Travelogue On 'A Tour To Remember'!

The Winter Study Tour/ Bharat Darshan is the most pertinent and perhaps the single most exciting opportunity for the I.A.S. Officer Trainees to explore the country, live the rough realities, whet their perspectives to diversities and understand the often-read nuances of Indian administration through lived experiences.

The tour will remain a fond memory for there were many firsts I’ve experienced in my life. I got an opportunity to visit North-East India (and also stayed for comfortably longer period of time – just over a quarter duration of the trip’s time), the first time I’ve flown to an island, the first I was completely in the ocean waters with no land in the visible vicinity, the first time I was in the great Indian desert, many firsts for a student of geography, undoubtedly! Ms.Ragini, a Sociologist friend of mine helped me buy a Mekhla Chaddar in Guwahati and even taste the world’s hottest chilli – Bhoot Jolokia, for the first time (probably, the last time too).

To be contemplative when on a tour is a biggest asset, to enjoy the tour impeccably. Melting prejudices, underplaying preconceived notions (even the few that I possessed) and having a reflective mind throughout the tour was truly a source of strength all along the arduous journey. In hindsight, I now realize that this attitude I had adapted during the BD, helped me to exact the maximum from every place we visited, from every experience we lived and to live every moment to the fullest.

It has to be mentioned that the visit to the city of Nagpur had significant moments for the group as we happened to attend the Republic Day celebrations – the first to celebrate after we joined the steel frame of the country. The visit to Nagpur has been a revisit to the Indian National Movement for the evident legacy of Dr. B.R.Ambedkar from the Railway Station to every corner of the city and undoubtedly a glance into the future too, for its development initiatives under the Municipal Corporation. There is also one restaurant in Nagpur, worth-mentioning here – Tuli International. Famous for continental cuisine, they have differential billing plans for a buffet meal, I was surprised – the ladies are charged a little lower than the men. I was happy to see Hotel Management experts honing their managerial skills by being sensitive to gender concerns.

Visiting different places and interacting with new people is in itself a tremendous learning experience. As we traversed across the length and breadth of the nation and had the opportunity to see firsthand lifestyles of different peoples and the different cultures that constitute our nation. We went to the eastern-most road of the country in Arunachal Pradesh, treaded the Stillwell Road and became part of history – of the then British India. Being in Group 8 also gave us the wonderful opportunity to peep into the Chinese territory across the Line of Actual Control and also to walk down few steps into the foreign territory of Myanmar, when we went to see the Pangsu Pass – yes, another First for me! In the North-East, Nature is simply at Her best – serene, pristine and promising. Even the slightest bustling of leaves only signified that there is a time for everything in this Nature – a time to flower and a time to fall, a time to flourish and a time to perish.

            The first ten days and a mid-week in January seemed as though the group was on a pilgrimage tour. The itinerary was lined up with visits to places of historical and cultural importance. We were on a cleansing mission – at Khajuraho, Benares, Sarnath, Bodh Gaya, Nalanda, Patna, Guwahati, Parashuramkund, Dragon temples at unscheduled (may be pre-destined) stops, and several other religious shrines. Lines from the school history textbooks were literally standing as architectural monuments and world heritage sites in front of my eyes. The social histories of the deprived people haunted me here. Of course, I did the craziest thing on the tour in one of these places while at Bodh Gaya – where I got a Buddhist Monk’s attire tailored for myself along with two other friends in the group.

The attachment with the defence forces was just not firing real guns but a learning platform for me – the army jawans literally live in inhospitable places (Army attachment in Arunachal Pradesh), the navy personnel are on the high seas for over six months in a row (Western Naval Command, Colaba, Mumbai), the air force flying officers consciously risk their life every time when they have to fly the outdated copters and crafts (Air Force Academy, Gwalior). The presentation on the Battle of Walong and the visit to the War Memorials was a moment of contemplation and sympathy, and silenced me to stillness. The solidarity of the defence forces to secure the nation is highly commendable. As we embark upon the journey into the civil services and take up the task of civil administration, the attachment with the defence forces gave us great insight into the functioning of defence services at the extreme conditions. This has also sensitized us to the problems faced by the defence personnel and their families. This experience would also give us an opportunity to improve the quality of interface between civil administration and defence forces in the future.

We had the opportunity to visit three metropolitan cities of the country – Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi. Brief visits though, I had the best of the memories in these cities.
      Though we spent just few hours in Kolkata, as it was just a transit stop in our itinerary, I bumped into several places – University of Calcutta, Presidency College, Park Street (not to forget, Flury’s), State Emporium, St.Paul’s Cathedral, of course, the Howrah Bridge. Truly, it is a City of Joy – and immense joy to be out with a good old friend, as tall as Mr.Hirak Choudhury.
       The visit to Mumbai is special for a reason larger than life, for it seemed to be a leaf from the pre-destined scheme of events in my life – for on the very first day that I step in this city of dreams, I had the rarest, unplanned chance to go with Darpan anna (brother) to the historic Presidential building – the Raj Bhawan, the residence of The Governor of Maharashtra and spent the evening watching the sun sink in the west from the scenic sunset point. Ate street food in the evenings (Bademiya near Gateway of India), loitered in the cosmopolitan world, walked past along big houses on Pedder Road and Carter Road with a senior in College, Ms. Saumya Pandey. Truly, great times!
      In Delhi, we attended the attachments with National Security Guards (Manesar) and Maruti Company (Gurgaon). Immensely, educative and informative sessions before our block leave had begun.

