GOOD GOVERNANCE | QUALITY | TRAINING
RNI No: UTTENG/2010/38507
UA/DO/DDN/712/2011-2013
Total Quality Management Cell
Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of
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Administration, Mussoorie - 248 179
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Uttarakhand (INDIA)
The
ACADEMY
Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration
Tel. : +91 135 2632236, 2632489, 2632405
Vol. 3
Issue 4
May 2012
[email protected]
Vision of LBSNAA
We seek to promote good governance by providing quality
training towards building a professional and responsive
civil service in a caring, ethical and transparent
framework.
Please send address changes to the above.
Jottings from the Editor
The merry month of May, immortalized in popular songs
and poems alike, lived up to its fame in the Academy. Even
as summer scorched with temperatures soaring to record
highs (some say in over a century), the air in and around the
Academy pulsated with the high octane spirit of the trainees.
As the penultimate month of the six-month long Phase I of
IAS Professional Training raced through, the Officer
Trainees (OTs) worked at marking this month into yet
another unforgettable page in their training calendar.
Between assignments - intellectual and physical, they
unplugged their creative energy to present two finely
crafted and brilliantly executed plays. The end of the month,
however, saw a gradual winding down of non-academic
activities as heads buried deep into tomes in preparation of
the end-of-course examinations. There was a heightened
sense of quiet in the premises as the Phase IV participants left
for their two-week overseas study tour to Canada.
Credits
House Journal Society
Anirudh P. Sravan
S. Divyadarshini
Hephsiba R. Korlapati
Pulkit Khare
Roshni Aparanji Korati
The Academy Team
Dr. Moana Bhagabati
[email protected]
Nidhi Sharma
[email protected]
Dr. S.H. Khan
[email protected]
Dr. M. Kennedy Singh
[email protected]
We welcome articles and write-ups from our readers and subscribers. These can be sent to the Editor.
Disclaimer : Views expressed by individual contributors do not necessarily represent the views or position of 'The Academy' and LBSNAA
Printed by Dr. S.H. Khan, Published by Dr. S.H. Khan on behalf of Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration and printed at
RNI No: UTTENG/2010/38507
Print Vision, Rajpur Road, Dehradun and published at LBSNAA, Mussoorie. Editor Nidhi Sharma.
UA/DO/DDN/712/2011-2013
The ACADEMY
MAY 2012
The two-week 18th Joint Civil Military Training Programme
on National Security, and the 11th annual Heads of
Administrative Training Institutes (ATIs) were successfully
conducted, apart from a number of other workshops under
the aegis of NIAR. As always, the month saw a cross-section
of luminaries from various professional backgrounds, the
RBI Governor among them, come to LBSNAA and elevate
the sphere of discourse.
This issue of 'The Academy' salutes the IAS batch of 2011,
many of whom have enlivened these pages with delightful
pieces, some reminiscing; some revealing behind-the-scene
tales (only for the initiated). The Phase I inputs have been
collated by the House Journal Society team, without whose
insider efforts, one could have at best got 'sanitized'
contributions. We also bring you an informative article on
the Everest Bungalow, the historical, but derelict landmark
in our vicinity. Read on!
News Sparks
Phase I: The month kicked off with an Oscar Wilde play The
Importance of being Earnest staged in the Sampoornanand
Auditorium. The story, set in the late 19th century England,
is about two friends Jack and Algy who are in love with two
young women Gwen and Cecily respectively. The twist in
the story is to do with the fact that they both assume the false
identity of 'Earnest' to woo the ladies! The name 'Earnest and
its associated air of 'irresistability' lead to a comedy of errors.
The truth out, the women feel cheated and with an
interesting turn of events things 'almost' fall in place. The
acting was top class (as you read, some actors are still finding
it hard to deal with the paparazzi) and the stage was set in
true British style with a garden too! The audience seemed to
enjoy every dialogue and the actors, like seasoned veterans,
paused every time their dialogues drew applause. The play
was directed by Nitin Bhadauria and Anirudh Sravan.
IN THIS ISSUE
News Sparks...............................................................
1
George Everest and his Bungalow at Hathipaon ...
3
Sweet in Sour .............................................................
4
Mahabhoj - the Experience of making
'The Big Feast' ...........................................................
5
Book Review - Strength to Love - my reflections....
6
The Importance of being Earnest : the Experience .........
8
fQj p<sa+xs viuh&viuh ^nykbZ fgy* ............................
9
Faculty News ............................................................
10
Workshops, Training and Capacity Building .......
10
NIAR in Action .........................................................
11
2
3
Perhaps, the one thing that went unacknowledged in the
evening was the brilliant play-writing of the genius author
Oscar Wilde.
The North and West zone culturals were held on 12th May
and it was again a riot of colours! OTs and faculty danced to
bhangra in Kalindi lawns. The lip-smacking breakfast was as
memorable as the Punjabi that some OTs from the south of
the Vindhyas spoke. The lunch in the afternoon was North
Indian, and the dinner a West Indian fare that left everyone
asking for more! The cultural saw a lavani by lady OTs and a
colorful bhangra by four dapper couples.
Director Padamvir Singh inaugurating the
colourful Zonal day festivities
A Hindi play was staged in the following week. Mannu
Bhandari's play Mahabhoj (based on her 1971 novel) was
chosen and executed with élan. It was a 'ten act play'
revolving around a Dalit's murder in a village which creates
repercussions in the political and social circles. The cast
comprised of 26 members! Directors Ashish Srivastava and
Saurav Kumar Suman did an amazing managerial job. The
play, which revolved around the houses of the Chief
Minister, a dalit home, a village strongman, a newspaper
office and an honest police officer struck a chord with the
audience that comprised of senior civil servants who might
have been in such situations themselves. The acting was
world class, Alok Ghosh who played the Chief Minister did a
'Bacchan-in-Sarkar'- like job and Binda, played by
Rishirendra Kumar was 'near-Manoj Bajpai'! The Director
showered praise on the cast and crew for their performances
and also for not relying on collar mikes and executing the
play in an impeccable theatrical fashion. Mahabhoj was an
exercise in brilliance!
