Khayalaat

Momentary Moments

2007-04-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

There are times in our lives, when winds blow against us, when we feel crushed and our backs are placed against the wall. There are moments when the self within us becomes overwhelming and the boat of our life seems to go on rudderless, bouncing with the tide of time. There are also times when we get entrapped in the web of mediocrity (or chalta hai attitude) and the zeal within, goes for a holiday. These are testing moments in life. Narrating our painful times and showing our wounds to the world, are symbolic of vulnerability. Strength lies within, not outside. Let not the gales of times shatter us. As a poet once said:

Jinke dil mein hai auron ke liye pyaar ka jazba,
wo log kabhi toot kar bikhra nahi karte

(People who care for others, do not succumb to defeat easily!)

Some people even say, happiness is just a brief interlude between periods of grief and struggle. But, from another perspective, happiness is just a state of mind whether in relaxation or struggle. Down we may be, but certainly not destroyed. Though it is easier to say than to practice, but pain it is said, can also be enjoyed. The beauty of silence holds in its bosom much more than what a thousand words can mean. Silence is evidently the highest form of protest as well. Another poet says:

Wo mazaa kahaan wasl-e-yaar mein,
Lutf jo mila intezaar mein

(What pleasure lies in embrace and reunion,
than in the endless wait of the beloved!!)

We need to move ahead of these tougher times. The flickering light of hope should never be allowed to die, come what may. Cynicism, despondency, loneliness are some of the challenges, we need to overcome. The spirit of man is all-powerful and immortal. Let us respect it and not fall prey to the challenges that are going to come our way. We are all committed to our service – the IAS. More than that, we need to be committed and proud of the human spirit – characterized by unflinching faith, strong resolve and a phoenix-like instinct…!!!

ZUHAIR BIN SAGHIR

Lessons of life....

2007-04-10T05:17:00.000-07:00

Human beings were never born alike…never in the annals of history. Each one of us is different and at the same time, important in a distinct way. We have our own thoughts and feelings, likings and prejudices, moments of laughter and gloom. Individualism is an inherent characteristic of the human being. But certainly, there are moments when we lose ourselves unto others. It’s as if, our thinking n feeling gives way to that of the other person. Our attitudes are shaped by things around us. Some of us might remember, our grandmothers feeding ‘dana’ to the little birds which used to flock on lazy winter afternoons; or the lukewarm admonitions our parents used to give when we ate candies out of the money that was to be given as alms; or staying back for the night at a friend’s place when s/he was down with high fever; or perhaps, as simple as standing up and offering the seat to a frail old woman who boards the crowded bus. These are instances which one takes by the stride and life moves on. However, these moments build our lives slowly, brick by brick. This was the learning all of us had throughout our lives….and suddenly, when we don’t even know what’s going around, these lessons come alive. We react in the way, we have perceived those lessons. From here, arise the fundamentals of caring and sharing…Wildlife conservation, preservation of natural resources, the ethics of social sector, the ideals of social welfare and many many more aspects develop in our minds first…remember the birds, the alms, the fever, the seat….! This is just a hint…when we turn back the pages of our life, wouldn’t we find a plethora of such small little things which have principled our life all along…?

ZUHAIR BIN SAGHIR

State of mind or Mind of state

2007-03-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

A couple of days back, we sat glued to the big TV screen in the GBPH…waiting for India to pull off a dramatic victory against the sub-continental rival. Ball by ball we followed the match and inch by inch, our eyes followed the ball, as it pranced on the field. Realizing fully well that if India lost, all would come to a naught…silent prayers resonated the atmosphere, benign curses were made, as each one of us rode on the sine wave of elation and anguish; A few hours later, the gap between the lips and the cup began to increase faster than any Zaheer Khan delivery, as India was bundled out for a mere 185, succumbing to a massive 69 run defeat….Did I say ‘defeat’?

Defeat…after all what is defeat? Why are we often regarded as chokers, ‘the defeated’ ones? Are we Indians of a lesser god or does our blood reflect a different colour? With a population of over a billion people and gargantuan resources poured on cricket – the ‘religion’ of India, we fail to win even qualifying matches, as the ‘chhotu’ Bangladesh snuffs out its neighbour with élan this time. Our performance in other sporting events, may it be hockey or squash or even good old kabaddi, is far from being impressive. A nation like us roars when we win a solitary medal at the Olympics. We are proud of our achievement, no doubt…but then, if it has to be 1 medal for a billion people, then we need only 6 of them to cover the entire globe!!

