Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Matters of the Heart


Mr Budhalakoti left for Haridwar yesterday. After almost ten months of retirement, he commands greater respect that he commanded when he occupied the corner room in Baroda House. That is what happens with people who are intrinsically great. The love and respect for them grows with time and the official chair has no relevance whatsoever.

Most of the officers are feared, few are respected and only the rarest of the rare are loved. Mr Budhalakoti will always be loved.

The number of people who came to see him off at his residence today, while he was leaving for Haridwar was indication enough of the deep inroads he had made in the hearts of all those who came in contact with him, even if momentarily. I can recount a large number of very senior officers who after retirement have passed into oblivion, but Mr Budhlakoti shall never. Perhaps he was the only true General Manager that the Northern Railway ever had or is likely to have in the future.

There are two categories of officers, the majority belongs to those who are subservient to the chair they rest their backsides on and for the other category in the minority, the chair is subservient. That Mr Budhalakoti belongs to the second category is amply reflected in the radiance he exudes, radiance that is ever increasing as the days pass by.

Why are persons like Mr Budhalakoti a rarity in the bureaucratic setup of the nation? Why most of us bureaucrats are heartless, mean and self centered? Why almost all of us fail to appreciate in our entire bureaucratic careers that it is more important to be a good human being than anything else? Perhaps there are no answers to these questions and life has to be lived on regardless.

2 comments:

  1. Amazing post! Truly appreciate your words for a gentleman!

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  2. The reason for rarity of Human beings is that most have become social beings & have forgotten rather compulsively ignoring the reality of their being human being.

    Ignoring does not mean forgotten rather it means continously remembering. Running away from something does not mean getting away from it. Ignorance of truth does not make it a lie.

    This is not only with bureaucrats but is with all beings afterall bureaucrats are also beings howsoever, the realisation & understanding has to be there that they are being and have to be human being first & foremost.

    The radiance, a sense of happiness is felt when being with human beings. The sense is not imposed but comes on it's own.

    The decision is all ours whether we want to be social being or as we have been created to be, human being.

    Afterall life is meaningless, if it is not lived and without being human it is totally impossible to live, it will only be passing the time till the alarm bells.

    We all have Budhalakoti's in us but we are imposing the thought of our being not to be one. All we need is to make it alive to live spread the radiance & happiness.

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