Experiencing India through WST
Tour (WST) that every civil services aspirant (including me) dreamt about during preparation days. It was indeed a peep into the diverse, chaotic and incredibly beautiful country that India is. This magnificent journey gave way too many experiences, lessons and stories to be summarised in a 1500 words write up! but I will attempt to reflect upon some of my major takeaways from each attachment.
The journey and the Attachments!
At army attachment, the discipline of soldiers and their sense of pride in their service, uniform and the nation was something I was the most impressed with. Initially I was happy about the ‘digital detox’ in absence of any mobile, TV or internet network; but by the end of the week, I started getting weary about the whereabouts of my family and friends. Imagining the life of people in the valley and that of soldiers with suspended internet, limited call facilities and dilapidated transport facilities for months made me wonder about the sub-citizen life they are living there. Listening to the stories of their family, we thought of conducting an informal career counselling session for the soldiers and their children. Having spent 9 months at the border without going home, I assumed they will be least involved in affairs of home, but to my surprise they were quite aware of their kids’ academics, for instance one of the soldiers asked “madam, meri beti ki Hindi me matra ki galtiyaan Bahut hoti hain, vo kya kare? or “should we send our daughter to Kota after 10th or 12th class”?
One sad aspect however was that when asked about how many of them wanted their kids to join fauj, no one raised their hands. It does point to some disturbing state of affairs. Ceasefire violations every night, heavy shellings, narcotic smuggling at bordering farms, snake bites at bunkers, extreme weather were some of the common occupational hazards for these army men. On average, a Jawan takes VRS at the age of 35. What are the employment opportunities for him post retirement? Is a question we need to ponder upon.
Major takeaway from Pathankot attachment was the professionalism at air force base, induction of new apache aircrafts and the wonderful hospitality of the district administration there. There was thrill in visiting the tunnel inside a Mumbai metro construction site at MMRC.
There was childlike excitement during activities of slithering, rock climbing, and firing at anti-Naxal STF attachment at Sathyamangalam. This attachment not only gave a taste of adventure in our tour but also made us relive the sweet old memories of IPS training at the NPA.
Patience with which we waited to spot a leopard during night safari at Bandipur national park. The exemplary example set by NGOs like Akshay Patra where active participation of community and an additional cost of 6.5 rs per meal could change the face of Midday Meal in Bangalore. The commercial and RnD aspects of private sector companies like TVS where one innovative and niche product like “scooty” completely transformed women mobility on Indian roads.
The grassroot interventions by MYRADA in the fields of watershed management, primary schooling and village development in dry land areas of Hosur where they are encouraging local solutions and talents to address local problems. Absolutely pristine and blissful beauty of Lakshdweep poses the challenge of balancing between exploring its tourism potential with development of local community and ecological sustainability. The 2 BHK scheme of Hyderabad and DDA flats of Delhi trying to address the problem of affordable urban housing and the zero discharge solid waste treatment plant of Sholapur. The Republic Day function at Shivaji Stadium Pune where the parade was commanded by one of my own IPS batchmates and friends Aanchal; and that made the attachment all the more memorable!
Travel, observe and learn!
“Travelling opens your heart, broadens your mind and fills your life with stories to tell”. I have been fond of travelling since childhood. Having travelled across India and abroad, I have observed that every place has a soul of its own and every journey gives a new lesson. If we see things with the eyes of a traveller and not just a tourist, we realise how tiny a place we occupy in the world and it makes us humble in the process. The kind of baggage of hierarchical and narrow mindset we carry as civil servants, it's all the more important for us to travel to broaden our horizon and appreciate the contribution of different sectors of society in the growth of India. WST set the right platform for the same. Our different attachments with defence forces, PSU’s, private sector, NGO’s, islands, urban local bodies, villages gave us the exposure and technical know how that will forever act as a knowledge repository when we join as administrators in different departments. Having travelled in a group of 20, helped us grow not only professionally and personally but also interpersonally. As group dynamics teach you many subtle lessons of adjustments, management and leadership. It also gave us the opportunity to witness the sheer diversity of India- its geography, culture and society. Things that we had only heard or read about during UPSC preparation were now present before us as visual and real experience.
India, a foodie's paradise!