A fascinating musical evening with-a-difference was
presented by noted composer and musician Vidya Shah,
celebrating contributions of women in the gramophone era
in early 20th century India, tracing a melodious chapter in
India's cultural history.
The compulsory riding classes stopped, much to the elation
of majority of the OTs who dreaded the thought of trot or
canter! A good number of OTs were told off (read 'thrown
off') by the horses unceremoniously; some retired hurt but a
majority got back to being at the top of the game! Attaboy!
The academic sessions focused on vital issues of
environment, women and child rights. The Academy was
visited by fiery activist-scientist Vandana Shiva who
rubbished the concept of genetic modification of seeds and
exposed its dangers most eloquently. A chilling film on the
subject was shown. Heads of State Administrative Training
Institutes (ATIs) briefed the OTs on what the coming months
of attachment to these institutes in respective cadre states
would entail. The month of May also introduced the OTs to a
number of sensitive issues through visual media. The classic
Kurasawa movie 'Roshomon' was discussed to emphasize
on the multiplicity of perspectives that surround our daily
lives. The movie 'HOME' spoke about the rapidly changing
face of 'our home' Earth due to global warming. A movie of
domestic violence 'Saving Face', which won Pakistan it's first
Oscar, was screened and it moved many in the audience to
tears. Perhaps, the serious and common issue of domestic
violence couldn't have been dealt more appropriately.
The end-of-Course examinations started on 28th May. OTs
were seen populating the reading room in the library like
never before, and no one dared to bandy the 'KTP' word
liberally considering the amount of 'keen' studies that were
going on all around. The humongous syllabus for the law
exam and the mid-term management debacle gave many
'sleepless classes'. Some people even imagined faculty with
broad smirks vicariously deriving pleasure from the exam
aura in the Academy! But some OTs did not let anything get
in way of their routine, the Ganga dhabha was just as
boisterous and the nights more noisy! For many an OT, the
best part of the exam was the sizzling chai served at the halfway mark with tasty snacks!
While the 'exam monkey' has slid off the back of the OTs, the
burden of memories and nostalgia associated with leaving
this amazing place called 'The Academy' has already set its
dark shadows. Phase-I is at its fag-end, the evening light
fades and the shadows of parting with the people and place
grow longer with the setting of the sun.
We sign off the last edition of 'The Academy' for Phase-I
(2011) by quoting Robert Frost Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
Evening
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But [we] have promises to keep,
And miles to go before [we] sleep,
And miles to go before [we] sleep…
News Sparks
continued from page 2
The House Journal Society (HJS) of the 2011 batch thank the
Newsletter Editorial Team (Dr. Moana Bhagabati, Nidhi
Sharma) for their constant encouragement and help. The HJS
also thanks its regular contributors and readers for making
this effort worthwhile.
Phase-IV: The seventh round of MCTP Phase-IV which
commenced on 30th April had three weeks of eclectic
classroom inputs at LBSNAA before proceeding on the
Canadian tour, the international study visit which is an
important component of the MCTP. Thought-provoking
sessions on challenges in governance and administration
including a number of detailed interactive discussions state
of the Indian Administrative Service; public policy both at a
conceptual and practical level with case studies, an in depth
coverage of project appraisal and public private partnership
(PPP) were some of the areas covered in the Academy
The participants left for Toronto, Ontario towards the latter
half of the month. Undertaken with the objective of
understanding contemporary developments in political
George Everest and his Bungalow at Hathipaon
Amit Agrawal*
George Everest's Bungalow at Hathipaon is a popular trek from
LBSNAA. This bungalow was quite literally the last milestone
in an audacious four decades and 1600-mile long odyssey
known as the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India that,
among other things, laid the ground for the cadastral revenue
surveys that has underpinned revenue administration in India
ever since.
In 1800 CE, seizing the opportunity presented by the defeat of
Tipu Sultan in the last Mysore War, Captain Lambton sold to
Arthur Wellesly and Lord Clive (the then Governor of Madras
Presidency), the idea of accurately mapping the Kingdom of
Mysore. The survey began from Madras in 1802 CE and resulted
in correcting the width of the Indian peninsula at Madras's
latitude from the then estimated 400+ kilometres to 360
kilometres. Thereafter, the scope of the survey got enlarged to
include a triangulation survey of a 'Great Arc' that arced
northwards from Kanyakumari on the Indian Ocean along the
78th degree East meridian. This was conceived as an aid to
consolidate British control over India through an accurate
plotting of the country. In addition to being an exercise in mapmaking, it was an unprecedented scientific endeavour to
determine the precise extent to which the earth is flattened in
the tropical region, as one moves away from the Equator
continued on page 3
The ACADEMY
MAY 2012
economy, theory and practice of public policy formulation
and learning from global best practices, the two-week study
tour was organized in collaboration with the Institute of
Public Administration of Canada (IPAC). The programme
commenced with an overview of Indo- Canada bilateral
relations, followed by an introduction to the Canadian
governance system including relations between federal,
provincial and local governments. A mix of classroom-based
inputs on policies related to economic development,
infrastructure and trade, human resource development,
health and other social sector policies, urban management
and planning issues and policies was complemented by site
visits to the organizations and institutions that
demonstrated the innovative public policy in action
discussed in classroom sessions. A high point was a visit to
the Niagara region, where the participants were exposed to
agriculture, agri-business and tourism through interactions
with the Chief Executive Officers of grape growers of
Ontario and Vineland Research & Innovation Centre, as well
as a meeting with the Niagara Falls Tourism office.
