Chapter 6

Surya was happy that the Management School has been well accepted. He knew this is something that can be built upon.  But he was not so amused with the limelight that Shravan was getting. So he did not want to leave the reins completely to Shravan.

Surya was a shrewd strategist. He went about working on both the issues slowly and steadily.

One day he walked across to Dr Vishveshvarayya’s room

“It is heartening to see that our management school is now well recognised. I am sure this name will help us attract their interest in our other courses too” He said.

“Good that you brought about the subject. I was planning have a chat with you on this” Dr Vishvesvarayya replied.

“Some days ago Shravan had s come up to me with an idea which I thought was worth considering” He continued

Surya stiffened.

“The old man appears to be enamoured by this young upstart. Agree that the idea of Management School clicked. But it happened only because of the support I gave. That does not mean that it should become the launching pad for Shravan” Surya mused.

But he did not show any reaction on his face. He listened attentively.

“Shravan suggested that we should establish management schools at other locations.”

“OK that is an idea. But it will need enormous resources to set up campuses and at this point we do not have the funds for it” He replied

“That is the beauty of his idea. He suggests that we select few well running institutions and have a tie up with them. The Government anyway is not giving permission to set up many management colleges. They are slow to recognize any new idea anyway. So in the meantime we could have the satellite campuses at select few colleges. We can have strong selection criteria for choosing our partners. We can persuade government against permitting other colleges for some more time. In the meantime we can establish our national presence with no investment. On the other hand we can have some nice cash flow as royalty and security deposit” Chairman gave a quick summary of the idea Shravan had put forward.

Surya realised that it made sense. He also knew that he it has the potential to leapfrog Shraven to a more commanding position within NUPS and out in the industry. He wanted to reap the fruits of Shraven’s idea; but not give an opportunity to Shravan to build on in it further.

“That is a good idea. I think it is worth taking it forward” Surya observed.

Dr Vishveshvarayya felt relieved. He was not sure how Surya would react.

“Ok let us ask Shravan to go into implementation mode” Dr suggested.

“Oh I would like to see it in a different perspective” Surya interjected.

“Now what” Dr mused. “Surya will come with a new twist in anything”

“Sir, Shravan is overloaded and we cannot ask him to take this also” Surya said

“But he has presented me an excellent implementation plan”

“OK we can definitely look at it and we can even make use of it if it is good”

“Shraven will be upset and this may dampen his motivations”

“May be he will be. We need to explain to him. He cannot expect exclusivity in any project”

“But it was he who conceived it and demonstrated the feasibility in spite of opposition from most of us”

 “Just because a man fathered his baby we can’t expect him to be the one guiding him in his Ph D program”

“But in this case the father is qualified to be his Ph D guide”

“We can definitely appreciate that. But we have to be prudent. We can’t have the success of the whole program pivoted on one individual” Surya started to spin his argument.  Once he developed an idea and conceived a strategy he could spin his argument with such force, logic and persuasion, it would be difficult for anybody to stop him.

“We need to develop our team and we need to be sure that all aspects of the implementation is adequately covered. My thoughts are as follows. We will make Somesh responsible for this expansion project” Surya continued.

“But he is our legal and corporate affairs person” Dr V raised his concern

“Yes Somesh had joined the team as a legal and corporate affairs person. However he has a keen interest in the business of NUPS.  He is an avid reader. In the recent past he has been reading books and journals relating to the field of education, has attended seminars and has been thinking extensively about issues and challenges in this area. He frequently comes to me with interesting ideas and often has sensible advice. Plus as he has a strong legal background he will be able to negotiate and conclude strong contracts with each of the potential partners. You see we are going the partnership rout. Any partnership has potential to sour. Therefore it is imperative to ensure that we have a contract that will protect our interest in case of such eventuality.” Surya built his case strongly.

“Further I suggest that Rani is made responsible for the curriculum and study material for these partnerships. We cannot use the same format as we use here at the institute. We need to develop suitable material for the students as well as total on boarding kit for the partner entities.” Surya was making sure that the other two was with him when he cut Shravan to size. 

Dr. V realised Surya’s game plan. But he did not have arguments to match Surya’s logic and even more his powerful articulation. He did not want to veto Surya. He wanted to see the institute succeeding and matching his dream before he retired.

 “Ok I leave it to you” Dr V conceded.

“I knew you would appreciate my strategy” He bowed with utmost grace which was more an act than an expression of his respect to Dr V

Chapter 5

During this tenure at the ministry, Surya met Dr Vishvesvarayya who was an educationalist of international repute. He had brilliant ideas on how the education system in Indraprasta could be transformed. He had conceived an idea to set up a national university primarily focused on research in Science and Technology. It would have a number of affiliated colleges that would offer post graduation and doctoral programs. He was able to get the technical support from one of the reputed universities from US, the Stanford University. He was able to convince the government of the national importance of such a university to get all the clearances fast. This university was christened as the National University for Progressive Sciences (NUPS)

Surya Hari was result oriented. He knew that any idea was meaningful only if it was implemented properly. He put together crack team to manage the project of setting up NUPS. The senior members of the team were Rani, Somesh and Shravan.