We experienced the richness and diversity of Indian culture not only in the variety of languages, music and architecture but also in variety of food and handicrafts! Being an emotional foodie that I am, I could not resist but try delicacies across the WST route. Army’s “adrak ki chai” at forward posts kept us warm in those sub-zero temperatures. The authentic Amritsari Kulchas in Amritsar were much more amazing and different from the ones sold at shops in Old Rajinder Nagar in Delhi. Having read so much about the famous “Leopold Cafe” of Mumbai in novels and movies, the cafe did not live upto my expectations. The filter coffee and poddi dosa at Fort-Cochin, puttu at Erode, Biryani at Hyderabad and coconut water right from the tree itself in Lakshdweep made our experience more real. My personal favourite remains the Maharashtrian food from Sholapur and Pune, where the hooda (roasted Jawar), missal paav and jamun shots were something I tried for the first time and that my taste buds will never forget in times to come. The colours of Fulkari from Punjab, Pochampally from Andhra, and pearls from Hyderabad kept some of the sentimental hoarders among us engaged.
From a traveller’s pen to a civil servant’s diary!
As a traveller, I could appreciate the uniqueness of each city like the traditional and earthy vibes of Pathankot, the gleaming coastline of Kochi, the electric energy of Mumbai, the rising Silicon Valley of Bangalore, the vintage taste of Hyderabad and the cosmopolitanism with a Marathi tinge in Pune. But as a civil servant I could also think about the background questions on how the traffic is managed in these cities, how are drinking water requirements managed, how do the caste dynamics affect the local politics and what had been the voter turnout in latest elections? Attachments at LOC, islands and villages sensitised us about the challenging working conditions of our soldiers, farmers, policemen and villagers and our responsibility towards them as civil servants.
Civil Services, a reality check!
I recall one of the founders of Azim Premji Institute telling us-“If IAS officers have to make a grassroot impact, they must come out of the vicious cycle of hierarchy.” One of the engineers at ONGC saying- “ when you guys come here as directors, please pay heed to the technical suggestions of the engineers working here.” Also, the officers at Army, Navy and Airforce often quote with a sour face “you young officers are serving the country in the “elitist” way possible”. This again made me ponder over the need for humility among the civil servants and to give due credit to each agency working towards making India a safer and prosperous place. There were also instances where some of the local farmers and women showed immense faith in the IAS as an institution saying “Aaplog chahe toh kuchh bhi kar sakte hain.” In present times, when there are questions raised over relevance of our services, it is time that we realise the expectations of people and utilise the potential of the vast platform given to us.
People, that together form India!
In the end I must admit that it’s the people that I will miss the most. People-within our WST group, the officers and professionals during attachments and the people of the country in general.
The tremendous organising skills of our Liasoning officer Suraj, the ever-high enthusiasm of our cricket lover group members, the never-ending poor jokes of the comedy gang and the late night dance sessions with my roomie made the tour much smooth, fun and memorable.
Our WST Group 1
Most learning experience of all was to meet some of the most energetic officers across the nation. Whether it was the decision power of our brigadier at the army, or the enthusiasm of commissioner of Solapur or the wonderful hospitality of the ADC, Pathankot. They all inspired us to become more efficient, optimistic and compassionate officers in their own way.
The people in general were so warm and inspiring! The passion in the voice of that soldier talking about the fire he aimed at cross border enemy last night. The pride with which a local farmer and a scientist shared his experiments with hybrid crops and organic farming in Kambala. The confidence with which the burqa clad women of Lakshwadeep rode their bikes, ran the local shops and hospitals. The lit up eyes of young girls of Hosur government school who aspired to become IAS officers like us. The sorrow with which a Tamil farmer told the tale of the crop loss at his farm due to frequent infringement by elephants. The warmth with which ladies at Erode welcomed us with handmade garlands. The tactics with which a young boy prepared freshly brewed filter coffee at Kochi. The free spirit of the young children playing gully cricket by the side of Juhu beach. This Bharat Darshan made me realise that India is nothing but a sum total of people living here and it is us the people who together form the idea of India. And hence I write,
ऐ भारतीय,
तू ही भारत है।
तू हिमालय की चट्टान है,
हिंद सागर का तूफ़ान है,
सुनहरा रेगिस्तान है,
पूर्वी पठारों की शान है।
तू तमिल, बंगला, सब बोली है,
ओणम, ईद और होली है।
सरसों साग, पूरन पोली है,
कुंभ है, संतो की टोली है।
तू पोखरण का विज्ञान है
सायबर क्रांति का आह्वान है,
ज्येष्ठतम इकॉनमी का स्वप्न भी तू
और तू ही मंगलयान है ।
तू ही गड़बड़ घोटाला है,
खुली शौच और नाला है,
तू घनघोर ग़रीबी का ताला है,
तू ही चाबी, तू उजाला है।
जर्जर-सुंदर, अहम-शरम सब तुझसे ही झलकता है,
क्यूँकि भारत में है तू बसता, और तुझमें ही भारत बसता है।
Video?
ReplyDeleteSo so amazing ma'am 🙏💖
ReplyDeleteTrue inspiration
it was amazing read. but maam i think u should think of changing map pic . its wrong one
ReplyDelete