Meet Nirupama Rao, the poet; who are other bureaucrat-poets?

DID you know, India’s former foreign secretary and 1973 batch retired IFS Nirupama Rao has a private passion -- writing poems? The former diplomat on Thursday released two of her poems -- one on life in Jaffna (2005) and the other on women safety in Delhi (2011) in a social media site. Over a decade ago, Rao came out with a poetry book titled “Rain Rising Poems”. First, a part of a poem on city of Delhi written by Rao:

Beyond Feelings: From Sethi to Sumita meet this breed of bureaucrat poets

BUREAUCRATS handling pressure jobs at times sit back and ask: “Where was I?” and “Where am I heading?” Bishnupada Sethi, a 1995 batch Orissa cadre IAS who BoI had earlier termed “bureaucrat by mind but poet by heart”, tries to find answers thanks to his poetic zeal. In his third English poetry book “Beyond Feelings”, Sethi, currently the director of Census Operation in Orissa, attempts to answer: “Like the particles in air/and clay in waters/ in my mind, the heavier matters/ are all settling down.” Once conflicting matters settle down to the bottom of one’s understanding, one does not have to grope for such answers.

The breed of bureaucrat-cum-poet is growing and sharing their work. Like many bureaucrat painters, say Sudha Pillai of Planning Commission, who exhibit their talent, bureaucrat poets too are no longer lagging behind, and are publishing what they scribble pieces of paper.

Take the case of Amarendra Khatua, a 1981 batch Indian Foreign Service officer. Khatua is a diplomat with trade negotiating skills but poetry is his passion. His Ek Kavi Ka Khamosh Ho Jana is highly appreciated in the poetry circle. “Say it again, the familiar human touch can be so monotonous that one will prefer to stay back, at least knowing that shadows are after all shadows…” reads one of Khatua’s poems.

Only recently, Vajai Vardhan, a 1985 batch Haryana cadre IAS, has come out with his second book “Ibadat - the breath of my soul”. It is a collection of haikus which is a form of Japanese poetry. A principal secretary in Haryana’s environment ministry, Vardhan spends his spare time in researching Sufi culture. A post-graduate in history, he had earlier penned “Beyond the Great Beyond”.

It could be a mere co-incidence that like Vardhan, another Haryana bureaucrat Sumita Misra Singh also hails from Lucknow, has commands over Urdu and is a poet in action. She is a 1990 batch Haryana cadre IAS and currently the state’s chief electoral officer. Ms Misra Singh had been writing poems to herself till she was advised by author Khushwant Singh that she should allow others to appreciate her literary mind. A post graduate in economics, Ms Misra Singh recently published her poetry book “A Light of Life”.

Does babu blogger also pen poems? Follow at http://www.facebook.com/babublogger

Action and Appointments

a) Rajiv, a 1975 batch UP cadre IPS, has been appointed as Director General of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in the pay scale of Rs 80,000 per month till he retires on October 2013.

Poet By Heart: Bureaucrat Bishnupada Sethi’s World of Words

MEET this bureaucrat by mind but poet by heart. For Bishnupada Sethi, a 1995 batch Orissa cadre IAS and director, Census Operation of Orissa, life is a bigger canvas and poetry is his art. Bishnupada Sethi is a confirmed poet with two poetry books already in his kitty.
His latest book, My World of Words is a collection of poems with an underlining theme that words are central to human existence. After all, human experience, intelligence, belief etc. are linked to the world of words.

Sample this:

Lying quietly on a wooden cot,

kept on the verandah of a mud hut,

I move my eyes slowly

like the rare waves

in the cool waters of a static lake.

You may wonder about me-

Relating to people like you,

while knowing that I do not have any name,

like other old members of the tribe

as naming was never our old tradition.

This is Sethi’s one of many poems called “An Unknown Tribal” where he narrates what life means for a simple tribal villager. For the record, there has been a massive debate in Orissa about tribal rights vis-à-vis commercial utilization of its vast resources.

Sethi’s first book named, “Where Shall I Go” was published in 2005. The book became so popular that its Urdu version was published later in 2009, and its Oriya version in under print.

Amarendra Khatua, a 1981 batch IFS officer, is yet another bureaucrat-cum-poet. His Ek Kavi Ka Khamosh Ho Jana received accolades in the poetry circle.

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Action and Appointments

a) Anil Kumar, a 1976 batch Nagaland cadre IAS, presently Principal Adviser, Planning Commission has been appointed as secretary, department of AYUSH, under the ministry of health and family welfare in place of Ms S Jalaja, a 1974 batch Bihar cadre IAS who is retiring on October 31, 2010.