Rani was in charge of Academic Affairs. She was a Ph D holder in Education from a top university in Indraprasta. She had about 15 years experience in the field of education. She had a charming demeanour and a heart of steel. She was also a very good administrator. With is single minded focus on her career, she did not marry for a long time. Subsequently, she was enamoured by Somjit who ran an NGO doing work among the tribal community. Soon she realised that she was not fit to be a family person and her marriage to Somjit ended up in a divorce. But she was only too happy to have the custody of her child and bring her up as a single mother.

Somesh was in charge of legal affairs. A highly qualified lawyer with an additional qualification in Corporate Secretarial functions Somesh took care of the corporate affairs and administration efficiently.

Shravan was a graduate in Engineering and a Post graduate in management. He hailed from lower middle class background. But he was brilliant student and managed to get admission to top engineering and subsequently to a top management school. After graduating he had joined the ministry of education and had the opportunity to work under Dr Vishvesvarayya. It was there that he was spotted for his brilliance and hard work. So he was picked up as a part of the start-up team for NUPS. He was responsible for the total infrastructure including information systems.

Within one year they had the university up and running against the apprehensions raised by many. These critics believed that a team with no prior experience in running any business venture before would not be nimble-footed enough to set up a university let alone run it. Surya Hari’s political connections helped him to get the licences fast. His crack team did a wonderful job of getting the project up and running in double quick time.

To begin with, they set up a college that offered Post Graduate and Ph D program in physics and chemistry. The labs were outstanding and the syllabus was of international standard. They were able to attract some very motivated and brilliant faculty members who took up variety of research projects. But the student enrolment was not as much as expected.

***

Dr Vishvesvarayya called for an internal brainstorming on how to increase the acceptance and popularity for the school among the public. Shravan was a person with a keen sense for business. So he was the first to volunteer his idea.

“Sir I believe we should have a strategy to build a brand name for NUPS and it should get associated to be a place that is most sought after” Shravan pointed out.

“Of Course that is why we are here” Rani quipped

“I think we should have a full-fledged advertising campaign about NUPS. We should also try to work with government to see if we can get our degree some premium compared to the regular universities.” Rani continued.

“May be we would approach the Ministry of Human Resources to declare that our Master’s program in Physics and Chemistry are equivalent to Master’s Program in Electronics and Chemical Engineering” Rani went onto elaborating her idea.

“Sir I have a different view” Shravan interjected. “We should offer some courses that have high demand in the market like Management. Though this is a little divergent from being focused on science and technology, this course will definitely complement the main programs.”

“I think it is complete dilution of our vision.” Rani almost burst out. She was miffed that this upstart Shravan with no experience in education sector should even open his mouth at a discussion like this. “And see what he comes up with. By suggesting this MBA he is diluting the spirit of NUPS. What does he think we are setting up?”

“Sir these two year program in management is a far cry from scientific institution we are setting up. The focus and attention will get completely diverted.” Rani was boiling.

“Sir Management is the art of making the science possible; possible to establish; possible to sustain and possible to survive. It will be a complement to the technical education. Many world renowned technical schools are introducing this in their offering. I believe that we should show leadership in this in our country. Once we get acceptance for this course and establish a name for ourselves naturally other courses will become attractive” Shravan was defending his idea.

“It is worth a try. Take it as a small project that Shravan can drive” Dr. Vishvesvarayya agreed.

Rani was boiling inside. “Dr Vishvesvarayya has a soft corner for this upstart. He let him try any of his nonsense ideas” She mused

She threw a sideways glance at Surya. He was quite. He sat there with a wooden face.  It was difficult to fathom what he thought about.

“Shravan seem to be the pet of the Chairman and he seems to get any of his fancy ideas approved by him. I need to develop a powerful ally. The option for me is Surya.”

All of them got up to leave the room. Surya was in front and he walked along the long corridor towards the cafeteria instead of walking into his cabin which was next to the cabin of Dr Vishvesvarayya.

In his mind he was thinking hard about the idea Shravan suggested. He knew Shravan was a bright fellow his ideas often made sense. But he was not sure how it merged with the NUPS vision.

His brain was churning. This was a new development and he wanted to weigh the pros and cons of this and develop a strategy that suited his purpose.

As usual when he had some thoughts the bugged and he felt that he was not in full control of the situation he walked to the executive cafeteria, picked up a hot cappuccino and stood near the French window looking far out into the horizon drinking his coffee.

Rani walked up to him. She also picked up coffee and joined Surya.

“Can I join you for a coffee” She asked giving him a placating smile

“Of course you are welcome” He replied though he was not looking for company.

“What do you think about Shravan’s idea?” She asked

“Oh! Rani is not happy about Shravan getting an upper hand” he thought.

“Old man seems to be impressed by it” he replied non-commit tingly.

“But you were quiet and did not say anything” Rani replied. She wanted to judge Surya’s views.

“I heard this for the first time. I have not thought through the issues. May be it is a good idea and would work. May be it would fall flat” He replied, again not committing anything

Rani was feeling frustrated

“But Surya isn’t it against the vision of NUPS we all cherish? We are a scientific institution. Not a run-of-the mill college.” She said. The agitation in her mind was showing in her face and her gesticulations.  Her sari slipped a bit from the shoulder. With the low cut blouse she was wearing the cleavage was visible. Surya could not help noticing it; especially since she was about four inches taller than him. It was a pleasant distraction. His eyes remained there for  a few moments.

Suddenly she was aware of the gaze. Her hand itched to pull the sari back to its place. Then she decided against it. It is not a bad idea if he finds it interesting.