towards North Pole. The biggest such geodetic measurement
that had been undertaken till then was one that spanned Great
Britain, France and Spain; however, this was in the temperate
zone and accounted for a fraction of the 1600-mile long Great
Triangulation Survey of India undertaken under first Lambton
and then Everest (pronounced Eave-rest). This survey passed
through Kanyakumari, Hyderabad, Nagpur and Agra, and
terminated at the ridge near Everest's Bungalow at Hathipaon
in Mussoorie. Numerous east-west surveys were also
undertaken from the Great Arc's baseline, including one from
Silchar to Peshawar and another from Calcutta to Karachi, to
provide a gridiron from which revenue and topographic
surveys could subsequently be performed, mapping the entire
length and breadth of the Indian subcontinent.
A young Lieutenant Everest of Greenwich, England joined the
survey under its Superintendent Captain Lambton's tutelage in
1818 and took over in 1823 upon Lambton's demise.
Subsequently, in 1830, Everest also assumed charge of Surveyor
General of all topographical and revenue surveys in India. The
office of the Surveyor General was at Calcutta, the then capital
of British India. This Everest, by now a Colonel, found this to be
a distraction from the more important task of measuring the
Great Arc. Further, to complete the Himalayan end of the
continued on page 4
MAY 2012
The ACADEMY
4
5
George Everest and his Bungalow ...
continued from page 3
survey, he needed a place in the Siwaliks that would offer him
several kilometres of relatively level land. The newly emerging
settlement in Masuri Village, today's Mussoorie, fitted the bill.
A British Colonel had built a bungalow at Hathipaon in 1829,
and in 1832 Everest, without a personal visit to the spot, got the
survey to purchase this, along with 600 acres of adjoining estate,
as the new headquarters for the Survey of India. However, the
British India authorities at Calcutta were not pleased with the
prospect of having the Surveyor General and the
Superintendent of the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India
escape from ready access and supervision into the remoteness
of Mussoorie. As a compromise, the Survey of India got
headquartered at Dehradun, where it has remained since.
However, from the winter of 1933-34 till the completion of
survey of the Great Arc in 1943, Everest lived at this bungalow
at Hathipaon, using this as the unofficial headquarters of the
Great Trigonometrical Survey, moving down to Dehradun in
the rainy monsoon season to tend to his less valued
responsibilities as the Surveyor General. He would climb up the
ridge that afforded him an uninterrupted view of numerous
Garhwal region peaks on a clear day and carry on triangulation.
The extent of survey error from the preceding triangulated
point of Sironj in northern Madhya Pradesh to Dehradun was
initially over three feet, leading Everest to redo the exercise to
bring down the error to as low as 1.6 inch!
unsupported claim made half a century earlier by William Jones
of the Bengal Asiatic Society that Himalayas were the tallest
mountain range in the world. The Andes of South America,
actually a poor runner-up, were at that time regarded by many
as being the tallest. As more and more peaks got measured,
Nanda Devi (the fifth highest peak), Kanchenjunga (the third
highest) and K2 (the second highest) were successively feted
briefly as the world's tallest peaks. Ultimately, in 1852, what we
know today as Mount Everest, the Tibetans as Chomolungma
and the Nepalis as Sagarmatha, was measured by Everest's
successor, Colonel Andrew S. Waugh, and pronounced the
world's highest peak. Waugh floated the idea of naming it after
Everest, who had originally identified its location in 1841.
However, in 1865, after a prolonged debate over a period that
saw a reassertion of British suzerainty over India in 1857,
Waugh chose to name this peak in honour of Everest.
'Everest's Bungalow', which has been styled " 'athipaon
Bungalow" by John Keay in his dramatic account of the Great
Trigonometrical Survey in his book "The Great Arc", is derelict
today, with not even a plaque to reveal its place in history as the
hub of an enterprise considered by many contemporaries as the
greatest scientific effort till the nineteenth century. One hopes
that the Survey of India or its parent, the Department of Science
& Technology, would one day realise the value of preserving for
posterity this heritage site as a living monument to the great
cartographic and scientific adventure that enabled accurate
mapping of India, more precise surveys of the curved earth
across the globe, and measurement of Himalayan heights.
Completion of the survey of the Great Arc paved the way for
benchmarking Himalayan peaks against the mean equatorial
sea level. This process finally and conclusively established the
*IAS 1993 batch (Chhattisgarh cadre)
MCTP round VII participant
Sweet in Sour
continued from page 4
minutes of briefing, making it hell for a person (like me) who
hardly understands Hindi. At that hour, after attending to daylong classroom sessions, listening to something which I didn't
understand was not even a preferred choice. Imagine the
situation where I was, listening to lengthy narrations which I
could hardly understand. Uproar of agony started to provoke
my inner conscience. Too much of excitement is not too good for
a healthy mind, I felt. Making the situation even more imperfect
was my 'eleventh hour' work habit. I had just finished 50% of
my state paper due for submission the next day. I kept on
inquiring about the time to my good friend Rahul. I was much
too concerned about my time, thinking that the time I was
spending there was an utter wastage. If my dinner got delayed it
would be likely that I would have to slog whole night to
complete my paper. Thinking of early morning PT made it even
worse, stressing me endlessly. “Please stop torturing me!” I
muttered to myself incessantly.
