Academy days (3)

Institutional training for promoted O.F.S. Officers was also conducted prior to the joining of the fresh recruits. Besides, many officers who were directly inducted to the field because of vacancies had to undergo training later. We had conducted training for them too. One needs to be creative to infuse vibrancy in any walk of life as nobody loves stereotypes. We precisely tried to do that in the training curriculum.

The ministerial officers are required to successfully complete the Accounts Training of the Academy to become eligible for promotion. Once it so happened that a ministerial officer of the Forest department, on the verge of retirement came for the training. On a routine check of Attendance register I found him bunking off many classes. On inquiry I knew it was a classic case of alcoholic abuse. His son, who was working on a paltry sum at a private organisation, was in search of a decent job in our city after engineering. In spite of counselling the trainee continued to remain obstinate and was found in an inebriated state all the time. I summoned the trainee and became extremely ruthless to bring him back to his senses. After he left my chamber, I was horrified to discover that his son was standing outside the chamber with a dejected look hearing every word I shouted. I invited him in and told him that I had no option other than rebuking. He was apologetic and told me that for over a year he and his mother were trying to regulate his life style but nothing seemed to work. I felt very sad for the young man and promised to help in my small way.

On another occasion I heard that a lady trainee was sobbing uncontrollably in the lobby. I was worried and sent words asking her to meet me immediately. The lady was disconsolate and I offered a glass of cold water to calm her down. From her narration, it was apparent that a fellow trainee was harassing her because she had been a little indiscreet in showing her preference which was taken advantage to. I asked her if she continued to have any soft feeling for the person she was referring to. She was very categorical in her denial but was scared of the scandalous stories doing the rounds. ‘Look, you are a brave woman. Come what may, take every problem headlong. Leave the rest to me, I promise I would solve it’, that was my advice to her.  Nothing untoward happened after that.

 A person, because of his exemplary works and sacrificial deeds earned enough merit points (Punya) after his death for reserving a seat in the direct flight to heaven. When he reached heaven he was amused to find persons in utter gaiety only to discover later that people living in paradise had no experience of melancholy as they never know pain, sorrow, gloom,  distress or the like because they are not only immortal but are also immune to ageing. He lived many, many years in the company of the gods enjoying the merriment of the paradise. Every account is depleted by the debits and likewise his merit points gradually got exhausted and finally a day approached when he had to depart from heaven. Surprisingly he noticed no one felt sad nor a tear shed for his impending departure. He was shocked, “what a place to live in!” he rummaged, “no parting tears, no sad face and strangely enough no one seems to be missing him, oh! It is horrible. How different it was there in earth! People will miss you even at the slightest absence. Here no one bothers!” Now he became conscious that it was heaven and there was no unhappiness, no distress and no pain. He promised then and there- whatever merit points he might earn in future, he would never return to heaven even though invited.

I heard the episode the other day when my uncle, who is an outstanding scholar, was reciting this beautiful poem of Rabindranath. The poem is simply stunning. It is an exquisite masterpiece of the great writer depicting the human emotions with such dexterity that it leaves everyone spell bound.

Unlike the people of the paradise, we human beings are extremely sensitive to our surroundings. It is no wonder if I genuinely missed my colleagues who are transferred and feel the vacuity quite for some time although as the Director of the Academy I had to hide my emotions to play the role of an administrator. Similarly I miss the known faces of different batches, outwardly showing stoic indifference. It is true that I wear an external facade that shows my appearance as stern and non-compromising. It does not necessarily mean that I am immune to emotions or I lost compassion for genuine problems but rather my viewing was much more incisive and objective. 

Academy days(2)

It was decided earlier that the two-hundred plus fresh recruits of Odisha Finance Service would go through institutional training in two batches.

 We arranged a Welcome ceremony for the Probationers (newly recruited Finance Service Officers) to get a feel of the Academy and they were addressed by the Honourable Minister and the Principal Secretary. It is needles to mention that it is not easy to handle a crowd of hundred adults unless discipline is instilled and I gave a piece of my mind to ensure that. Fortunately at that time we had a team of energetic, able and efficient colleagues who took my task as their own making things easier. My past experience as a Principal of a college also helped me to manage young sentiments.

I remember when I joined Finance Service, way back in 1980 the training was mechanical without any substance and to be honest we learnt nothing during the entire training period. The course curriculum was lack-lustre and the faculties did not have any involvement. We certainly did not want such horrendous experience to re-enact. Our in-house faculties were very competent and five of them had not only successfully completed management course but also good teachers. Besides we tried to contact the best faculties available in the subject to impart effective training.

At that time, we had a very over-burdened training calendar in the Academy owing to the mandatory three months Accounts Training of the ministerial officers of the state government, government undertakings and private institutions in four batches round the year. This schedule consumed much of our time and energy. That needed pruning and we modified the schedule and made it one-month training programme accommodating necessary requirements. Besides we had already received requests from various departments to design Accounts Training for their subordinate officers and accordingly we had designed and committed to impart training in different spells. In view of the scheduled training and committed training the additional workload of institutional training of newly recruited hundred plus officers was rather heavy but I am really grateful that my colleagues took the extra burden in their stride rather gracefully.

