A visit to any of the establishments where I earlier worked has always been a nostalgic experience. My visit to mpt office in hotel janpath yesterday had me almost in tears. Blessed I am for the tremendous love and affection that I have always received from all those who ever worked for me, be it the ministry of tourism, the india tourism development corporation, my various postings in the railways including the last one at the delhi division and the iconic posting as the head domo of tourism in the heart of incredible india. Such has been the love and affection that often I wish it was possible to be in more places than one, all at the same time.
In the face of such an outpouring of love and affection, the rise up the ladder in the conventional sense seems to have lost all its charm and relevance. After all we are mere servants of the government and being a higher ranked servant therefore does not attract me the way it normally does the entire clan. What however is really of essence is our ability to deliver and delivery itself.
It is indeed sad that most of us from the bureaucratic clan regard a job as an instrument of self aggrandizement and perpetuation, not as a means to serve the organization or the nation by means of bringing about a positive change. And therefore one witnesses almost always, a hasty clamour for obtaining personal gains by the occupants of fancy chambers in sarkari buildings cutting across sectors and services in this nation of ours.
Sadder still is the state of affairs in the railways, a so called HR centric organization the managers of which display absolute indifference for all those who work for them while at the same time going to ridiculous extents to satiate the unhealthy desires of those above. Moreover the language and the demeanour of the top brasses is also increasingly become a matter of serious concern. The usage of intemperate language and the inability to accept a difference of opinion often leads me to wonder whether we are really railroaders or are slowly acquiring the cultural traits of road side truckers. Perhaps being in the business of transport, and the time having arrived we have sadly degenerated to the level of truckers.
Railroading with the cultural traits of truckers, what an irony indeed!
Amen!
Dear TA,
ReplyDeleteThe choice is always once own. And it is natural to chose the 'ladder up', because the intangible love and affection is almost weightless as compared to power, position, fame and other material worldly things.
And when comes power, a person feels that whosoever comes to him, it is only for vested interests. And then there is ego- why should i call, i am above in hierarcy, position, power.And in all these, the essence of true friendship i.e. equality, is gone.
In this journey 'up', a person does not realise, what s/he is losing and the gains are at what cost. And by the time, one realises, it is too late. Certain things are irreversible in life. And sometimes, we do not even try.
It reminds me of a beautiful story by Premchand- "Gulli Danda". Also a beautiful song dedicated to it- "Zindagi ke safar me guzar jate hei jo makam, woh, phir nahi aate...."
Anyways... life goes on... though lifeless and soulless
Take care. And may God bless you with many more other good friends and well wishers.