He moved his gaze away and their eyes met for a fleeting second. He realised that she saw his look and she knew that he knew.

“Oh let us see how it develops. If it succeeds it is good for us.” He replied

“If it fails, then what” She asked

“If it fails, then it would be a bad experiment” He replied.

Suddenly the position was clear in his mind.

“If it fails it is a bad expiring by Shravan supported by the Chairman. If it succeeds, he has to ensure that Shravan does not get too much of a mileage” He thought

“Rani is also not amused with Shravan. Let it continue like that. Some completion, rather insecurity, won’t do any bad. Though a brilliant professional she appears insecure too. She can be under my wings” His scheming mind was working fast

“Come on Rani. Don’t fret. You go ahead with what you are doing. I am sure that you would do great. I am there to give you all support” He told her.

“Smart cookie” She thought “Is he also extending a hand? May be he is the one to be developed as an ally at whatever cost”

“Let me go back to my room. I have some urgent papers to clear” Rani walked back along the corridor. She knew the view from her back was quite appealing. She gave it a more deliberate sway. She was aware of his gaze and she wasn’t at all perturbed.

***

To be continued

Chapter - 4

Few days after this discussion he met Surya Hari at a party. Surya was one of his old friends. He was the head of National University for Progressive Sciences.

“Hi Bishu, Now that you are out of government what are you going to do” Surya Hari asked.

His close friends called also him Bishu and he did not mind that.

“I am trying to figure out what I should do, I am toying with many ideas. Not yet taken a final call” Bishma replied

“If you are doing anything with education, count me in” Surya Hari offered

***

Surya Hari was born to an aristocratic family based in Northern Indraprasta. His great grandfather was a large landowner in Ravighat. His father Rajnarayan was the first person from his town to travel abroad for studies. Rajnarayan graduated in English literature. After completing his studies he had come back to Ravighat and took over his family business. He continued his family tradition of being actively involved in the affairs of the society.

The King Sangamitra of Indraprasta invited him to join as his advisor on international affairs. That gave him enormous clout in the society.  It also helped him to amass significant wealth.

In the meantime a wind of change was blowing across Indraprasta. A movement was slowly rising demanding an end to monarchy and introduction of democracy. Sangamitra knew he had to change with the times. He believed that the change has to be managed and the transition should be smooth. So he decided to set up a special cell to deliberate and decide on this demand from the citizens. Rajnarayan was head of this special cell.

The movement for democracy started to build momentum. Rajinder Sharma a well educated activist for democracy was gradually getting mass following. The populace called him Chacha and  he was becoming increasingly popular. King Sangamitra was also happy with him. He invited Chacha to join the Sepcial cell.  Rajnarayan was no excited about this. He knew that with the popular support chacha enjoyed, he would become the natural choice to lead the people’s government. He realised that the wave is building and there will be no stoppage. “It is time to change track” he concluded.

“General, the democracy movement is gaining huge support and the managed transition being considered by Sangamitra will not work” He said to General Pasha from the Indraprasta National Guards who was also a member of the Special Cell.

“I was thinking the same thing. He is placing too much trust on Chacha and he alone cannot guide a nationwide movement. We should discuss with the King and announce a definite timetable for the transition to a select group who are capable and would be acceptable to the citizens. Not only that they should be able to match up with the stature of the leaders of the other countries whose support and cooperation we need.” Pasha replied.

“My dear General, I am not sure whether King Sangamitra will agree to this. But do you think will be able to make him see the voice of reason” Raj asked.

“With the popularity of Chacha, he will naturally become the Prime Minister and all the powerful positions will be taken over by his buddies. As we were part of the old regime, we will be nobody in the new regime” Raj continued.

“So what do you suggest” General asked

“We need to work out a plan General. I will support you to become the head of the country and not head of national guards” Raj said enticingly to Pasha.

“OK. Let us work on this” He replied.

He got back home early that day.

“Rajani, prepare for a trip to Switzerland. Pack up enough for a long stay” He told his wife

Both of them were sitting at the veranda of his palatial bungalow. He could see his Dobermans playing in the lawn.

“Why this trip to Switzerland now? ”

“I need to have a medical check up” He replied

“What happened to you” She asked.

“Nothing. But that should be the reason we tell everybody.”

“You seem to be cooking something. Tell me what you are up to.”

“Shall let you know. For the time being do the preparations as per this plan”

She knew that there was no point in asking him any further.

He along with his family took a trip to Switzerland, apparently for a medical emergency.

About a week after he was in Switzerland Chacha was assassinated. The country burst in to violence. Raj based out of Switzerland declared to be a supporter of the uprising.

“We cannot stand a monarchy that kill innocent people because they descent. Chacha was personification of the aspirations of the people of Indraprasta” He declared in an interview to CNN from the comforts of the hotel in Switzerland.

“What did you say today in the TV Raj” Rajani asked him when he was back at the hotel.

“You heard me. Didn’t you” was the terse reply.

“King Sangamitra will not be behind this dastardly act” Rajani declared.

“My dear, you don’t understand real politic. You watch how things turn out. We need to be smart to achieve something of value” He was gloating

“Sangamitra always treated you like his own brother” Rajani said.

“That was good then. Not now. I will help my brother to meet his maker soon without worldly worries” He replied with a wicked smile

“But that is mean” Rajani was shocked.