I gazed at my friends just to find out that most of them too were
not really enjoying the show. Some engaged in cross-talk and
few others taking a cozy nap. All yearned for the most
prominent artist but in vain, they ended up witnessing dull and
drab items by two lady artists. I thought to myself that this
particular group of artists had just came into the campus to get
themselves entertained by their audiences. The famous phrase
hope for the best, prepare for the worst bogged me down as I found
myself not fully prepared for the programme.
Some of our friends with mental resilience and fortitude started
sneaking out of the hall and a few chivalrous ones remained
confined in the hall expecting something new and enjoyable.
Sweet in Sour
The IAS officer trainees of the 2011 batch had flocked to the
soporific Sampoornanand Auditorium. Probationers have even
named it Sapna Auditoriun. However that day we were not to
have a sound sleep and experience a pleasant dream but to
witness a famous classical stage performance by a team of
artists who had arrived in the Academy. An air of excitement
filled the hall along with unwavering expectations from the
audience finding its space in every nook and corner. Though
engrossed in private talks, our eyes were glued to the red stage
curtain expecting something entertaining, exuberating,
exhilarating and above all something memorable. The curtain
opened with the welcome note by one of our gentleman officers.
It took around five minutes but seemed like half an hour.
Impatiently, I listened to him with my inner ego fighting my
patience I was not there to listen to speeches but to get myself
entertained by the stage performance.
In our career in the civil service, at times we may come across
unexpected situations of such sort where we may end up
grumbling rather than appreciating. That particular evening
awakened me to mull over all possibilities to explore myself and
to adapt to all sorts of adverse circumstances. It also taught me
to develop an appreciation towards the affairs which govern
others' interest. Above all, it ignited my inner thought to explore
the sweet amongst sour before I aver to the sour. I profusely
thank our Director and the artists for waking me up, not from
the dream that I usually experience in Sapna Auditorium but
from the Dream of Self-Ignorance.
* Phase I, Royal Bhutan Civil Service
Following him, a lady artist elegantly entered the stage. A roar
of applause infused confidence in her. However, instead of
staging a dance performance, she continued with another 10-15
Ashish Kumar Srivastava and Saurav Kumar Suman*
“The journey of the Hindi Play started with Saurav's suggestion
to do Mahabhoj a famous novel of Mannu Bhandari, which he
had seen being staged during his college days. I was
apprehensive from the beginning - eleven scenes and more than
25 cast members. But the ever helpful Saurav supported me and
offered to be the Associate Director of the play.” - Ashish
After a week-long discussion and script editing, one fine
Sunday we invited our colleagues for a meeting, particularly all
the TTPs (theatre type probationers) for taking part in the play.
Contrary to our expectations, almost 35 OTs including some
from non-Hindi States turned up in full force. Everyone
accepted the role offered to them whole-heartedly. It was
difficult to accommodate each and every person in the play; but
we must thank those who could not be accommodated in any
continued on page 5
The ACADEMY
The Director thanked the artist and his team and expressed his
gratitude on behalf of the 'Academy family'. I was lost, fully lost
in my thoughts, thinking what had really entertained him? If
the team had succeeded in entertaining our Director, how come
it had failed to entertain me and many of my friends? At first
instance I had a hard time convincing myself. I was too
flabbergasted . Till that stage, I wasn't aware of what is lacking
within me which I consider as an essential part of human
attributes. That was a call, a simple call with resounding bell to
explore sweetness in any sour tastes.
Mahabhoj - the Experience of making 'The Big Feast'
Passang Wangchuk*
It was an usual evening endowed with an unusual experience.
The day's events were about to wrap-up as expected and to my
surprise it has unexpectedly awakened my conscience. It taught
me the difference between things that we normally enjoy and
things that others usually enjoy. Quite seldom we experience
the same events bringing same joy and satisfaction to us on the
same occasion. Too rarely, we experience new things in old
things and it is through the eyes of our attitude that we can sense
it. Aptly, the evening brought life to the old dying cliché nothing
is good or bad but thinking makes it so making it yet so new and alive
for me.
The time was already 8:30 p.m, 30 minutes ahead of my usual
dinner time. The artist came on the stage. Apparently, by then
all our excitement was gone along with the dusty storm which
swept Mussoorie early that evening. At around 8:45 p.m. the
programme ended, a vote of thanks was proposed and the
Director of the Academy, as usual, elegantly stepped on stage to
present Academy mementos to the artists. Much disappointed,
I rose up to pay respect hypocritically, with the storm of hunger
rumbling in my empty stomach.
MAY 2012
role, as they motivated us through their willingness to work in
this project.
We started with the rehearsals the same evening and everyone
was asked to read out his/her dialogues and get into the skin of
the character. As expected, this large team was difficult to
manage. We had to deal with at least 2-3 exemption requests
every day. In the process, we realized the hardships of the
Discipline in-charge of the IAS-2011 Batch.
In spite of an acute back pain, Saurav continued to join the rehearsals
donning dual hats as an Associate Director and as S.P. Saxena. How
can we forget the State Term Paper and the Book Review submissions
and the Zonal Day preparation which collectively pushed the
absenteeism from the rehearsal to an all-time high?
continued on page 6
MAY 2012
The ACADEMY
6
7
Mahabhoj - the Experience of ...
continued from page 5
The English play was the first in line and the exceptional
performances in The Importance of Being Earnest which infused
due seriousness in the cast and the directors. The rehearsals
once again took a back seat due to our engagement in the zonal
day celebrations. To give them their due, our cast and crew
deserve a pat for full play rehearsal the same night at the
Sampoornanand Auditorium; after a tiring day of cultural
performances and a generous partaking of various regional
cuisines. PT exemption was the motivating force behind the late
night rehearsals going on in full steam.
