One of my Finest Hours (Part 1) by Udhayan Chaudhry

Prologue

 

My name is Udhayan Chaudhry. I joined Government Service as a Junior Secretariat Assistant in the year 1986 and took voluntary retirement in the year 2019 as a Section Officer. Throughout my career as a Government Servant, I had a reputation for being a difficult person to work with. Maintaining discipline by the office rules was one of my biggest drawbacks. On top of it, something inside me rebelled at working under a boss, if he or she was not to my liking. Had I been in a private enterprise, in all likelihood, I would not have lasted even a month. In the Government Service, it was different. I virtually got away with it. I cannot say I have regrets. At the same time, I am not proud of it either. Not bowing to the wishes of my bosses as per their likes and dislikes come naturally to me. Probably my difficult relationship with my father throughout my childhood, till he breathed his last, had a lasting subliminal impact on me. For about 32 years, I tried to be a humble Government Servant, a difficult task, considering my proclivity to rebel and being undisciplined. Now, memories of my service life come and go. Specifically, two special memories concerning two officers I worked with, hold an important place.

 

 

Part I

 

When I first walked into my officer’s room at Lok Nayak Bhavan, Lodi Road, in January, 2011, as an Assistant Section Officer, I instantly recognized the person whom I saw 30 years ago in my college. During the college days, she was a year senior to me. Now, she was my boss. Her name was Soni Lalwani. She was Under Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and my Reviewing Officer. Tall, erect, beautiful, and slender looking, I introduced myself. I avoided mentioning the past. She briefed me about my work in a stern manner and conveyed the impression of being a strict, and no-nonsense taking boss. I was told to take my seat in the adjoining room along with five other fellow officials. A chat with my colleagues gave me a blueprint of the work in the Section. The work primarily involved policy matters related to the rehabilitation of the destitute. I inquired about my Reporting Officer, i.e., the Section Officer. I was told that the concerned official was absent on that day. Two days later, the said official came and sat beside Soni Lalwani in her room. Her name was Palki Nehwal. She was of medium height, slender build, and beautiful too, and gave me the impression of being a mild-mannered person. Due to the paucity of space in the office, the two officers had to work in the same room. For the first time in my service career, I had to work under two beautiful-looking lady officers. Little did I know, then, that both would leave an indelible subliminal mark on my life.

 

It all began on a disturbing note in the year 2011. In the office, one needs a computer to work with. I was given a seat with no computer. Initially, I had to use the computer assigned to my colleagues to do the work entrusted to me. This went on for a few days. My two requests to assign me a computer were not given the due attention they deserved. My third request to Ms. Soni Lalwani elicited a fierce response.

Said she, “Why do you come to me for small things?”

I was stunned. Had she been a man, I would have given her a mouthful. I kept quiet.

“What an arrogant lady,” I murmured to myself.

Not assigning a computer to a working official was not a small thing. I was upset and retaliated in my way. Whatever work came to me, thereafter, was written and submitted on a handwritten note in the file. This went on for a while.

After a few days, a note was received from the Director of the Section, Shri R.K. Vinayak, on my table read.

It read, “Please send the files duly typed.”

It had the desired effect. Ms. Palki Nehwal, Section Officer, saw to it that a computer was installed on my table expeditiously. Thereafter, all files sent via handwritten note were typed by me. I recall, in one day, I had submitted twenty files. It was the first of a kind as far as I was concerned. Throughout my career, I used to submit two or three files a day. Submitting twenty files in a day was an achievement. I did it in a state of anger. In between, I kept to myself. I did not talk to anyone in the Section and neither wished my officers the customary “Namaste”.

It was my way of retaliation.

 

 I could sense by the gestures of my officers that they were flummoxed. A few days later, I got a compliment from Palki Nehwal.

“Your English is good.”

I replied with a polite “thanks”. Not talking to your colleagues and officers for a length of time is not an easy thing to do. It is not natural. Not doing natural things came easily to me when riled. I simply did my work, went out for a stroll to take a breather, and resumed working on the tasks assigned to me quietly.

This went on for a while. Soon the ice broke. It was a custom in the Section to throw an introductory party to any newbie. This time the party was for me. I refused the offer initially but was cajoled by my colleagues and Palki Nehwal to accept it.

“We are all a part of a family,” said Palki.

In deference to their wishes, I acquiesced. The introductory party was graced by Director, Shri R.K. Vinayak, Ms. Soni Lalwani, Ms. Palki Nehwal, and my other colleagues. A samosa, burfi, chips, and a cup of tea were served. A few customary pleasantries were exchanged. No such pleasantries took place between Soni Lalwani and me. I kept quiet, and so did she. The formalities were completed within a short time. Thereafter, it was working as usual.

 

Dealing with complaints of the destitute and Parliament Questions related to them did not come easily to Palki Nehwal. On several occasions, she got a rebuke from Soni Lalwani. Instead of summoning me into their room, it was she who came to me most of the time. I was successful in resolving the matter without much difficulty. With time, she became dependent on me. Consequently, we became close, but I maintained a respectable distance. Tongues in the Section began to wag. Soni Lalwani did not like our proximity. That was when it all began.

 

Soon Palki Nehwal applied for leave for pressing family commitments. In her absence, I had to report directly to Soni Lalwani. I did not give her reasons to complain as far as my work was concerned. Indiscipline was a big issue. The work my colleagues did in a day, took me barely two hours to complete. I am not boasting. I outscored my colleagues both in quantity and quality of work. It compensated for my indiscipline. There was an unwritten rule in the Section, that quality and quantity of work took precedence over other failings. One day, exasperated by the incompetence of her Personal Assistant, Soni Lalwani called me into her room. She gave me a long dictation about me an important matter. I remember having completed the assignment within a short period. She was amazed and was forced to compliment me. I felt I had earned it. The said work which fell under the purview of her Personal Assistant was done by me without much ado. Thereafter, to the best of my memory, I helped her complete all the important work in the Section. Throughout, I maintained a stoic silence.