“Only the mean and lean survive in this world honey. You get ready for being elevated soon” He walked back to his study. 

General Pasha led a coup and the king was dethroned and beheaded. Rajnarayan returned to Indraprasta to take charge of the budding democracy. General Pasha was declared the President and Rajnrayan the Prime Minister.

In the meantime Surya Hari who was 10 years old was admitted to a private school in Switzerland. After successfully completing his high school, he moved over to London.

Fate had its own course. Within few months the flight carrying General Pasha and Rajnarayan crashed in one of their trips.

Surya continued his education abroad. He graduated from London School of Economics and went onto do a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. This international exposure from childhood from the best of schools in the world, gave him a powerful network of friends spread all round the world.

After his graduation he took up an assignment with the World Bank. He worked as the executive assistant to the Director in charge of Public Policy desk focusing on developing countries. This gave him excellent opportunity to develop a deep understanding of issues in public policy. He was smart enough to identify people who could be of relevance to him eventually and kept his links active with them. He was a charming public speaker. With his flowery articulation and his creative ideas he could mesmerize any audience.

Having spent few years in US he returned to Indraprasta. He decided to build on the foundation of his father’s political base and connections which could complement his US education and international experience.

After returning to India, for a few years he worked as the advisor to the Minister of Education which gave him an opportunity to personally experience and understand the ways of the government and its officers.

He was quite short in stature. When he was in school, his height (rather lack of it) was always an element of ridicule. Being short and weak, he could never retort physically. So he honed his manipulative skills to take his revenge. To top it, unfortunately he had the looks of an alien which also meant that he was never one of the popular among his school mates; especially among girls. This underlying insecurity formed a hidden scar in his heart. As he grew up, in spite of the success he achieved in the professional life, this insecurity coupled with his feudal past manifested in his almost paranoid compulsion to suppress any dissent. But he never let this insecurity show. He could always present his manipulative actions triggered by this insecurity with clever logic and flowery articulation. Rather the manipulative skills and gift of the gab became the foundation on which he built his success. This master-manipulative nature earned him a pet name Shakuni. He had learned quite a few lessons on manipulation from his father who had managed the transition from being the advisor to the king to the leader of democracy without paying any price.

****

To be continued

Chapter 3 - Part 2

“As I told you I love children and I believe in the transformational power of the computers” He started.

She knew that being a thorough person he would build from the foundation.

“I have been toying with many ideas. From establishing a computer training institute to developing computer games”

“I thought about establishing a body that would conduct periodic competition for innovative software products that are developed by students” He continued.

His eyes had an intense look with his mind focusing on the idea that was evolving. As he was organising his thoughts his gaze was not directed specifically at anything or anybody; but appeared to be scanning something for out in the horizon.  He was again silent. She did not interrupt.

 “Now I have come to a specific idea. I plan to set up an organisation that builds educational tools for children.”

“So is it going to be a software development company?” Surabhi asked.

“ Oh! No. This company would develop a computer aided learning system that provided interactive visual and audio content to support, strengthen and complement the normal curriculum, made project works more exciting and strengthen the children’s computer literacy. It would make use of modern tools for collaboration and help unleash the hidden potential of these young minds.”

“OK” she acknowledged. She did not want to break his chain of thought. So she listened intently without making any comments.

“This is not to be just development of a software application or conversion of the regular school curriculum as a web-based presentation. It is meant to be an enabler; means to an end and not an end itself”.

“The organisation would have an exclusive development team that worked on course material, which included creative presentation of study material with innovative exercises, video and audio content that were specially developed with examples from the culture and background of various parts of Indraprasta.”

“We will continuously develop new modules which contain updates that reflect new developments in the world around. It would make use of the newer technologies and tools that are evolving, to strengthen the delivery and make the user interface and interaction more exciting for the children.”

“This sounds interesting” Surabhi quipped

“There would be a central site from which each of the subscribing school could access and update new modules. It would also provide for tutorial support to the students and the teachers so that they could use the system in a more effective fashion.”

“But where is the money honey” She asked laughingly. “Are you going to go around with a begging bowl for government aids and multilateral aid? Then you know what will happen. The same bureaucratic lethargy will determine your cash flow which in turn will determine the progress of your project”

“Don’t you know I am well aware of what my friends can do to this project if the lever is in their hand” Bhishu responded with a wide grin.

“I am going to set up a profit making entity. The initial development will be from the owner’s equity. The service is going to be priced and not a charity supported by donors. The surplus that my company makes will help me to make this service available to the poorer segment of the society” He explained.

“By the way, what are your naming your company as” Surabi asked.

“How about Surabhi Enterprise” He asked with a wink

“I know you are not that crazy” She replied.

“I will call it Indraprasta Educational  Solutions  (IES)”

“Getting out from ICS to set up IES?”

Both of them laughed.

“Come we let us go and sleep over this” She said

****

To be continued

Chapter 3 - Part 1

It was a Sunday morning.  Bhishma was sitting on the couch in his sitting room with a coffee in his hand. Surabhi, his wife, walked in. She noticed that her husband’s handsome face looked relaxed and at ease. This was a welcome change from the “lost-in-thought” looks that she often saw in the recent past.

She knew Bhishu was not at all happy with the way things were at the Ministry of Education where he was posted. The new Secretary often had some private agenda to be pushed which Bhishu could not agree with. Bhishu’s priorities were what was right and not what was convenient.