Special Hindi sessions were arranged for Rajeshwari after her
first dialogue kyun tatmata raha hai instead of kyun tamtama taha
hai! No one can learn the cadre language faster than Kapil who
delivered his dialogues in Bhojpuri. Typical Hindi
pronunciation was also a difficulty for Deepti, especially with
rahashyatmak hatya. Another big problem was giving Deepak the
look of a local newspaper reporter, as he sports an Italian look.
But we overcame these problems by modifying some of their
dialogues and tireless efforts. For the first time in the history of
LBSNAA, we sought exemption from shaving for Deepak,
Mithilesh, Rishirendra and Sandeep. The credit for the longest
monologue goes to Amit “Chanakya” Kishore who mugged up
the two page monologue without a single mistake. The most
interesting rehearsal was of scene seven, involving the
conversation between Mithilesh and Sandeep.
We wish to reveal that in the most serious scene of the play,
where Mahendra was literally crying and Anupama was
consoling him, she always laughed behind her ghoonghat. Ravi
and Chhavi ensured the practice of play simulating the
audience, commenting in every possible way. To date, Neha is
unable to find Lochan Bhaiya and the search is still on. Saurabh
Tolambia and Ravindra were very particular about their police
uniforms with proper stars. We must admit that the biggest
surprise was Ravindra's acting. Despite the small roles of
Abhimanyu, Rahul, KVS and Deepa, they left their pronounced
effect on the audience. It was difficult for Nitin to manage acting
after tiring work of the English play but he managed it well. We
were amazed by the performance of Alok, who was compared
with the well established actors by the Faculty.
The most important and crucial work was done by the
production team comprising of Danish, Rahul, KVS,
Abhimanyu, Apneet and Anjaneyulu. Danish was very
particular about the catchy introduction of the play. We must
also say that he is a professional Lights Man. Rahul was truly
exceptional as he managed backstage work using the MS Project.
He assigned jobs to every member after Gantt chart and Critical
Path Analysis. KVS managed the mikes flawlessly, which made
sound effects professional. Abhimanyu along with Danish
played significant roles in arranging and managing the music.
Apneet coordinated the backstage work, alongside doing the
fine job of narration in between the scenes. Posters of Mahabhoj
prepared by Alok and Zulfikar Ali were the best possible
publicity tools. Special credit must be given to Anjaneyulu for
arranging tea and snacks during rehearsals which refreshed
everyone.
We must thank Roli Singh for granting exemptions from PT and
post lunch session and Bhawana Porwal Narwekar and Arshad
M. Nandan, who came to watch our rehearsals and gave
valuable inputs. We are thankful to Tejveer Singh and Fine Arts
Association for giving us an opportunity to do this play. The
journey of Mahabhoj came to an end on 17th May but tale of
memories and bonds of friendship shall continue forever.
It was a Herculean effort which culminated in such a play,
which members of the audience compared to NSD dramas. It is
one of the most wonderful experiences of our lives which we
shall cherish for years to come.
*IAS-201, Phase I, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh cadre,
respectively
continued from page 6
admits his reluctance to have the sermons printed, yet accepts,
with the hope that the message should come alive to speak with
the readers.
Undoubtedly, the speaker is magnanimous and his venture into
printing sermons is a successful one, as the voice can be heard
when one starts to read the discourse consciously. A conscious
reading leaves no shadows between the power of his oratory
and the power of the text in Strength to Love. The text
immortalizes his speech, even as it continues to inspire
humanity, for to love is human; and appending strength to love
invokes courage and a rise above the ordinary.
Martin Luther King is a product of his circumstances and
consciousness, a fact revealed throughout the book. One finds
sermons he had preached during and after the bus protest in
Montgomery, Alabama; three sermons while he was in Georgia
jails; few sermons he preached to congregations throughout the
nation in the days of grave crises, clouded by social evils of his
time. His unassuming nature manifests through an
acknowledgement to his parents, who gave him an inspiring
example of the Strength to Love. He appeals to the readers as an
author, an accomplished reader, an orator, and a persuasive
speaker with a gift of a heart which voiced the right words and
verses. Repetitive and rhythmical in few places, yet his words
retain emotive charge till the last. The ideals are lofty, the text of
an undying quality, and the spirit is powerful - power drawn
from the depth of his commitment and the strength of his
courage.
Martin Luther outlines his political ideology, as he explores the
conflicts between totalitarianism and democracy, capitalism
and communism, as forms of governance. The debates
surrounding various other topics - colonialism, materialism
and humanism also find place in the book. The philosophy of
fatalism and the framework of freedom steer his dialogue.
Slavery was inhumane for he considered nothing more tragic
than to be divorced from family, language and roots into the
drain of resentment and bitterness. And Freedom, to him, is the
act of deliberating, deciding, and responding within our
destined nature.
Lines from the book reverberate ceaselessly as they have
universal applicability and timeless relevance. King delves into
the power of Man, the human spirit - which, according to him,
transcends time and space. Asserting that 'man is much more
than a tiny vagary of whirling electrons', he ascertains that the
abiding expression of man's higher nature lie in his freedom, his
ability to reason, his power of memory and his gift of
imagination.
Book Review
Strength to Love - my reflections
Hephsiba R Korlapati*
Strength to Love by Martin Luther King is a prophetic text and a
primer in the principles and practice of nonviolence. Fifty years
since its publication, the book is significant as an anthology of
Book Review - Strength to Love ...
his sermons, delivered over a span of a lifetime, marked with
epochal struggles. Yes, sermons intended for a discerning ear
rather than the reading eye. In the preface, Martin Luther
One also finds timeless quotes of Ralph Waldo Emerson in the
sermons. One of the significant quotes is found in the chapter on
the 'Three Dimensions of a Complete Life'. It reads, “If a man
can write a better book, preach a better sermon, or make a better
mousetrap than his neighbor, tho' he build his house in the
woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door”.
