nose was upturned at almost 75 degrees supporting a set of thick framed glasses atop. This, he told me, was how an IAS officer was supposed to look ... studious and superior!<br /><br />Later, in the State, I discovered that nearly all my IAS colleagues had lost their ability to laugh freely, or even smile - except among their own coterie. That stiff upper lip more often than not ended up giving them a stiff neck, supported by a rather weak spine. It was only the upright and fearless among them who had retained the rather rare ability to laugh .... be it in the face of adversity or at their own foibles. <br /><br />Avay was .... and still is ..... one such. God bless him!Peekayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04484183619581446739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-16122612129412543472017-07-19T11:59:48.713+05:302017-07-19T11:59:48.713+05:30I don't know whether to laugh or cry. All the ...I don't know whether to laugh or cry. All the bouquets and brickbats were earned by members of the community without much assistance from others. So we have earned the right to laugh at ourselves too.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18131158681360900979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-18445348979136326612017-07-18T11:51:09.643+05:302017-07-18T11:51:09.643+05:30WOW!I can almost see you bristling with indignatio...WOW!I can almost see you bristling with indignation, Subodh ! But to answer your question: one of the reasons why the IAS occupies the highest rung of the services and of policy making is because it can take a broader view of matters and rise above the tunnel vision most other services have. This includes( or should include) the willingness to take an honest look at itself too. And if you do that you will find that there are plenty of peccadilloes, angularities, quirks and hypocrisies in our service that lend themselves to lampooning, if not to serious criticism.<br />Secondly,the mild criticism implicit in humour is not vicious or angry like the censorious type: in fact, there is something almost lovable about it. We don't joke about Sardarjis, wives and blondes because we hate them: on the contrary, we have a certain fondness for them. Of course, certain traits that are targeted for the leg-pulling are magnified, but then exaggeration is the essence of all humour. To do so is not to " make fun" of the object of attention but to bring it closer to the reader.<br />Thirdly, why should we allow ourselves to be cast in the rigid, uniformed mould of the Army or the IPS ? Where then would our claim to "intellectual" superiority lie? In our misplaced effort to " defend" our service lets not bring it down a couple of notches.<br />I do not make fun of the IAS: I laugh at its idiosyncrisies and fondly smile at its hypocrisies and grandstanding. Humour is not only the best medicine, it is also the best diagnostic tool. As long as we can acknowledge the more facetious side of some of our more amusing characteristics and practices, and of the ponderous seriousness with which we take ourselves, we will evolve organically. The moment we stop doing so we'll become the third rate bureaucracy most people think we already are! Avay Shuklahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-7308274358127958172017-07-18T07:50:45.228+05:302017-07-18T07:50:45.228+05:30All in good fun Avay. Tell me, however, if you hav...All in good fun Avay. Tell me, however, if you have come across an article from a retired army officer making fun of the Army? Or one from a retired IPS officer writing in a similar vein about IPS? Or any other service about itself. Why does IAS suffer from this masochistic need to pull down itself? Are we apologetic about the so called 'elevated status' of our service? Do we feel that we don't deserve it, or that we don't do a useful job? Some soul searching is needed.Subodhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04360634974291570405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-15018444484017676652017-07-17T13:27:20.712+05:302017-07-17T13:27:20.712+05:30An add-on to the 10 codes could be:
preserve/save ...An add-on to the 10 codes could be:<br />preserve/save your monthly salary judiciously as the tax payers' money takes care of all your whims and fancies save kids' education and daily food marketing. Then enjoy the quadruple results from the saved amount after your retirement even as you get a monthly One Lakh INR as pension.Wow man- privileged lot indeed and a different cup of Mafiosi as well.Partho Senguptahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00987386500382013480noreply@blogger.com