Surabhi and Bhishma  have been married for about 20 years. Soon after Bhishma cleared his ICS exam he had met Surabhi at a friend’s party. Surabhi had just joined Intercontinental Bank as an officer after she graduated from one of the top Management Schools in Indraprasta.

Both of them had pursued their careers giving each other space to grow, They were good friends and could act as sounding board for each other. Bhishu was quite athletic and enjoyed outdoor. Surabhi was artistic, loved to read books and poetry. And they respected each other for their strength.

Now that both of them were quite senior they were posted in the capital and could live together as a family unlike in the early part of the career when both were often posted at different towns and even different countries.

Surabhi knew it was better to leave Bhishu alone when he is trying to solve a problem. She knew that he would discuss with her when he was ready. But she was concerned as Bhishu was put under pressure by the secretary of the department ever since he took charge about a year ago. The secretary was not keen to have the clean and transparent administration Bhishu was running. He was often in the company of people like Ramanujam and was not averse to helping then even if it was out of place and propriety.

Looking at the face of Bhishu she realised that he was ready to talk.

“It is nice to see you relaxed and at ease. Looks like you have made up your mind.” Surabhi commented as she sat next to him.

Bhishu gave her his characteristic smile with his eyelids crinkled to a twinkle.

“So what is the verdict Bhishu” She asked

“I have decided to move on. I am quitting civil service” Bhishu replied

“I had an interesting career as a civil servant. I could achieve many things for the betterment of the society. I could survive without selling my soul. But increasingly I realize that I spent more time in playing chess with the system than doing any productive work” Bhishu proceeded.

“Now that you are senior, the stakes associated with the initiatives that you take are much larger. This means that there would be many interested parties who want to exploit or who want to hide.  You are not willing to pay ball with such scoundrels. So naturally there would be resistance”  Surabhi responded.

“It is true. So I decided to get out and do something myself” Bhishu declared

His face look determined and his eyes were confident.

Surabhi was happy. She knew with Bhihu’s intelligence and drive he could build something big and meaningful.

“Yes it is a good idea. As I am working and the children are already in grad school we can afford to take this plunge. We can stay in my staff quarter” Surabhi remarked

“What are your thoughts about the venture you would like to consider” She asked

“I am toying in my mind many ideas. I love children and I would love to do something for and with them.”

“Of course I know you love children. If you could have your way you would have had a dozen at home” Surabhi quipped with a naughty smile.

He responded with his charming smile and a wink.

“I believe in high technology. I am convinced that I want to work with both; children and high technology, in some unique way that would make a difference to the children of Indraprasta.”

 “This is one of the most critical needs for the country. It could make hell of a lot of difference to the growth of the country and provide opportunities for the children to grow up to face the challenges of the day ahead.”

“Exposing the young mind to the powers of information technology would help Indraprasta to excel in a world in which Indraprasta was considered a laggard.”

He seemed to have honed on to the sector he wants to be in. Surabhi mused. Surabhi being a banker could see the future potential of Bhishus’ dreams

“These are just some loose thoughts. Let me think about it. In the meantime I am putting in my papers today. I would be released in three months”

“I would place a request in my office that I would now want to avail of staff quarter so that we could be ready by the time you have to move out” Surabhi’s mind was in motion for the change in their life.

***

“Surabhi come over to the Balcony. I will join you in a minute with some coffee. I have prepared your special filter coffee” Bhishu called out to Surabhi.
It was about 10 pm in the night. She was in the study reading a novel. From the tone of Bhishu’s voice she realised that he had something serious to talk about.

She took a shawl to wrap around. It would be chilly out there in the balcony. As Bhishu was a senior civil servant they had a flat up at the 20^th floor near the sea. That was one of the perks of working with the government.

When she walked over to the spacious balcony he was still not there. She stood at the doorway of the balcony looking into the sitting room. She liked what she saw. The sitting room in the dim light was elegant as always. It was her decoration. She had taste and she liked to indulge in decorating her home. Bhishu encouraged her; but never interfered. He knew that it was not his forte.

The sitting room had an elegant leather sofa set with on one side.  On the other side there was a diwan that had a black cover with white designs which gave a gentle contrast to the sofa. There was beautiful Persian carpet at the center on which stood a coffee table. At the far corner  a few of her priced bonzai trees were arranged with an arch light at the top high-lighting them. Bonzai collection was something that she had nurtured over the years as a serious hobby. She had a large collection out in the balcony which she rotated in and out periodically. This helped to give a different look to the room.

Beyond the sitting area was the dining area and beyond that the kitchen.
She saw him coming out of the kitchen with two coffee mugs in his hand. He was wearing a denim shorts and a polo T shirt. The dining area was in semi darkness as the only light was in the sitting area. That too the spot light above the bonzi collection. In that dimly lit background his body looked as if it was carved out of marble. There was no trace of fat in his well exercised body. Even after 20 years of marriage he still brought a gasp in her.

As he came near her, she reached across and give him a kiss on his cheek. 

“You seem to be ready for a long talk honey” Surabhi said.

“Not a long talk; but a long discussion” He replied.

“First let us sit down and enjoy our coffee.” Bishu said and extended her the cup.