The island attachment was filled with fun and frolic. We bathed in the clear waters of the Radhanagar beach, played beach volley-ball with friends. Everything was unbelievably good – walking on the white sands as the shells kissed my feet, visiting the Baratung caves and re-visiting the ‘Cave Swimmers’ in The English Patient, asserting there is nothing called as mud volcano (for it seemed as if a mortar was fitted underground to ooze mud on to the surface at regular intervals), the motor boat rides, the ships, the shores and the high seas. To add on, we had a befitting revelry on the New Year’s Eve in the lawns of the residence of the Chief Secretary in Port Blair. Along with the merry time, we were also briefed on the different aspects of the island administration, the scope and prospects of tourism as an industry, the reserve forest and the need to protect them, the indigenous tribes, their primitive lifestyles (of course, we did see the Jarawas on our way to Baratung), and so on.
The visit to various sites did prove to be a first-hand experience for many of us who had very little practical knowledge of the issues in administration – value addition to the theoretical inputs collected over the years. To mention about few other attachments:

      Don Bosco Institute, Guwahati has done very well in social sector as well as in the development of human resources in the North-East India. The support and collaboration with NGO will help a big way in achieving the goals of sustainable development. We, as partakers of roles and responsibilities in the government must support these kinds of activities and promote good working NGOs.

      During the Tribal attachment, we were briefed about the tribal administration in the district of Pratapgarh, by the district officials. Issues relating to health, education, livelihood, etc, were explained to us in detail. Personally for me, it was an appalling sight as the landscape from Udaipur to Pratapgarh just reminded me that Rajasthan constitutes the R in the BIMARU group of states.

      The visit to Nagpur has been a real learning experience (though, it was a little technical in few sessions and areas) as we were taken to the actual sites of work execution; exposed to – different departments, policy implementation at local level; briefed on critical concerns in urban administration. At the end of the 3-day visit, we did appreciate that the efficient delivery of basic services to the urban poor and efficient co-ordination of different departments are the imperatives for the successful governance of our cities.

      The attachment with the private sector, the Tata Steel at Jamshedpur, has exposed us to the working of one of the biggest Private sector companies in India. Their corporate strategies can be looked into more details to figure out some efficiency generating measures. Also this attachment enabled us to realize the importance of close working of Private companies and Government for the rise of India and to foster new understanding between the two.

Here, I also find it apt to make a note of few phrases which caught my attention while on the tour: ‘Deliver with Dignity’ (Maternity Hospital theme in Shivpuri), ‘Values stronger than Steel’ (at Tata Steel Plant, Jamshedpur), ‘Imitation of alien faith is slavery’ (reads a pamphlet/notice for Indigenous Celebrations in Hayuliang). The words on an epitaph for an anonymous soldier at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in Digboi: ‘a soldier of the Indian army is honoured here’ and the Times Magazine comment inscribed in stone at the Helmet Top after the Battle of Walong ‘at Walong, the troops lacked everything, except guts’ subdued me. Shuddering words, I admit!

I would like to place on record and express my sincere gratitude to the LBSNAA for the extensively planned tour, and our esteemed faculty who made us realize the essence of this phase of training through many inputs and insights when we were at academy. Without their efforts and guidance, this tour wouldn’t have been successful and outstanding for anyone of us. The continuous assistance and logistical support of Training –II section throughout the tour and round-the-clock deserves special mention here. The DoPT also ended the quandary over the cadre allocation when we were in Digboi as part of the attachment with Oil India Limited.

The cooperation, warmth, camaraderie and understanding shown by my team members were invaluable. Deepap Priya and I were treated with consideration even as we enjoyed the ‘advantage’ of being lady Officer Trainees – being the first ones to grab a bite when hungry, lucky ones to stay in the best of the rooms and add glamour to moments captured in time. To have shared a room with Deepap Priya, a prompt and jovial person was also a reason to enjoy the trip. It was undoubtedly an experience that has added to my learning and whetted my understanding! 

Making this trip has been an experience unparalleled for all of us. Travelling as a team, we pooled in ideas, not to forget money, to make the trip more splendid and memorable for all of us. Our group leader, Mr.Vijay Datta, possessed the talent of exploring common ground/ convergence for various perspectives, address the varying concerns (many of them were very trivial) and the different minds of members, act spontaneously and precisely to the situation. A situational leader, undoubtedly, he was a successful manager on the move for two months – his endurance is worth all appreciation and expertise worth emulating by the other Officer Trainees. An unbelievable experience!

To end with, “if to see is to believe, then to record is to re-live!” And, to write a travelogue is to re-live a journey called Experience. Re-living the best of the times again, I leave here one of the musings I penned down while in the Andaman Islands:

I see the ocean, calm and clear, deep and blue,

My emotions pour and roll down in many a hue,

Tiny wants from within, and a hidden want,

Of the silent soul, find way out in a sudden vent.

I listen to an inner voice of a prolonged desire,

Calling me in soft echo, that haunts me now here,

Amidst innumerable wishful nocturnal secrets,

Shadowed by unreal and ephemeral thoughts.

Even when Nature's rhythms do relentlessly reveal,

Through her blissful solace, solitude and serenity,

We do make many trials, to keep our nature conceal,

And do only fail, after all toil, with utter certainty.

Yes, Nature!

Mother Nature - 

She reveals, as she treads to conquer eternity,

Unveils ways unknown, to discover subtlety

For Toddlers - 

Yes, for me!

That...

Everything in universe, is even; winds with waves,

Skies with oceans do mutely converse and lay bare,

That minds of men, peak highs, yet remain mere caves,

And are still unborn, for they know not to care or share...