From inside the steel frame
Author: Ashok Pandey
Publisher: Palimpsest, Rs399
Dr ASHOK PANDEY, in his recently released memoir From Inside the Steel Frame, writes about his memories of Shillong in Meghalaya where he had served as an Additional Deputy Commissioner. Excerpt:
Back in the day, a movement was on for carving a separate State out of Assam. The date for inauguration of this autonomous State was decided and the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was to come for the ceremony. The date for inauguration was coming closer and we had definite information that recalcitrant elements would disrupt the public meeting, protesting and showing black flags to Indira Gandhi. One fine day, almost all the top leaders of the movement gathered and, as usual, blocked the road. Our police force reached the spot and arrested all of them.
Indira Gandhi was an extremely popular leader and a majority of the people in the hills applauded her gesture of fulfilling their aspirations and giving a good start by announcing the autonomous State of Meghalaya.
On the day of the State’s inauguration, I was positioned as the officer to keep in personal touch with the prime minister and, whenever needed, with the posse of senior officers accompanying her from Delhi. I met her at the Raj Bhavan, residence of Governor BK Nehru, where she was going to stay for the day. I tried to know her requirements. She politely told me everything was perfect and asked me to be available on the stage where the function would be held.
The only help she required from me was to get the Khasi and Garo words for “Thank you”. I knew the Khasi word and asked Captain Sangma who later became chief minister of the State to give me the Garo equivalent. I wrote down both words and gave the chit to her. After a while, she again called me and innocently — like a child — told me that she had lost the paper I had given her. I wrote the two words again, which at the end of her speech she flawlessly said to wide applause from the crowd.
One evening when I was home, sitting quietly and listening to some music, the doorbell rang. I went to answer the door; it was somewhat dark. A ghostly figure walked up and bowed deeply, almost touching my feet. When I saw the face carefully I shuddered, it was one of the leaders I had arrested and thrown into jail prior to Indira Gandhi’s visit.
I thought he had come to settle a score with me. But the tension was over immediately as he raised his head, folded his hands and gratefully said, “Sir, thank you so much, you have made me a leader by one stroke of your pen, arresting and sending me to jail for these 40 days.” I felt slightly uncomfortable by his remark and looked for some hint of sarcasm. It was indeed a pleasant surprise for me that the activist went on to grow in stature and become a Member of Parliament.
Another incident related to Indira Gandhi’s Shillong visit comes to my mind when I think of my tenure there. One morning I received a phone call from the deputy commissioner saying that the prime minister was about to land at an Air Force helipad and that I should reach there as soon as possible. I did so and found that the chief minister and the deputy commissioner were already there, waiting.
She landed. She had to make a sudden detour as her helicopter was not allowed to land at Tezpur in the Assam Valley where an aggrieved group was staging a protest. She was asked not to take the risk and her helicopter was diverted to this peaceful and serene place. Clad in a saffron-coloured attire from head to toe, Indira Gandhi looked stunning. She discussed with us the situation in Shillong, and after a brief halt, left for Calcutta.
I was supposed to be an executive engineer (officially as the additional deputy commissioner) for small works as well — without knowing anything about engineering. I was assisted by an old junior engineer who was drunk most of the time but was a likeable person. He would take me to the rural areas and show the work his department was doing, like construction and maintenance of single-lane village roads. I cannot forget my ride in an old, rickety jeep with him.
However, he commanded a lot of respect from the villagers whom he was supposed to be serving. They always greeted us and offered tea and kwai (betel nuts with a little lime). Kwai could be highly intoxicating if taken whole or even half a nut. For instance, when I had first come to Shillong, one day I took one whole nut and started sweating profusely, felt terribly weak and could not walk even two steps. I had to sit on a staircase for 10 minutes or so before I recovered and resumed walking to the office of a senior officer.
One of my favourite places in the district is Cherrapunji, famed to be the wettest spot on earth. This place records the highest rainfall in the country. It was, however, sad to learn that the people living in this rainiest place had no water to drink during dry days. Apparently not much attention had been given to water conservation and, only after five decades of India’s independence, the issue acquired the urgency it deserved.
The journey to and from Cherrapunji could be dangerous and only a very careful, attentive and highly skilled driver would manage to drive down safely, negotiating the hairpin turns on the hilly road. Similarly, Dawki also attracted me — this place is almost on the borders of Bangladesh (East Pakistan during my stay there) and I always had a sense of expectation and joy visiting the place. Jowai and Shella were among the other places I loved visiting.
My tenure as additional deputy commissioner in Shillong had taught and shown me much. On the personal front too, the years over there were extremely satisfying. We had a second child, our daughter Shailaja, in Shillong. We named her Shailaja, “daughter of the hills”, as a glowing tribute to the pristine beauty of the place. She was born in one of the most scenic hospitals that one can dream of, in fact, it looked like more of a resort than a hospital really. The pleasant climate of the place, the warmth of people and earnest care were imbibed by this child and so, we did carry back a bit of the north-east with us.
After the full-fledged hill state of Meghalaya was carved out of Assam, with its headquarters at Shillong, I was asked to serve the state and so began my term at the state secretariat.
Edited excerpt from From Inside the Steel Frame written by Ashok Pandey, Palimpsest, Rs399