The journey to the new district took over 4 hours by car. The District Magistrate had arranged for Amit’s stay at the District Circuit House and he had been invited for a dinner at ‘Nesheman’, the bungalow of the District Magistrate. So it was here that may be Robert Clive and party had one day planned the battle of Plassey, people were discussing about the Bungalow and its references in the Gazetteer. Amit noted that the wooden stair cases were about 12 feet wide, big enough to take a rider up mounted on a horse back.
Amit was told that the Bungalow of SDO Warpur, where he was to stay as the SDO, also had seen some important events in the past. Like most of those old Bungalows, the one in Warpur was known to be a confirmed haunted one, and Amit was advised not to worry much about that.
One of the highly reputed officers who was present there (he later got posted in the World Bank) advised Amit that events in Kalipur had made him quite famous in a very short career. But Warpur was what could establish if he really was a good officer, for reputation gets build over a period of time while fame could be instantaneous yet short lived.
Since he was associated with the Health Department he told Amit to immediately get involved in the Pulse Polio work. Warpur had all but 1 polio cases reported recently in the state. That even meant that the number was high enough to make the state one of the worst affected in the country. The country itself was one of the few on the globe where Polio virus had resurfaced. So plainly speaking, Warpur was where all the attention hinged and Amit had to tackle the issue soon.
The ADM of the District had his own set of instructions for Amit. They were not getting the report on the work of electoral roll revision for some time while the publication date was due in next 5 days.
The next morning the car had come to pick Amit from the circuit house for Warpur. The subdivision was over 50 km from the district Head quarter, a real outlying subdivision of the district as they say (much like Kalipur in that respect). It had over 100 km of international border, plant of National Thermal Power Corporation. They had one Member of Parliament and 7 Members of Legislative Assembly.
The driver told Amit how the Subdivision had been important during the ‘Indigo Revolt’ during the freedom struggle. Then he informed that the famous Battle of Giria for the supremacy of the state (which later led to the supremacy of the country) had been fought in his subdivision. He also asked Amit if he had seen a prominent movie of the master film maker Satyajit Ray which had been filmed in the house of the Zamindars of Aamtita, in one of the blocks of the Subdivision.
‘Sir, we have the fresh water Illish fish, the most prominent Bengali delicacy, in our subdivision. The place where the Ganges separates into the Ganga and Padma (which enters into Bangladesh) is in our subdivision. Illish is in abundance there’, he informed.
‘OK’, Amit responded.
‘Sir, the Aamtita Zamindar house is also there, we will go there if you like’, the security informed.
‘Sure, very soon, in a day or two at most’, Amit replied.
‘Sir, we are approaching Warpur, our head quarter. This place is called ‘Phansi Deva’ means where people used to be hanged during the Indigo revolt’, the driver told.
The main road leading to the small town built as twin city on the two banks of Ganges was water logged on its both the sides. Clearly there were over 10 feet deep broad drain visible on either side, clogged with remains of broken constructions checking water around.
‘This is a flood prone area, every year rain water enters here but there is no exit’, driver continued.
There clearly was drainage in place long back, Amit thought, but people have encroached over it and now water gets trapped there and these people believe floods are inevitable. ‘So next to Polio work, agenda number two, get the drainage back before the monsoons’, Amit told himself.
The car entered the premises and was driven some 200 meters further before it stopped in front of a massive building, much much bigger than what Amit had expected in his thoughts. While a lot of people started running to get the luggage down of the car, an old man in dhoti-kurta came forward. ‘Sir, I’m Kundu Babu, I am supervising the roll revision data entry’, he proudly informed.
‘Great Kundu babu that you are here. So the work must be over by now, we completed it a few days back in Kalipur’, Amit said.
‘Naa sir, that is why I ran when I saw you coming. We have heard about Kalipur, but in Warpur the work did not start at all. We have only entered some 8000 data and I am working with 1 computer and one data entry operator. I am an old man so I can stay back but no one is worried about this work. Since SDO Sahib was leaving, she ………… and hence the other magistrates also ……..’, Kundu Babu blamed his officials.
But obviously that could not be true, Amit thought, the roll publication is after 4 days. He probably does not know all the things, so Amit immediately rang his batch mate who was posted there before him.
She only confirmed what Amit did not want to hear, ‘Those people are always fighting and telling stories about their history. So I also left it to them. Anyway you are sitting on that chair now, so take care’
As Amit entered his office, he read the names of the people on the board who had been posted there in past 150 years. Many of them he had read in the history book while preparing for the Civil Services.
‘So Warpur is some place to be at’, Amit thought considering the aura and grandeur of the building, the place and its past. His first phone call he made was to his boss since the computers for the data entry had to be provided by the District.
Amit felt he would have preferred a break. But the boss had been so worried for some days asking Amit to join without the joining period. They had some work at hand, and this was it.
