Washing Clothes
for Victor Banerjee
The Schizophrenia Foundation of India (SCARF) was started in 1984 by a group of
psychiatrists and social workers, including me and my husband, under the leadership of Dr.
Sharda Menon, for helping the mentally ill.
A Marriage to
Remember
One night, as I was returning from an official engagement from Tiruchi around midnight, I
saw about a hundred men waiting on the verandah of the Sub-Collector’s bungalow.
There was also a well-dressed young Muslim woman with them who seemed to be sobbing.
My Father
Born in 1931, he was the only son of the Mirasdar of Vishwanathapuri, a village at the
outskirts of the textile town of Karur. He was the Chairman of the VNC group, the most
important industrial house in Karur.
A Rajasthani
Wedding
‘Meetu’ the daughter of my batch mate and friend S.P. Mathur, an IPS officer,
was to marry ‘Rajat’ a handsome young man at Jaipur. It was to be a traditional
wedding and many of us from Madras went to Jaipur to be a part of the long drawn
festivities.
Street Musicians
of Oxford
Talking of shops, Oxford has amazing book shops. There is the multi-storey
‘Dhillons’ book shop on the corner of Broad Street. There is a smaller
‘discount book shop’ across it, on the other side of the road.
The Queen
Elizabeth House at Oxford
During the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, the reigning Queen of England, it was dedicated
to her, as she is the head of the Commonwealth. Today, it is a department of the Oxford
University.
Banbury Road in
Oxford 1997
During my visiting fellowship at the Queen Elizabeth House I was to stay at North Oxford
Overseas Centre (the NOOC) at 107, Banbury Road. Generations of foreign scholars have
stayed at the NOOC, and taken hundreds of fond memories back with them
The Pundit and
the Maulvi
During October 1997, I departed for Oxford on Queen Elizabeth House Fellowship. I was to
stay at North Oxford Overseas Centre, affectionately called the NOOC located at 107 and
117, Banbury Road.
My Teacher in
Oxford, Shirley Ardner
In the year 1997, I was awarded Queen Elizabeth Fellowship to
study ‘the political empowerment of women’ at the Oxford University.
Booth capturing
and Seshan Sahib 1996
I was posted to Jhunjhunu Distrct of Rajasthan which is somewhere in the ‘Thar’
desert for performing the duty of the Election Observer during the 1996 General Elections.
General Election
of 1996
The general election of 1996 was a watershed election due to many reasons. Most important
of them being the presence of Mr. Seshan as the Election Commissioner of India.
Drought in
Tamilnadu
I joined as District Collector of South Arcot District during March 1983.Tamilnadu was in
the grip of a serious drought the likes of which the State has not faced since then.
Temple of
Nataraja at Chidambaram
The only temple dedicated to Lord Shiva as cosmic dancer is at
Chidambaram in Tamilnadu. Normally in every temple Shiva is depicted in the form of Linga
but in Chidambaram Shiva is depicted as Nataraja, the Lord of Dance.
Getting to know
Auroville
In 1983 when I took over as the District Collector of South
Arcot District, great tension existed between Shri Aurobindo Society which runs the Ashram
in Pondicherry and its own creation ‘Auroville’, situated in neighbouring South
Arcot District.
Encounter with
Krishna Ji - Last Meeting
Every year in the month of December, Adyar used to wear a festive look coinciding with the
birthday of the great contemporary philosopher J. Krishnamoorthy (affectionately called
Krishna Ji) and the annual conference of Theosophical Society
Encounter with
Krishna Ji - First Meeting
My brother Shiv Gariyali, an architect in Victoria, Canada and his wife Nora Deene got
involved with Krishna Ji (Philosopher J Krishnamoorthy) early in life.
The Missionary
and me
I have always been impressed by missionaries and their work. However, generally they
operate through nice mission buildings and convents where good food is laid on the table
and high tea is served to all visiting dignitaries.
Dikshitars of
Chidambaram
During the year 1983, I was working in the South Arcot District of Tamilnadu as the
District Collector. At that time I visited the temple of the Cosmic Lord Nataraja at
Chidambaram.
Sepoys who never
returned home
During 1988, I visited Philippines on a Health Ministry Delegation lead by then Health
Secretary Mr. Dhanoa.
Visit to
sky-chef
It proved to be a fascinating visit. I always thought that various hotels pack the food in
trays which are loaded onto the aircraft to be served to passengers.
Natyanjali at
Chidambaram (Part 2)
Last week I was narrating the resurgence of the tradition of dance at Chidambaram temple
in South Arcot where I was District Collector during 1983-84.
Natyanjali at
Chidambaram
The only temple of Nataraja, the Lord of Dance is in Chidambaram. Here, Shiva is
worshipped not as a ‘linga’ but in the dancing form of
Nataraja.
Bala
Balasaraswathy affectionately called ‘Bala’ was one of the greatest exponents of
Bharat Natyam in our times.
Holi in National
Academy of Administration
The festival of Holi is always celebrated with great gusto and fervour in all parts of
India.
My first friends
in Coimbatore
In 1973 I arrived in Coimbatore to undergo my District training. It was a strange new
place for me.
Indianization of
the National Academy of Administration
There were two female characters required - one was the ‘soul of the writer’ and
the other his ‘wife’.
Coming
to Tamilnadu
My romance with Tamil Nadu started when, at the age of seven
or eight, I saw my first Bharat Natyam performance in Delhi.
First Woman
Police Officer of India
Everybody knows Kiran Bedi in India.
2nd Sikh at Wagha
Border
One of the requirements for training in the Indian Administrative Service used to be a
month long attachment with the army. I had to do my army attachment with a battalion
called the 2nd Sikh.
Encounter with
the Big Boss
Soon after I joined as assistant collector on training in Coimbatore there was a great
hub-hub in the district.
Republic Day
celebration in UK
Since I can remember, I have always attended the ceremonies conducted with the
Independence Day and the Republic Day of India.
Getting lost in
Calcutta
During training in the National Academy, Administrative officers are taken for Bharat
Darshan (IndiaTour) to one of the regions of India.
Academy becomes
Egalitarian
To the disappointment of many a bright young officer, I arrived in the National Academy
wearing an engagement ring.
Portrait of a
Village Officer
As part of my training as Assistant Collector, I had to do a socio-economic study of a
village.
Portrait of a
District Collector
District Training is the most important part of the training of an officer of the Indian
Administrative Service.
Learning Tamil
At the age of twenty-four, on a cold night, I landed at the Coimbatore railway station. I
had travelled all the way in the Jayanti-Janata Express to report as the Assistant
Collector on training to the District Collector.
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