Despite making a strong mark in the IT sector, it is an unconcealed fact that we have been only the back offices of the West, or putting in the words of the noted journalist, Mr Prashanto, we are simply ‘cyber-coolies’. Our research facilities are indubitably one of the best in the world; we have the added advantage of a well-structured curriculum, a large number of colleges and universities, cheap skilled labour and a huge intellectual pool, still how many Nobel prizes or other international distinctions have we achieved so far, more so in the recent past? There can be ‘n’ number of similar areas where performance didn’t come by, when the world expected most from us. Do we suffer from an inherent performance-phobia? Are we bound by our slavish pre-independence past? Not really, since there have been solitary incidences and marked fields where we have performed remarkably well, far from the run-of-the-mill stuff.

Let us remember and reassure ourselves that we would not have another Moses to guide us or Gandhi to shape the destiny of the country. It is we who have to assert ourselves and be the trailblazers for tomorrow. We are second to none on this planet and beyond…all it needs is to extricate ourselves from the ‘defeatist’ attitude…
Martin Luther King once said:
‘Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream…’

Or as Iqbal says,
‘Mujhe rokega tu ai naaKhuda kya garq hone se,
ki jin ko doobna hai, doob jaate hain safinon mein’
(Dare u stop me O boatman, from drowning,
For those who have to, get drowned even in fleets…!)

Defeat they say, is a state of mind; I add, it should never reside in the mind of the state!

ZUHAIR BIN SAGHIR

LIFE MOVES ON....

2007-03-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

I was sitting in my room in the afternoon, with the warm sun making its way through the window…. Just a day before, the Mains results had poured in. I came to know, that many of the guys I knew, had made it…but most didn’t! Jubilation and gloom prevailed. As I turn back the pages, I remember, most of us having gone through a similar feeling a year back…Arms in prayers, nervousness writ large on our faces, an abominable lull prevailing all around…often punctuated by somebody needlessly predicting that the results would be out in a few hours from now, parents excitedly moving around the house, friends waiting with bated breath…and then the D-moment arrives! Lo and behold…there is jubilation or gloom, celebration or despair! That is what life is actually centered around. (I really wonder how many of us can reappear in the exam…and pass through the harrowing process again!)
Taking our success in the stride and not cribbing about the things around, is the magic potion of life. A Greek philosopher once said, joys and sorrows are the two sides of the same coin. Iqbal echoes the same thought as,

‘Kyun parishaan hai tu…kai jahaan aur bhi hain’

(Why do you despair, there are many more worlds).

Ghalib again reiterates the idea as:

‘Qaid-e-hayaat aur ranj-o-gam asl mein donon ek hain,

Maut se pehle aadmi gam se nijaat paye kyun’
(Life is synonymous with the vicissitudes of happiness and sorrow,

why then should man be dispirited?)

The essence of our existence lies in moving on, as Raj Kapoor once said: The show must go on. If we reminisce a little bit, as youngsters, the earliest challenge before us, was to score well in our High School exams, then came the mighty Twelfth Standard exams….Thereafter, life suddenly threw us out of our slumber, forcing upon us the arduous task of choosing our career. Our decisions were followed by competitive exams or beelines before Delhi University colleges or endless struggles to get into premier institutions of the country. Life moved on.. We then decided to appear for the civil services examinations. (More often by compulsion than by default !)…certainly, the rest is history. But did life stop there for us? It moved on….the hopes against hopes to get a rank good enough to be in the top echelons, the silent yet desperate prayers for a suitable cadre, the heap of assignments and reports in the academy and so on….But then, all of us know, life…
More struggles are to follow ahead for each one of us. Even if we follow the law of averages, the best has been mostly on our side so far! Its akin to catching the right train to reach our destination…but the destination is still in the wilderness…yet to come. Our job is challenging, no doubt. It requires a mix of intelligence, smart work, innovativeness and commitment. It is a balancing act, but that doesn’t suggest we fall into the dungeons of mediocrity. Its while we perform our entrusted duties, we need to enjoy every moment. (pata nahin kal ho na ho!) Jubilation and despair are human tendencies. Or as Kahlil Gibran says, these two demons shall remain with us…
-ZUHAIR BIN SAGHIR

The IAS Officer...

2007-03-12T08:33:00.002-07:00

Dear friends,

If we were asked, what is happening to the role of the IAS in contemporary times?
a) Growing
b) Status quo
c) Diminishing
d) I don’t care

Most of us are going to put our bet on ‘c’ or‘d’. And if it is so, then certainly we need to ask ourselves, why we chose to join this prestigious service at all (as most visiting guests ask us…!).Indubitably, the powers, scope and prestige of an IAS officer has declined when compared to the days of the Raj or even until the initial years after independence. Sometimes we do feel nostalgic, wondering: ‘Jaane wo kaise log they…?’ After the amendments in the Criminal procedure code in 1973, a substantial amount of magisterial powers have vanished from the IAS kitty, the 73rd amendment act has also taken away a considerable amount of the developmental authority of the IAS and passed onto the local bodies and elected representatives. In states like Gujarat and Maharashtra, the task of development has conveniently been handed to what is called the CEO, Zila Parishad.

