Private Diary Of A Public Servant

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Editor's Special Note

Readers of this confidential document are advised to remember that it is a purely permanent record of what a poor public servant went through, witnessed and experienced in his private life. There might be names mentioned which are real and incidents described which actually happened, which may stain a few people’s reputations. It was their fault to have got involved in such unlawful activities and things. But it is the duty of a historian to record things as such, without colour or cream, for posterity to read and assess how things are run in government. Historical chronicles are written by the victors such that there won’t be mention of their failures and treacheries. But here it is by the defeated that this chronicle is written. It might be an unpleasant experience for many people to go through what is written here but, it should be remembered, that it was their obligation and duty to do only pleasant things and keep morale. We know, what misdeeds did by Gandhi, the father of the Indian nation, we came to know about after reading his autobiography, even about how he stole portion of a servant’s gold bangle to purchase liquor in his boyhood years, both acts forbidden and taboo among Indian Brahmins. We do not blame him for writing this frankly about him, nor is his greatness diminished in our minds on account of this. That is what truthfulness is. Exactly this is the principle tried to be followed in these narratives, whatever be the consequences for telling the truth. There is only one truth and it cannot be hidden. Sahyadri Books assumes responsibility for publishing this private diary of a public servant, on the condition that those who find it abominable shall hold responsibility for the injustices caused to this aggrieved public servant and also for getting legally punished the culprits involved in the crimes he mentions. - Editor.

There are writers who work for government and government servants who write. Both are different, for the first will not succumb to the pressures from government while the latter will do. Government will promote so many extra curricular activities including shuttle badminton, volley ball, foot ball and each department spend huge amounts of money to provide infra structure and encouragement to people engaged in these kinds of activities. They will even encourage dancing, painting and singing and form teams as part of public relations. But we have never heard about any government department encouraging a writer among them. In most of Kerala’s cases, we have only seen them being hunted relentlessly by low-browed officers officiating in very high chairs. Classic example is that of the famous dramatist K.T.Muhammad who made his audiences sit spellbound through suspense in tight drama. Srishdi, Sdhithi, Samhaaram, Saakshaalkkaram….his S Dramas were famous. Once a very top-ranking officer in the Indian Postal Service happened to see his drama and could not help from applauding. Knowing his official position, one in the audience asked him whether he knew this playwright was a very lowly-paid employee in the Indian Postal Service. The officer’s face reddened and clouded and the very next day he suspended the playwright from service on some puny charges. But he could not enforce his decision because this playwright had still higher officers in the service among his admirers. When we see or hear about a person, who has suffixes such as IAS, IRS or MBBS after his name, remember that many among them are intolerant, jealous, mean and cheap lowly animals clothed as human beings. Education supplements intelligence but does not supply it. In reading these chronicles here, you will see that this mean vein of human nature is manifest in so many people whom we associate with top positions in government.

Let me first tell where- at which home- I was born, brought up, and lived for many years- where I still lives. I will show a few pictures of my home, especially my living room, study and bedroom, which has never changed during my life. I am excluding rooms from the inner portions.

My home in its 70th year in March 2013 when engineers advised to reduce weight by removing tiled roof and 4-tiered brick walls of the upstairs front hall, roadside.

During preliminary repairs in May 2013

During preliminary repairs in May 2015 (The blue-roofed one, which was exactly as old as the tile roofed-one on the left)

 My study with ancient wooden partition before dismantling

 

My study now

 Study and the partition after dismantling ancient wooden partition wall.

 

 

A few of my books at home

 

 Study and bed

Study

Study and door to inner portions

Bed and staircase from ground floor and main road

Bed 

 Study corner

 

Study corner

Study viewed from inner

Inner portion

 

My mother's deities in my inner hall. They are there since my maternal grandfather's time, without change.

Outward views from my hall will come here like the following:

So this is where I was born and brought up, my grandfather held his village parliament, my father taught poor students in his spare time, and I became a writer, editor and publisher.

Do you know why this ancient home of mine was weakened and destroyed in the first place, necessitating its restructuring? It was deliberate orchestration by the Kerala Public Works Department of the Government of Kerala and a communal organization, the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, or SNDP, of Kerala- their kind of revenge for criticism, in violation of the Indian Easements Act!