Appreciating human excellence, learning from experiences and
traversing through philosophical thought seems to be in the
trails of King's nobility which can be gathered from the
references to Shakespeare, Beethoven, Michelangelo, Bach,
Nietzsche, Sartre, Tolstoi, Henry David Thoreau, Mahatma
Gandhi, et al.
The title Strength to Love can be viewed as an anti-thesis to the
title of a chapter in the book 'Antidotes for Fear'. He condenses
this idea in this particular chapter and in his lines 'hate is rooted
in fear and the only cure for fear-hate is love'. He contextualizes this
in the political situation of the U.S. and recognizes that not arms,
but love, understanding and organized goodwill can cast out
fear. King stated 'Only disarmament, based on good faith, will make
trust a living reality'. This certainly ushered new thinking in
international relations and the problems of his American
brotherhood, the problems of racial injustice and social
segregation.
The message throughout the book is lucid. For an appraisal, King,
through his words, attained the eloquence of his speech for his
tone echoes unceasingly. Though King seems to be admonishing,
his words reveal the substance of one's being, the purpose of one's
doing and the context of one's living. Through his writing, he
offered special notes for young people to ponder and reflect upon.
The human and emotional dimensions of his writing make the
readers conform to become transformed nonconformists, as
Martin Luther King envisioned individuals to be.
References from The Bible and spiritual connotations in few
sermons also strike another chord - of the ability of Martin
Luther King to weave Biblical teachings and social
consciousness into a remarkable Social Gospel.
The books ends with the chapter on 'Pilgrimage to Nonviolence'
wherein he fondly records his pilgrimage to India - as a
privilege, where his skepticism concerning the power of love
diminished gradually; and as an intellectual accord, as he
resolved his ideas on Nonviolence - long after he gave
intellectual assent. Preaching excerpts on love and nonviolence,
in the conclusion, Martin Luther King clarifies to the readers
that he is not a doctrinaire pacifist but embraces realistic
pacifism (emphasis added), and gives a call to modern nations
to find alternatives to war and destruction. King averred "Only
through an inner spiritual transformation do we gain the strength to
fight vigorously the evils of the world in a humble and loving spirit".
To end, the quote which invited me to read this classic:
If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as
Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare
wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of
heaven and earth will pause to say, “Here lived a great street sweeper
who did his job well.
*IAS- 2011, Phase I, Karnataka cadre
continued on page 7
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9
The Importance of being Earnest: the Experience
The Importance of being Earnest : ...
continued from page 8
Nitin Bhadauria*
The seeds of the English Play were sown one morning when
Anirudh, Roshni and I discussed the idea of doing something
fun in what was turning out to be one of the most boring phases
of our life the Phase I. We zeroed down on a celebrated comedy
- The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Having
watched and acted in it earlier, I w as confident that the
audience will like it. However, both Anirudh and I were
sceptical about stepping into shoes of a director. The time
required for putting the idea together and co-coordinating the
team seemed like an insurmountable barrier given our busy
schedule. Each wanted the other to take the captain's role;
finally we settled on Anji's deal - “Let's go ahead till the time we
can handle it, then we will see what needs to be done!”
In the pre-bids for actors, we were told by seasoned director and
wise friend Mr. K that “Ms. P and Ms. I are my girls, they will act in
my play, you guys are free to choose whoever else you want”.
Faced with the prospect of dwindled lady OT actors, bid for by
three different plays, we immediately approached the lady OTs.
The selection criteria was simple - anybody who wants to be onboard was welcome. Without even waiting for her consent,
Roshni was the first one to be brought on board. The script of the
play was circulated - some turned it down, some enthusiastic
responses came from unexpected quarters, and some convincing
from our side got Apneet, Sweta and Sindhu on-board as well.
The pre-bidding conference was followed with the bid
presentation and submission - the auditions. To our relief, the
four girls landed up and did a fine job of reading their lines, as if
they were tailor-made for the roles. We had a tough time in
assigning roles for each of the girls. Anirudh's vision about each
of the characters proved instrumental in this. Amongst the guys,
Dutta, Mir and Sandy offered to do the pivotal roles. Sandy,
who had to drop out later due to his LPL commitments, was
replaced by the Oscar Wilde enthusiast Bhavikatti, who so got
into the skin of his character to make Wilde turn in his grave.
Some of his doubts about the character can only be settled by
Wilde's resurrection.
Our rehearsals were plagued with questions like, “Will the
audience like it? Will it get too boring and dull? Are the jokes
outdated? Should attendance be compulsory?” It was followed
by the pruning out unnecessary portions in the script. At one
point, we even thought of LBSNAAising the play and setting it
in Mussoorie, replacing 'The Savoy' with 'The Tavern' and
'Lesson on German' with 'Lessons on Public Administration'.
Some changes were sustained, some overruled and after threefour rounds, the script was reduced from 85 pages to 44 - an
hour and quarter in performance, hopefully brief enough not to
put anyone to sleep.
Sindhu and Sweta, ever punctual, were there before even the
directors could land up. Rest of the cast required convincing
and cajoling, followed by classic responses - “I will be there in
ten minutes.” Being the master of the ten minute business
myself, I knew the ten minutes would translate into an hour. But
once there, the cast took their jobs seriously - often the drama
practice went in tandem with table tennis lessons. Jokes apart, I
really have to say that the talented cast did such a wonderful job,
complete with improvisations, that we did not have to worry at
all about their delivery, mannerisms, et al.