With the influx of multinationals and surge in globalization, the role of IAS has further come under the scanner. NGOs and media men are continuously hovering around the bureaucrat’s head (remember, the newspaper we visited in Delhi, felt pride in addressing us as babus, right into our faces !) and further, in terms of diminishing powers, the perfect icing on the cake is made by what we know as, political interference.

However, this is just one side of the story…let me put it this way, the authority and prestige an IAS commands, has hardly dwindled in the mind of the common Indian. In states lying inside the cow belt, he is an iconic figure. The mai-baap cult still pervades the lifestyle of the IAS. The cult comes with its own set of lacunae, but that’s a different issue altogether. We are witnessing a paradigm shift in the role of the IAS. He is increasingly getting attuned to the democratic system that runs in the veins of our country. Empowerment of people, particularly the downtrodden sections of the society, implies greater accountability and transparency in working…but then that’s what good governance is all about !

The Right to Information Act, as a section of the IAS says, has introduced an element of answerability and accountability on the part of public servants and thus keeps them on their toes. Decision making has become easier, since the onus of responsibility has become localized. While scanning through the RTI procedure, one can easily find who was at fault. Far from our powers being diminished, our workload has increased. On an average, an IAS has to put in 11 hours of work everyday…(Ah! our energy gets sapped in just 6-7 hours of classroom study!). With globalization, the task has further increased. India is in the take off mode today. Soon it will be airborne…and it is we, who are going to pilot it. (Don’t worry, we have an air force guy with us..!) Nothing has come down…powers, functions or prestige. It is only a transformation that we are undergoing….a transformation that is inevitable and has happened after every few decades.

As far as the political executive is concerned, we are just advisors and counselors to them. If only, both the wings of the executive realize their respective functions and scope of working, they can join hands and work together to produce results. Nothing stops us from thinking out of the box; nothing forces us to be prisoners of dilatory procedures alone. It is while maintaining the rule of law, adhering to the principles enshrined in the Constitution and committed to the common man, we can innovate and streamline delivery systems. The common man still regards us in high esteem more than other functionaries. He expects from us and let us not fall short of it. The iceberg could be melting, but certainly another iceberg is being formed somewhere….ultimately, it is change which remains constant always. Sardar Patel envisioned the IAS as the steel pillars of India. Today the pillars are even more entrenched and stronger than ever. The powers and scope of work of the IAS is certainly not diminishing….and that is perhaps why, all of us are here…!

ZUHAIR BIN SAGHIR

A few lines....feel the touch....

2007-03-02T10:12:00.000-08:00

Apne chehre se jo zaahir hai chhupaayen kaise...

Apne chehre se jo zaahir hai chhupaayen kaise,
Terii marzii ke mutaabiq nazar aayen kaise

Ghar sajaane kaa tasavvur to bahot baad ka hai,
Pehle ye tay ho ke, is ghar ko bachaayen kaise

Qahqahaa aankh ka bartaav badal detaa hai
Hansne waale tujhe aansuu nazar aayen kaise

Wasim Barelvi

(Tasavvur-idea, Qahqahaa-laughter)

Memories of the 80th Foundation Course

2006-12-12T06:10:00.000-08:00

29th August….September….October…November…..December….10th ; Just 48 hours from now, we would be heading towards our respective academies….charting out new tracks and embarking on a new chapter in life. Brushing through the pages of the days that have gone by, we find that we have grown a lot, learnt a lot and bonded a lot….together.

Life is all about smiling and making others smile! And the best way to smile, they say, is to smile at yourself….there lies the strength of character and attitude. The times that we have spent together are unforgettable - whether its playing tic-tac-toe in the class, snoring in the Sampoornanand Auditorium, queuing up in the Mess, dancing in the OT lounge, doing PT in the chilly mornings in semi-sleep, complaining that ‘yahan ka system hi hai kharaab’ during the tea sessions or perhaps, having night-long gossip sessions with only owls and chaukidaars to keep you company.

Regular sessions apart, can we afford to forget the excitement during the trek as we snaked through the formidable mountains and braved chilly winds to reach the apparently unconquerable peaks (only to find scary skeletons and frozen bones, as in Roopkund!) or the excuses one made to go to the hardest routes (am talking about the study tours!); can the memories of the village visit where we came in touch with common people – the unsung, unclad and unheard voices of India, fade? Remember the white water rafting in the Ganges with a couple of rafts turning turtle and throwing our officer trainees right into the whirlpool (baap re baap!). I remember people on the ill-fated cruiser fearing to take bath for days after that incident. Even the editor of the House Journal had to call somebody for help, as he believed he would sink despite the life jacket on!