We had taken steps to develop necessary infrastructure for model class rooms, computer laboratory, library etc. All class rooms were equipped with modern teaching tools with Wi-Fi connectivity. The in-house faculties as well as the Guest faculties cooperated wonderfully to carry forward the programmes without any hiccups.  Minor problems in the hostel accommodation and messing etc. were sorted out by the faculties in charge. ‘You must enjoy your training, so that everything would be very pleasant without mugging up. We want to see you all as professionals not as parrots remembering everything by rote’ that was my advice to them.

There are many interesting incidents. I propose to tell all those in the next part.

Remembering Academy days

 Basically I love to write short-story which is a relatively difficult task and needs a lot of concentration. I couldn't get myself focused for over a year, because of various reasons. In order to gain back my concentration and confidence I again started writing lyrics which I had left many years back. I posted those in the Facebook. Fortunately it helped me to restore my confidence because I received unbelievable response from my friends, especially the young ones. It amused me a lot to know that the young friends were wondering- how a difficult person like me could write such romantic verses on love and allied emotions. That experience is worth preserving and I would certainly remember till the last day. During my college days many of my short stories were published in the college magazines and in other magazines where I received awards. Apart from that I never sent my stories for publication. After superannuation from Government service, I started to revive my skills as a story-writer and succeeded in writing some stories and a series, in the lighter vein of post-retirement escapades but those are yet to see the lights of the day because I have not sent those for publication. Believe me, I am scared a lot to imagine the reaction of my young friends if the stories got published.

Towards the last phase of my government service I was posted as Director of the Training Academy of the Finance Department. That was a difficult assignment in the sense that we tried to modernise and modify the routine training and designed the curriculum keeping pace with the advanced training programmes. The Principal Secretary was a dynamic administrator and allowed a free hand to design the courses of study  which  were deliberated upon, discussed and adopted after due modification. The entire exercise took over four months and finally the curriculum was ready before the arrival of two hundred plus direct recruits of Finance Service Officers. The Principal Secretary asked me if we could take up training of all the officers at one go. ‘We can very well take up the challenge but accommodation would be a problem as we could provide hostel facilities only for hundred trainees at a time’, I replied. It was decided that they would be trained in two batches. I was asked to continue as Director till the training programme of two batches was over. That is how I came across two hundred plus young and fresh recruits who knew me as a stern and heartless administrator.

I am not really surprised to find their exhilaration in my emotional outbursts in the lyrics.

Old poems

Of late I started becoming lyrical with the belief that I could possibly revive the poet in me that remained stoically indifferent for over thirty years. But lo, the efforts gradually faded out like the vanishing ink! Reconciling the reality I peeped through the pages of my old notebook of those days to discover the poetic touches I had at that time.

Silence

Silence is the word

To describe innocence

Or separation or love?

I cannot say.

Pity, days are such

One often meets it in the streets, in the office

And strangely over ‘phone

To talk is different.

Pouring words down the memory lane

Makes moments hazy and hectic.

But lo, silence there writ large

When the curtain drops over many flashbacks.

Is there no escape from the onslaught of it?

And again silence is the word.

Introspection

The urge to know and be known

Are simultaneous desires

Hovering round relationship-new and raw

To be in love is to be in fire.

Torments are the musical notes

That keeps the fire dancing till the rains.

And then the smell of earth; misty drenched with memory.

Man probably loves repetition and renews misery

Mistaking yesterday for tomorrow

Journey

Distance is a disagreeable small girl

Who does not understand much of geography!

Distancing the distance is love.

Separation, the irrepressible attribute of love

Is so sweet, so musical

One often forgets the rhythm of worldly dance

And celebrates

The ceremony of the abstraction instead

And you are a journey

Alternating between love and distance

That never started.

Vermilion

I saw vermilion reflected in the two drops

Oozing out of your eyes

When I injured my finger in the broken pane

You never uttered a word nor did I.

Probably we understood words are meaningless

To stamp the emotions with date and hour

But yesterday, only yesterday

I saw the mark clean and clear on your forehead.

Oh, don’t ask me if it had been

Tears in my hand

Rhapsody of six days

First day

Glimpses of a sunrise

And the prospects of the day new and fresh

Stole my sleep for a month

I never understood, really never

That it was a sunset.

I deserve the darkness anyway

And no tears please

Second day

What Hamlet Mused?

Is an academic discussion but what I feel

Is a personal suffering

Equation of the two

Might have some relevance for posterity

But to me none

Third day

Diwali and the lights

Failed to illuminate the dark recess of my heart

But oh, the beverage? Yes.

Hot and stingy liquids

Washed all those impure insidious invectives

And made me pristine like the first water

Fourth day

Devotion is a sacred word

To substitute hypocrisy

I wish I had been a little hypocrite

Don’t ask me what my devotion is

Or what it ought to be

Laugh if you must, but save the tears

I know what it means.

Fifth day

It has always been a weakness with me

To say ’yeah’ in a wrong place in a wrong time

The monotony of days is so disgusting

That I invent mistakes

To escape the long drawn ennui

I suffer but never regret;

And for heaven’s sake don’t console

In case you want to be charitable

Pity those who pretend to be righteous.

Sixth day

It has been almost a week

Since I had the fleeting glimpse of the waves

Emotions, accompanying the waves

Rolled in such symmetry

That I had the illusion of a pattern- solid and strong

That is why I wrote a letter to you, my love

Don’t question the prudence

Measure the intensity instead

And forget, as if it never happened.

 Happy New Year 2014 and best wishes.