       I could sense, she wanted to have a conversation with me. Women’s egos and especially an officer cannot take it if the subordinate does not desire to have a one-on-one conversation.

One day she spoke. “Mr. Chowdhury, you don’t seem to speak much. The only person with whom you speak is Palki.”

I looked at her and she gave a mischievous smile. I felt embarrassed.

I replied, “What I talk about is official. After all she is my Reporting Officer.” She nodded with a smile and I excused myself and went back to my room. Honestly, after her fierce reaction before, I did not expect what I just heard. I was pleasantly surprised.

  A few days after the said incident, Palki Nehwal resumed her duties. Soon it was business as usual. She used to come to me and I helped her. One day, we were alone in the Section. The other colleagues and Ms. Lalwani had gone out. She called me into her room and offered samosas along with cold drinks. I gladly obliged. The conversations were personal. Suddenly, Soni Lalwani came back into the room. Seeing both of us together was something new to her. I could detect a faint smile. After some time, I went back to my room. To my delight, such incidents recurred inadvertently. I felt my stars were good. Never in my service career did I have such a privilege. Tongues in the entire Department began to wag, but I acted oblivious to them.

 

 As days went by, I began to enjoy working in the Section. My relations with my colleagues improved. I began to crack jokes. One day Soni Lalwani came into my room and sat beside me. I felt uncomfortable. She wanted me to transcribe. This was done in the presence of her Personal Assistant, a lonely man, who kept aloof. I obliged her. Incidentally, such incidents recurred. The gaze of my colleagues was on both of us. We acted oblivious to them and proceeded with the work in as natural a manner as it could be. It hurt Palki Nehwal. She stopped talking to me. I did not know how to react.

 

       Soni Lalwani began to throw informal parties in our room. Samosas, chips, and a cup of tea became a routine matter. I felt, she did such things on purpose in a game of one-upmanship with Palki Nehwal.

There is an ancient saying, “Two women cannot remain cordial towards each other for a length of time.” It was during that period, I talked to Soni Lalwani about our college days.

She was taken by surprise.

“Why did not you tell me this before?” she queried.

I replied, “I was searching for an opportune time to say so.”

Thereafter, our relations became cordial. I could sense, she wanted to talk to me one-on-one, but could not do so because of office decorum. Palki Nehwal had to come to me to solve her official problems. I obliged her happily as a willing subordinate. On several occasions when she came to me, Soni Lalwani used to come into our room on some pretext or the other. Although I enjoyed it, yet, I cannot say the same for Palki Nehwal.

 

One day Palki Nehwal beckoned me to go to the adjoining Records Room. Certain old files were to be searched and files in the Section had to be kept in the Records Room as per the official procedure. The said work is routinely done by a peon in the office. I obliged her willingly. I could sense, she wanted a one-on-one conversation with me. Both of us were alone in the records room.

As I continued to search the files, she remarked. “Aaj kal aap ke aor Soni ke beech mein bahut baat cheet hoti hai. Aap ney college ki baat chhupa ke kyon rakha. PA ke hotey huey, woh aapko kyo dictation deti hai?” Roughly translated, “These days, Soni and you talk much. Why did you hide that both of you studied in the same college? In the presence of her PA, why does she give dictation to you”

Before I could reply, lo and behold, Soni Lalwani came into the room. Stunned by her unexpected arrival, I kept a straight face. Palki Nehwal went to great lengths to explain the reasons for seeking my services. Soni Lalwani did not say anything. She kept on observing me doing my work. Never in my wildest imagination did I expect such an incident to take place.

 

Soni Lalwani enjoyed singing by herself in a low tone. I was told music was one of her passions. I also had a habit of humming Hindi film songs. On several occasions, I worked and hummed at the same time. My colleagues complimented me on my humming. They felt it was melodious.

I could feel, both Palki Nehwal and Soni Lalwani listened to my humming but kept quiet. I am sure, they enjoyed it. One day, when I was in one of my lighter moods, I hummed a Kishore Kumar song. Later, I was told by Palki Nehwal, that Soni Lalwani had lent her ears to listen to my humming. What a compliment it was! On another occasion, in the presence of two colleagues, I began to dance on my seat to a Hindi film song in the absence of my officers, when all of a sudden, Soni Lalwani came from behind. I was caught unaware. Deeply embarrassed, I feigned innocence. I was told by my colleagues, that she gave a mischievous smile and went to her room. Inside her room, she started singing. My colleagues winked at me. I felt I was having the time of my life. There is a saying, “All good things come to an end”. Mine came to an end abruptly.

In December 2011, I was transferred from the said Department. The transfer order roughly read, “The following officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs are transferred to the allotted Departments. They are directed to join immediately. No request for retaining the above officers would be entertained under any circumstances. This has the approval of the Secretary.”

I was one of the five officials who were transferred. I was shocked. Despite the best performance in my service career, I was transferred. Both Soni Lalwani and Palki Nehwal fought for my retention in the Section with our Director but to no avail. I had to go. Later, I was told that I was transferred on grounds of indiscipline. Palki Nehwal was almost in tears on my transfer. I had to bid adieu. I did not know it then, but I would work in the same Department again and meet them after three years under different circumstances.

A roller coaster ride was in store for me in the future.