Dear Mr. Thakur : Another nice note. Any idea where Mr. Devesh is currently ? How come after IAS he became a District Magistrate ?
Regards Milind Kotak On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 8:05 AM, Amitabh Thakur <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Friends, > > We often talk of the bureaucratic system and how to make it more > responsible and responsive. We also talk of an ideal public servant. All of > us are concerned about the present situation and want there to be rapid > improvement. On this issue, I would like to present one person, who as far > as I can visualize, fits in completely as being one. This because an example > is much better than hundreds of principles. > I came to know Devesh Chaturvedi of the 1989 batch of IAS in the year 1997 > when I got posted as SP, Pithoragarh which incidentally was my first > assignment to an independent district. There in the valley of Pithoragarh, > surrounded by the tall and mighty mountains I met the person, who in my > eyes, still remains the best example of a bureaucrat. When I went to meet > the District Magistrate, which is the usual courtesy, I had before me a face > that was smiling, graceful, cultured, sophisticated, humble, decent, > intelligent and alert, all at the same time. The person had a rare charm and > a radiance that would be there only in someone whose soul is smiling and > whose mind is at peace. I came to know that we belonged to the same > Institute (IIT/Kanpur) and the same branch (Mechanical Engg), though I very > well knew that I could be placed nowhere as compared to him in the virtues > that he had. > As might be agreed to by those who have been there in the hilly districts, > there is not much work of policing in these places as the crime-rates are > usually low. But then I had the best period of my life because I and my wife > Nutan had an opportunity to be in the company of Devesh and Shivani. This > person had everything that was needed for an officer of his class. His > honesty knew no bounds, his dedication to his job was marvelous, his > capacity to work hard and his zeal to serve the people were tremendous. > Every single moment, he would be thinking of the ways he should devise which > could prove beneficial to the people of the district. But, and here lies the > point that I want to emphasize, unlike some other such officers he was also > decent, courteous and modest. He never had a feeling that he was different > from others while the fact was that he certainly was special, a rare > creature. Yet, his behavior remained completely unaffected. I never found > him getting angry with his subordinates or being irritated over their > foolishness or insincerity. Instead, he would treat them well, at the same > time ensuring that the work that the person was expected to do, finally got > performed to his satisfaction. This, he would do with utmost patience and > sincerity. And the greatest quality that he showed all around was his power > of forgiveness. He had the magnanimity to forgive people, if they realized > and accepted their faults, mended the errors and started acting the way > Devesh wanted them to be. In Pithoragarh, there would not be one single > place where this workaholic and passionate DM would not have gone, including > such far off places as the Indo-China border, where he possibly was the > first DM to be. > I was fortunate enough to be in his company once more when I got posted at > Deoria. It was the same fun, same work, same sincerity and same decency. The > more I think of this person, the more I am filled with admiration. This is > because he never used a single word of self-praise, nor did he criticize > others on any count. Yet it was impossible for anyone to get any work done > from him which he considered to be against rules and regulations. In fact, > everything that we are taught in the books of do's and don'ts I found in > him. I was universally regarded as his closest friend and very dear to him > but I knew very well that if he had decided over an issue, even I could not > get it changed unless I could reason it out with him on the basis of certain > facts which he might otherwise have missed or on the basis of some > compassionate grounds, to which he used to heed to. > I am not the only IPS officer in UP to have been fortunate enough to have > got to work with him. There would be many like me and I am sure each one of > them would swear by my words. Whichever position he would be placed at, he > would go on serving in the same way. > I always wish there were more like him, though I know I have been unable to > see anyone else come near him. > > Amitabh Thakur > IPS > IIM Lucknow > # 94155-34526 > > >