Moving further, we witnessed the academy inebriated with the flavour and spirit of nationalism on the India Day. One could see India in all its hues and shades, representing all parts of the country and all sections of people. Cuisines cutting across the country lay over the table and one had no clue where to begin from (though people realised only later that their taste buds were obliged from the cut in their salary!). The Fete also saw a riot of colours and exuberance in the air, with people shaking legs on the dance floor to unsuspecting people being handcuffed and packed off to the jail (including all our faculty members and our sweet Chief Guest, Ruskin Bond ji).

At this juncture, I on behalf of all the fellow Officer Trainees, extend a trunkful of thanks to our Director, the Faculty members, the Staff members and each one here in the Academy who made our stay a memorable experience and added the much-needed fervour & spark. The discipline in the academy taught us to be self-regulated officers, the tight schedule made us adept at handling things at short notice (particularly, groping for the syllabus at 11 pm, for the exam scheduled the next day!), the course made us realise the relevance of balancing our mental quotient with the physical stamina (with Ranaji’s prophetic words: people lose their health to make money and then lose their money to regain health!) and the interactions in the auditorium brought us in touch with wisdom bytes (and sometimes, making us learn how to sleep with our eyes open!)

We are moving towards our respective destinations and are in the process of getting separated from each other. It is indeed a poignant moment for all of us, as we cherish the good (and sometimes tough) times we spend together. We relish the magic in the environs of Mussoorie, the closeness between us (hmmm….), the majestic mountains and the untimely yet welcome rains. We relish the Mess food, not because it tastes very good but because we sat together and ate. We relish the Ganga Dhaba and cafeteria. We relish the Orkut sessions and movies (for our dil se spontaneous comments). We relish sitting at the back in the Auditorium and patao-ing Ashok for reasons so obvious. In short, we relish life!
Wherever we go, we are sure to leave a mark for ourselves; create a niche, however small it may be; track unbeaten paths and leave a blazing trail behind! Some of us would be KPS Gills and Kiran Bedis of tomorrow, or perhaps, J N Dixits and Seshans, or like people unknown who are fighting against all odds to reform, change and create the India of their dreams. Is it possible, some may wonder…? It certainly is…with formidable faith and a never-say-die attitude. As Rudyard Kipling says:

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; …..

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

And the famous poet Iqbal says,

Sitaaron se aage jahaaN aur bhii hain….
tuu shahiin hai parwaaz hai kaam teraa

tere saamne aasmaaN aur bhii hain

(There are many a world beyond the stars;
You are the falcon, destined to fly high,
you have many more skies before you!)

More than good officers and rein-holders of the country, we need to be good human beings. Our pace of progress should not imply stamping other people. There are huge swathes of people who are looking up to us with bated breath and endless expectations. We need to learn to fly together. We also need to make sure that the boat doesn’t leave the shore until the last man gets in. Our struggle shall continue until the last girl in the queue gets her due…Wherever we go, whatever we do…lets pledge to contribute to Mother earth and our motherland more than what we inherited. Let’s be change agents of tomorrow, let’s learn to stand up and say no to the wrongs in the society. Let’s raise our voices and ourselves and answer to Tagore’s call of:

‘Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high……’

ZUHAIR BIN SAGHIR

My favourite hymn

2006-12-12T05:56:00.000-08:00

Lab pe aatii hai duaa banke tamannaa merii
Allama Iqbal

Lab pe aatii hai duaa banke tamannaa merii
zindagii shammaa kii surat ho Khudaayaa merii

duur duniyaa kaa mere dam se andheraa ho jaaye
har jagah mere chamakne se ujaalaa ho jaaye

ho mere dam se yuun hii mere watan kii ziinat
jis tarah phuul se hotii hai chaman kii ziinat

zindagii ho merii parwaane kii surat yaa rab
ilm kii shammaa se ho mujhko mohabbat yaa rab

ho meraa kaam Gariibon kii himaayat karnaa
dard-mandon se, zaiifo.n se mohabbat karnaa

My favourite poem

2006-12-12T05:52:00.000-08:00

If
Poem lyrics of If by Rudyard Kipling.

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too:

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim,

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same:.

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings,

And never breathe a word about your loss:

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much:

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Hi everybody

2006-12-12T04:43:00.000-08:00

Hello friends, this is my blog...the name is Khayalaat, which means 'thoughts' in Urdu....I ll keep you posted right here!