But yes, Warpur was a place to be at.
Amit was told that the Bungalow of SDO Warpur, where he was to stay as the SDO, also had seen some important events in the past. Like most of those old Bungalows, the one in Warpur was known to be a confirmed haunted one, and Amit was advised not to worry much about that.
One of the highly reputed officers who was present there (he later got posted in the World Bank) advised Amit that events in Kalipur had made him quite famous in a very short career. But Warpur was what could establish if he really was a good officer, for reputation gets build over a period of time while fame could be instantaneous yet short lived.
Since he was associated with the Health Department he told Amit to immediately get involved in the Pulse Polio work. Warpur had all but 1 polio cases reported recently in the state. That even meant that the number was high enough to make the state one of the worst affected in the country. The country itself was one of the few on the globe where Polio virus had resurfaced. So plainly speaking, Warpur was where all the attention hinged and Amit had to tackle the issue soon.
The ADM of the District had his own set of instructions for Amit. They were not getting the report on the work of electoral roll revision for some time while the publication date was due in next 5 days.
The next morning the car had come to pick Amit from the circuit house for Warpur. The subdivision was over 50 km from the district Head quarter, a real outlying subdivision of the district as they say (much like Kalipur in that respect). It had over 100 km of international border, plant of National Thermal Power Corporation. They had one Member of Parliament and 7 Members of Legislative Assembly.
The driver told Amit how the Subdivision had been important during the ‘Indigo Revolt’ during the freedom struggle. Then he informed that the famous Battle of Giria for the supremacy of the state (which later led to the supremacy of the country) had been fought in his subdivision. He also asked Amit if he had seen a prominent movie of the master film maker Satyajit Ray which had been filmed in the house of the Zamindars of Aamtita, in one of the blocks of the Subdivision.
‘Sir, we have the fresh water Illish fish, the most prominent Bengali delicacy, in our subdivision. The place where the Ganges separates into the Ganga and Padma (which enters into Bangladesh) is in our subdivision. Illish is in abundance there’, he informed.
‘OK’, Amit responded.
‘Sir, the Aamtita Zamindar house is also there, we will go there if you like’, the security informed.
‘Sure, very soon, in a day or two at most’, Amit replied.
‘Sir, we are approaching Warpur, our head quarter. This place is called ‘Phansi Deva’ means where people used to be hanged during the Indigo revolt’, the driver told.
The main road leading to the small town built as twin city on the two banks of Ganges was water logged on its both the sides. Clearly there were over 10 feet deep broad drain visible on either side, clogged with remains of broken constructions checking water around.
‘This is a flood prone area, every year rain water enters here but there is no exit’, driver continued.
There clearly was drainage in place long back, Amit thought, but people have encroached over it and now water gets trapped there and these people believe floods are inevitable. ‘So next to Polio work, agenda number two, get the drainage back before the monsoons’, Amit told himself.
The car entered the premises and was driven some 200 meters further before it stopped in front of a massive building, much much bigger than what Amit had expected in his thoughts. While a lot of people started running to get the luggage down of the car, an old man in dhoti-kurta came forward. ‘Sir, I’m Kundu Babu, I am supervising the roll revision data entry’, he proudly informed.
‘Great Kundu babu that you are here. So the work must be over by now, we completed it a few days back in Kalipur’, Amit said.
‘Naa sir, that is why I ran when I saw you coming. We have heard about Kalipur, but in Warpur the work did not start at all. We have only entered some 8000 data and I am working with 1 computer and one data entry operator. I am an old man so I can stay back but no one is worried about this work. Since SDO Sahib was leaving, she ………… and hence the other magistrates also ……..’, Kundu Babu blamed his officials.
But obviously that could not be true, Amit thought, the roll publication is after 4 days. He probably does not know all the things, so Amit immediately rang his batch mate who was posted there before him.
She only confirmed what Amit did not want to hear, ‘Those people are always fighting and telling stories about their history. So I also left it to them. Anyway you are sitting on that chair now, so take care’
As Amit entered his office, he read the names of the people on the board who had been posted there in past 150 years. Many of them he had read in the history book while preparing for the Civil Services.
‘So Warpur is some place to be at’, Amit thought considering the aura and grandeur of the building, the place and its past. His first phone call he made was to his boss since the computers for the data entry had to be provided by the District.
Amit felt he would have preferred a break. But the boss had been so worried for some days asking Amit to join without the joining period. They had some work at hand, and this was it.
But yes, Warpur was a place to be at.
2 comments:
Everytime do I read your blog, my quest for civil services just gets deeper.
I really would fight out hard first to pass the civil services and then to fight out like Amit.
Hi Shailesh,
You are a regular reader of the blog it seems. Do go ahead and try to crack the CS Exam, it is tough and that is the real challange and the real exciting part about it.
Yes, we do need people passionate about our country and job.
Best of Luck,
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