They sat down on the cane chairs and started sipping their coffee. Bhishu appeared to be organising his thought. Surabhi was in no hurry. She knew that being a meticulous and organised person he will take few minutes to start. Then the thoughts will flow with such logic and clarity to leave no doubt in your mind about his line of thinking.

There was nip in the air and she covered her shoulders and head with the shawl. But the cool wet air from the sea on the face was refreshing.

Bhishu appeared un-perturbed by the chill. Surabhi sat gazing at the beachfront. The road along the seafront still was crowded and active. Many a car parked along the road. From up here in the 20^th floor the cars looked  like the toy car collection of her son. The people moving around in the beach appeared almost ant like. Beyond that the sea. With the full moon she could still see the the waves reaching over, with its silvery hands ,the sandy beach as if attempting a deep embrace. She was transfixed by  the sheer magnificance of this view.

“I have been thinking about what I should do after I am out next month. Eventually an idea has started to evolve in my mind. I want to brainstorm a bit with you so that we can refine it” he said suddently. She was startled as she was completely engrossed in the scenic beauty around her.

“Ok Go on. I knew you would have honed something good soon. Now share your secret”

To be continued

Chapter 2 (Part 2)

“So Bhishu it is nice of you to have come on such short notice” CM welcomed.

“Sir, it is always a pleasure to meet up with you” Bhishu replied politely.

“You know why I wanted to see you, don’t you?”CM asked

“Not exactly, your PS explained to me that there was some problem faced by one of the local leaders. I did not exactly understand which case it was. I thought it rather prudent to talk to you directly and find out.” Bhishu responded with extreme respect.

CM got the drift of Bhishma’s response. He realised that this could be a complex case. Knowing Bhishma he knew it was not easy to get him to make any exceptions. On the other hand, he could not afford to appear that he is not willing or capable to get leniency for this local leader.

“There is this case of Mr. Ramanujam who is running a college in my constituency. He has complained to me that your department was harassing him on a matter of some small technical mistake.” CM explained

“Oh I am not sure of the details of the case. If the matter is only a small technical error we will definitely let it go” Bhishu offered

CM understood the meaning. He knew that Bhishu had initiated the case. When Bhishu had offered to close the case if it was only a technical error, it meant that there was some more dirt under the carpet. He did not want to get caught in a mess. He also realised that Bhishu was giving him a way out.

CM buzzed his PS.

“Ask Mr Ramanujam and his friends to come in”

Mr Ramanujam accompanied with few other local leaders came in.

“Ramanujam, meet Mr Bhishma the officer from the Ministry who is giving you some trouble. Explain to him what your problem is. He is a very fine officer and he has promised to look into the matter” CM said

Ramanujam was very happy. The CM has called this overzealous officer and now the problem will be settled.

“May be he would be taught a lesson too. The bloody rascal has grown too big for his boots. He did not know who he was dealing with. He needs to be transferred out to some far corner of earth. “ Ramanujam mused

Ramanujam knew he had to play his card right to nail this fellow.

“Sir, We run a very respectable college. We do everything by the books and we comply with all the regulations. Unfortunately for the last two months there has been a shortage of two teachers as against the norm. Normally we have more teachers than needed. But recently some recruitment team from the gulf came and recruited a bunch of our teachers and we have become short staffed. We have already initiated the process to recruit and the vacancies will be filled soon. For such a simple matter the dept has decided to initiate an enquiry. This is not fair sir” Ramanujam  explained almost condescendingly.

“Sir, it is quite unfortunate that Mr Ramanujam is harassed for such a small exception. If this is the case, then I can assure that this is only a routine enquiry on the basis of a new initiative in the department. We randomly select a few institutions where there are any exceptions so that every institution with any exception is covered some time or the other. Otherwise there could be criticism that we condone exceptions terming them as technical errors.”Bhishu explained.

“Now that the enquiry has initiated, we will look at few areas and if as Mr Ramanujam has explained the fault is only this shortage of staff, I promise to close this case expeditiously.”Bhishu promised.

“But Sir,”Ramanujam butted in. He knew that if an enquiry took place many more skeletons would fall out.

CM also realised this. He stopped Mr Ramanujam

“What more do you want? All of you heard what Mr. Bhishma has offered. There is no need to waste any time on this. You don’t have to worry anything if the problem is this minor technical error. You guys get going” CM dismissed the meeting.

Ramanujam realised that there is nothing more that could be added.

“Sir, why don’t you please join me for a coffee” PS asked Bhishma

“Ok, I will join you.”Bhishma agreed

He did not want to walk out with Ramanujam and listen to more spurious explanations and implorations.

Bhishma walked along with the PS to his room.

“Thank you for inviting me for a coffee, Vivek” Bhishma  told the PS

“I should say thanks to you for coming over to my office. It is a privilege for me Sir” Vivek replied

“Sir, I was really scared today what was going to happen. I know that the CM is a very demanding person. He never likes to let down leaders from his constituency. I have also heard that you are an uncompromising officer. I thought we are going to have fireworks” Vivek continued

Bhishma gave his charming smile and continued to sip his coffee.

“Sir I think I got the drift of what happened today. I know you had initiated the enquiry; but you came with no file and pretended you did not know which case was being discussed. You showed politeness and respect to the minister without exposing to any possible compromise and commitment. It gave you the opportunity to make an offer to study the file and revert if any inconvenient demands were placed on you.”

Bhishma continued with his encouraging smile.