Arranging for PT and class exemptions with the faculty, who
bargained hard for their pound of flesh, was another tedious job.
We managed some, but the team, including me, was hardly
satisfied with the 'rough' deal we got. Dejected, we still
managed with our late night and early morning practices. Anji
in particular, was there to attend to all our chai needs. It was
followed by the production work - running for invites, poster
designing (a big thanks to Bhavikatti!) and publicity work. For
props, we literally went running to places - Ranjana Chopra for
parasols, the Executive Lounge for furniture, Kalindi for the
bar and the mirror, Guite for the Bible, SRK's sister for the gossip,
Ravinder for the overcoat and my friends Ashish, Alok and
Saurav for all the small items. The cast chipped in wherever
possible - be it Apneet's bag which served to conceal a one year
old boy to Mir's e-cigarette to add effect to his character. Beg,
borrow and steal remained the guiding principles.
lights and Anirudh with the music, I settled down with the
script backstage, praying that all should go well. “The stage
was set and we were raring to go.” Well, not so much!
Pooja and Anirudh introduced the play and we started with
thumping hearts. To begin with, there were nerves, but as the
play progressed there was excitement and heightened
confidence with the audience laughing at moments. Apneet's
admonishing of the butler or Dutta's enquiry of “Which
nephew?” or Sindhu and Sweta's “forgetfulness of diary and
the explaining comments which followed”, diaries forgotten
due to my negligence, were improvisations we had never
thought of - another brilliant testimony to their talents and
confidence. Only one thought survived in the end - “We had
managed to pull it through as a team.”
The adulation after the play was a touching and humbling
experience. Govind said that he had come for the play for ten
minutes because his friend Anji was associated with it and then
managed to stay on because he liked it. Choki mentioned that it
was the best time he had spent in Sampoornanand Auditorium.
I was just happy that our efforts were appreciated, and we had
done a good job.
It was indeed a pleasure and privilege to work with such a
talented bunch. I have to thank Datta for his dedication, Mir for
effortlessly slipping into the role of Algy, Roshni for inspiring
us to do the play and then adding colour to Miss Prism, Sindhu
for her patience and the girly Cecily she played to perfection,
the extremely professional Apneet for balancing her North
Zone cultural duties with practice, Sweta for the flirty Gwen she
smoothly portrayed, Bhavikatti for working hard on the
character of Dr Chasuble, KVS for just agreeing to do Merriman
and Anji for playing an instrumental role in making the play
possible. To my friend Anirudh, the debt will always remain for
he got pulled into things which he was least interested in and
yet did it, for his friend's sake. I have to give it to all of you for
being a dedicated gang and creating a lively and enjoyable
working atmosphere. I enjoyed every bit of it!
*IAS-2011,Phase I, Uttarakhand cadre
fQj p<+saxs viuh&viuh ^nykbZ fgy*
Saurabh Tolumbia*
vk x;k oks fnu vc]
tc foNM+saxs ge lc]
ubZ eaft+yksa dh ryk'k esa]
ubZ Åapkb;ksa dh vkl esa]
yxrk gS tSls dy gh rks feys Fks]
lkFk lkFk ^nykbZ fgy* tks p<+s Fks]
Hkkjr n'kZu esa dh [kwc et+k]
fey cSB jpk;k egkHkkst]
ij ;s lc u gksxk vc]
u gksxh xaxk <kck ij xi'ki!
dkjok¡ gksus dks gS fonk]
nksLr nksLrksa ls gks tk;saxs tqnk]
fQj eksckby ?ku?kukus dk nkSj vk,xk]
,d nwljs dks Q+ksu ij ;kn fd;k tk,xk]
/khjs&/khjs ;g nkSj Hkh xqt+j tk,xk]
gj 'k[l ,d HkhM+ esa [kks tk,xk]
u locker, u Vkbe Vscy]
u eseks dk gksxk Mj]
fQj Hkh cM+h eqf'dy gksxh]
oks ubZ jg xqt+j]
tc >wB dh fclkr ij lp dks pquuk gksxk]
csvkl fuxkgksa esa tc u;k [okc cquuk gksxk]
nwj cgqr gksxk lkfgy]
vkSj Mxj gksxh eqf'dy]
ij dÙkZO; dh ykS fy, ge]
fQj p<+saxs viuh&viuh ^nykbZ fgy*!
Anirudh did the videos as part of the production work,
carefully selecting the music, as shooting and editing. The
preview in Sardar Patel Hall was a disaster and whatever little
hope we had of getting people to watch the play dwindled. I
resorted to convincing people to turn up as a personal plea. One
of my friends even told me, that the bet was on the number of
people turning up. The going number was 15!
Gradually the realization set in that the hour had arrived and
we had not even had a single run-through. Nerves started
playing up, we became crankier. Asking the cast to go and get
ready, we gave the stage one last change - a change which we
knew would sure upset Sweta, who had been instrumental with
setting the stage. The garden was planted on the side-stage,
KVS and Anji told about their entries, which they remembered
methodically and with Sandesh doing a meticulous job with the
IAS-2011, Phase I, Nagaland cadre
continued on page 9
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MAY 2012
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10
11
Faculty News
NIAR in Action
Abhishek Swami joined LBSNAA as Reader in Law in May. An officer of the Railway Accounts Services (IRAS),
batch of 2000, he was associate finance for the Rail Coach Factory Project at Rai Bareli and coordinating finance
deputy for all workshops on Northern Railway before joining the Academy. A graduate in History from St.
Stephen's College, with post graduation in International Politics, and MPhil in International Law from Jawahar Lal
Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, he is also a Bachelor in Law (LLB) from Delhi University. The Academy
extends a warm welcome to him!