“How come the CM agreed to your offer that you will close the file if the problem is only technical error?” Vivek asked

“You see, Ramanujam is not anything special for CM. He is a local leader with some clout. CM would like to help if he could. But he doesn’t want to sully his hand. So when I made the offer, he realised that there could be quite a lot of mess underneath. So he invited Ramanujam and the local leaders who came to recommend for him. He had me in front and I promised that I would let go if problem was only the technical error as Ramanujam had represented before the CM. “

“So now if you find nothing in your enquiry, it will look like CM helped. If you unearth lot of muck, CM cannot be faulted. Isn’t it?”

“You are learning, Vivek. See very often we face situations like this. The political leaders have their compulsions. We should try to find a solution, if possible, without compromising our principles and their compulsions. There is no point in open defiance to feel like a hero or there is no need for heeding to every request to make your boss happy. In fact this is the mistake often committed by officers. The overzealous ones become a martyr. What we should try to achieve is a balance.”Bhishma responded. He had a twinkle in his eyes and he smiled indulgingly.

“But all cases may not be like this and the boss may insist on doing as he wants” Vivek responded

“In that case, politely tell your boss that you would study the file and do the needful and walk away.”Bhishma replied.

“You may get a transfer order soon” Vivek pointed out

“That is the price you should be willing to pay, if you don’t want to sell your soul” Bhishma replied

“Let me go back, Vivek  I don’t want to take more of your time”

Bhishma got up and left.

This was Bhishma, very clear in his thoughts, unassuming, result oriented, self confident and clean. He spent almost 20 years as a successful officer to the government. He was lucky to get many postings where he was blessed to have seniors who shared his thinking which helped him to make a mark. But in his heart of heart, he could not stand the continuous wrangling within the bureaucracy and snail’s pace in which anything moved. It is practically difficult to implement any transformational project. Any such project that disturbs the status quo faced enormous resistance. He felt that there was a gradual decline in the moral fibre of governance within the political and bureaucratic class. Fighting private agenda and bureaucratic inertia was getting even more painful. He knew it was practically difficult to take up initiatives and nurture to a steady state. Most the of time would go into persuading the various interested parties and by the time it was ready to take-off, it would be time to move on to a new assignment. Sometime if the initiatives are inconvenient to some very powerful people, one can get booted out to Timbaktu sooner than you think.

He thought about it deeply and came to the conclusion that it made sense to get out of the system and try to do something instead of staying within and complain.

                                                                         ****

To be continued

Chapter 2 (Part 1)

Bishma was born to a middle class family in a small town called Rampur in Indraprasta. His father Rajneesh was a junior officer in the government. Rajneesh worked for government in a department that dealt with pollution control. Pollution clearance is needed for anybody to set up a new factory. Existing factories also had to get their certificate renewed every year as a part of compliance requirement. This offered him ample opportunity to make quite a bit of money if he chose to. The money he could demand from those business men who came to get the certificate; the money they were happy to give to expedite the paperwork; the money they would have been happier to part with if he was willing to close his eyes to some exceptions and deviations.

The salary as a junior government servant was not much. Moreover Rajneesh did not have any ancestral assets. His mother had worked as a farm labourer to educate him. There was many an occasion when he was really short of cash. When his mother was in the hospital with a serious heart problem, Rajneesh was hard pressed for money for an operation. He had to borrow a big sum from a local money lender. Repaying this had taken a toll on their meagre income. They had to move to a very small house and cut down many expenses. Even this financial pressure did not entice him to take any ‘favour’ from those who came for the clearance certificates.

Rajneesh was also a man of faith, well-read and was knowledgeable about philosophy and various epics of Indraprasta. When Bhishma was a young child, Rajneesh used to read to him stories from the epics. These stories that he read and the integrity that he demonstrated influenced the young mind of Bhishma. So he grew up with these values imprinted in his heart and in his head.

Bhishma was a brilliant child. He did very well in studies and was a school topper and came out of his high school as state rank-holder. He went on to take a post graduation in Physics and later appeared for the Indraprasta Civil Service examination and qualified with flying colours.

He took up his assignment as an ICS officer in right earnest. He was true to the values he had learned as a young child. Power did not corrupt him. He always tried to do what he believed was the right thing.

He was a good athlete. He kept his body in perfect shape. Standing tall at 6’2’’, with a charming demeanour he had the look and stature of a perfect officer and a gentleman.

He did not try to curry favour from his political or bureaucratic bosses. He believed that what matters was result and never tried to work for credit. As an administrator he believed in preventing problems instead of solving them after it has become an emergency. There were many of his colleagues who were adept in solving sensational problems (which in the first instance could have been prevented) and taking credit for the same.

There were many incidences when he stood to his ground though his political bosses wanted exceptions as a favour to their favourites. But he handled these with tact and diplomacy, instead of making a big show about it.

His handling of delicate situation when has was in the central ministry for education is a typical example of his style; his firmness, uncompromising values and respect for systems and propriety. This happened when he was a middle level officer in the department. He had initiated an enquiry proceeding against the owner of a local college. He had initiated this enquiry because he had reason to believe that there were quite a lot of malpractices in this college.  There was no evidence or complaints to order a special enquiry. Therefore, in the normal course he would not have been able to dig deep into the affairs of the college.

Then he came across an opportunity. When he was scrutinising the latest compliance report submitted by the college, he realised that there is a technical fault. The college had a shortage of two teachers as against the prescribed number of teachers. This was not a major issue. In many colleges, for a short period of time such exceptions do happen. But he decided to use this as a pretext to initiate an enquiry. He knew that once he started digging, he could be able to unearth some real scams.

This owner was a rich man. He had significant political clout with the party then in power in his state. He was always willing to satisfy any wish from people in power; whether it was money wine or woman. He also had significant influence among the local people through muscle and money power.

Within few days after he commenced the disciplinary proceeding, Bhishma got a call from  Vivek, Private Secretary of the chief minister of state.

" Sir, The CM wants to meet you"

"It will be my pleasure to meet up with the CM" Bhishma Replied

" He wants you to meet him with the file relating to the investigation relating to Ramanujam" the Special secretary continued with his instructions

" Let me know when I should meet the CM, I will take care of what he wants" Bhishma replied

"But Sir" Vivek wanted to make sure that Bhishma came with the file

" Vivek, Dont  Worry I will be there for the meeting" Bhishma interjected. But his tone was reassuring.

Vivek was apprehensive. But Bhishma being his senior he did not want to push him.

Bhishma realised what was happening. He also was aware that, as the officer in the central government ministry he was not required to report to the Chief Ministers of the states nor was it right to discuss the matter of the enquiry proceeding with the CM. He walked into the CMs office empty handed.

To be continued

Chapter 1

Mr. Bhisma was reading. He was reading a status report on a new project. Udhi and Arjun had written the status report. Mr. Bhisma was engrossed in the report.

The intercom rang. It was an interruption, but Mr. Bhisma could not ignore it. It wasn't that he would have thought it rude. It was just something that he could not do. He picked up the instrument. His secretary was already speaking while he was picking up.

"Sir, Sir"   she was excited about something, Mr. Bhisma thought, but then the thought slipped away, to be replaced by his full attention to the plastic and metal at his ear.

“ Sir, A call from the office of the Prime Minister”

“OK, Please connect”

" Am I speaking to Mr Bhishma?”  the voice sounded crisp and functional, someone who had a job to do and no time to waste in doing it.

“Yes”

“Are you free to talk? The Prime Minister would like to have a word with you”

“Of course. Please connect me to him”

“Hello, How are you doing Bhishma?” the Prime Minister's soft and gentle voice. 

“Great Sir, I am happy to hear from you” Bhishma replied.

“Bhishma, I have watched the work you have done in building computer literacy among the kids from the lower strata of the society for the past decade. I will be honest - I used to be a little skeptical - I could not bring myself to think that computer literacy was a priority; especially for the majority of our children who are so desperately poor. But the results of your experiment has proved me wrong and I am happy about it” PM told him in his soft and gentle voice

“Thank you sir for your kind words” Bhishma replied

“Let me come straight to the point Bhishma. After taking over as the PM last month, I am now looking around to have a strong team to drive each of my priorities. As you will be aware, strengthening our education system has been identified as one of the top priority of my government. I want you to join me as the advisor for the Education Sector. I am sure you can make a real difference to the society with your farsighted vision and dogged execution skills” The P M continued

“But Sir, As you know I have left the government service of Indraprasta more than 10 years ago because I felt that I am a misfit. I am happy in what I am doing and I am not sure if I can do the same in a typical government setting”

“Bhishma, I know your strong views and passion for results, and how it often gets stifled in a bureaucratic setting. I am asking you to join me as my advisor. You will be now at the top. You will have my complete support and authority of my office. Now it is for you to make the change you have often dreamed. Think about it and give me a call in two days. I want to announce this in my press conference next week”

“I am overwhelmed at the confidence you have bestowed on me” Bhishma replied.

“Have a great day, your country, Indraprasta needs you”

The line went dead.

***

Bhishma was surprised and almost shaken. Though he was not sure whether he should accept the offer from Dr Rajashekhar,  he was happy that the PM appreciated his project. Originally when he started this project ten years ago, Dr Rajashekhar was very critical of the idea. He was not the PM then, and not even a part of the ruling government. It was not just the posturing typical of the opposition leader. He appeared genuinely unsure about this initiative of Bhishma.  Bhishma had a private chat with the Dr RajaShekher once during those days on this.

“Bhishu, I don’t know why you have decided to set up this computer literacy project. When I heard that you had quit the service and you intend to take up a transformative project, I had high hopes. I hoped you would do something relevant to a larger cross section of the society. Now you seem to be in the money making game. You are on a project that is focused on to the rich few; those who can afford to have fancy and expensive toys. We have millions of people who can’t read and write, thousands of schools which don’t even have blackboards and libraries. Do something for them” Dr RajaShekhar observed

“Sir, I know we have lots of work to be done in the area of basic education. Many government agencies, NGOs and aid agencies are taking a number of initiatives. But I believe that computer literacy among our children is a very important need. It is not yet appreciated by many in its full magnitude. The computer is going to change the way we do everything. If we build a generation well equipped to make use of it, we are building the foundation for the next century. I am sure that I will be able to find a way to make it available to the poor children as well” Bhishma replied.

“I am not so convinced. But knowing you at least I am sure that you won’t make this to a scam”

That was ten years ago. Today’s call from Dr Shekher, that too soon after he has become the prime minister, gave him the satisfaction about the acceptance of something that he had worked on for a decade

***

To be continued ...