National Institute of Administrative Research
!
NIAR facilitated a two-day orientation course for the
organizers of 25th Youth Parliament Competition 201213 on 11- 12 May. The programme was attended by 70
participants from 6 regions of Kendriya Vidyalaya
Sangathan.
!
Two-day conference on 19-20 May, on 'Prudential
Regulations' on behalf of Prime Minister Economic
Advisory Council, Ministry of Finance, Department of
Economic Affairs was successfully facilitated by NIAR.
Workshops, Training and Capacity Building
Joint Civil-Military Training Programme on
National Security: The 18th edition of the Joint Civil
Military Program on National Security was conducted at the
Indira Bhawan campus from 7th to 18th May. One of the more
popular short term programmes of the Academy, this JCM
witnessed widespread participation from officers of the
three wings of the Armed forces, the Central paramilitaries,
Intelligence agencies, officers from the Foreign Service, IAS,
IPS, the Revenue Services, Railways as also from the
Corporates and the media.
The two-week long programme covered various dimensions
of national security ranging from external and internal
security threats to cyber security and energy security
scenario. Besides approaching the subject topically, there
was a spatial focus on sensitive areas: the North East, Af-Pak,
China, West Asia, especially relations with Iran and the Gulf
with particular focus on Arab Spring and its likely form and
effect. Controversial and sensitive issues like civil-military
relations, Islamic fundamentalism. left wing insurgency was
also touched upon. The faculty comprised serving officers
from various ministries, armed forces and paramilitaries,
and eminent scholars and doyens of think tanks and centres
such as Maroof Raza, Prakash Singh, Sanjeev Tripathi,
Secretary (R) Cabinet Secretariat. In addition, there were
eminent speakers from the armed forces that brought the
participants up to date with the strategic thinking and new
trends in conflicts, both in the Indian context and beyond.
Areas of LWE and insurgency and administrative issues
were also dealt with at length by officers serving in these
areas. Sessions comprised not only lectures but group work
and role play exercises. The latter was conducted by Institute
of Defense Studies and Analysis, New Delhi, on negotiations.
The participants also shared their experiences in fields
relating to security. The programme concluded on the 18th
of May with the Valedictory address delivered by Latha
Reddy, Deputy National Security Advisor.
Conference of Heads of Administrative Training
Institutes: The XIth Heads of ATI Conference was held 21st-
The ACADEMY
22nd May. Nineteen representatives from as many ATIs
across the country were present. Inaugurated by Padamvir
Singh, Director, LBSNAA, the two-day conference saw
discussions emanating from good practices of LBSNAA,
greater usage of the e-learning platform, brainstorming on
ways to attract better Faculty, and issues regarding district
training of IAS OTs. The members of the ATIs also interacted
with the Phase I OTs in smaller groups.
Visit of Governor, RBI and senior officials: Dr. D.
Subbarao, Governor, RBI, board members and senior
officials of the Central Bank visited the Academy on 23-24
May. Padamvir Singh, Director, welcomed them and
Sanjeev Chopra, Joint Director, briefed about training and
activities in the Academy. Dr. Subbarao addressed the IAS
OTs of 2011 batch. Director of the Academy hosted a dinner
on May 23 in honour of Dr. Subbarao and the visiting
delegates. The Central Borad meeting of the Bank was also
held in the Academy premises.
!
Two-day issue-based workshop for State and District
Level Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Functionaries was
organized at Indira Bhawan Campus on 21st -22nd May.
The workshop which was attended by 28 State and
District Level Officers, academicians and experts from
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Himachal
Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Assam,
Chhattisgarh and Punjab focussed on two major issuesConvergence and Financial Inclusion. The participants
shared their experiences, knowledge, expertise in form
of best practices and case studies.
National Centre for Livelihood Management (NCLM)
The Centre organized an intensive workshop-cum-field visit
in Andhra Pradesh on 'Poverty Alleviation through Microfinance and Self-Help Groups' for Officers (DMs/CDOs and
DDOs) from Uttarakhand in collaboration with the National
Rural Livelihood Mission, MoRD, GoI. Workshops were
held at Hyderabad in association with the Society for
Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) and extensive
interactions were organized in Chittoor district with
members of SHGs from 11th-14th May.
National Gender Centre
Joint Training Programme on 'Gender Issues': The NGC
conducted five-day Joint Training Programme for the All
India Services on 'Gender Issues' in collaboration with
Department of Personnel & Training, GoI and UN-Women,
New Delhi from 28th - 1st June. Twenty four participants (of
whom 16 were men), from the three All India Services (IAS 7, IFS - 9, IPS-6) and two from the Defence Services attended
the training.
The aim was to bring officers from the All India Services and
Defence Services on one platform in a two-way learning
process to interact and address the need to mainstream
gender in government. Key concepts were introduced
through certain methodologies and exercises to help the
participants broaden their understanding of gender issues.
At the end of the programme, the participants were
equipped with knowledge and tools to take positive action
for mainstreaming gender in policy, programme
formulation and implementation.
RBI Governor, Dr D Subbarao in a meeting flanked by Director
Padamvir Singh (L) and Joint Director Sanjeev Chopra (R)
Visiting Delegates from the Republic of Namibia: A
five-member delegation from the Namibia Institute of
Public Administration and Management visited LBSNAA
on 28th May and had discussions with the Director and
members of the faculty on the Foundation Course, the
training model, capacity building, and exchange
programme through staff exchange, curriculum and
material development.
MAY 2012
Participants and LBSNAA faculty at the Joint Training Programme on 'Gender Issues'
MAY 2012
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