The K Padmanabhaiah, Umapathi Rao, and other senior most civil servants released the book “with Tongue in Cheek – A Civil Servant Recalls” at PVRK Prasad Hall, Dr MCR HRD Institute, Government of Telangana. A stellar gathering of about 100 civil servants, including K Swaminathan, SV Prasad, K Pradeep Chandra, AK Goel, and many other serving and retired Civil Servants were present.
The book, which has been authored by Shripad Bhalerao, IAS (Retd.) proved beyond an iota of doubt that the ever-busy civil servants can be witty and humorous too and that humor in Bobudom can always co-exist.
Dr. S K Joshi, IAS, Chief Secretary of Telangana State, who spoke on this occasion, said that many humorous incidents happen during the tenure of a civil servant. He congratulated Shripad Bhalerao for writing a book based on his witty experiences aimed at making his readers enjoy and also feel mighty happy. “Such incidents are not only a source of feeling good but also provide opportunities to learn about life and profession”, he added.
A number of eminent civil servants, including K Padmanabhaiah, Umapathi Rao and others also spoke on this occasion. They unanimously said that people outside Babudom do not know that a lot of humor takes place in the Government files and in the day-to-day conduct of work by Officials and Politicians. “The book, which narrates these humorous stories, need to be read for the sake of both enjoyment and learning”, they added.
The B.P. Acharya, IAS, Spl Chief Secretary and DG, Dr MCR HRD Institute said that the ability to laugh at oneself and his colleagues in a non – offensive way is a challenging task and added that Bhalerao is the best at this craft. The book contains a caricature of Bhalerao drawn by Acharya. The artists of Little Theatre, Hyderabad read out some of the interesting events from the book.
The Shripad Bhalerao explained the context of the book. He served for 37 years, between 1975 and 2012 in the combined Andhra Pradesh, and retired as Special Chief Secretary to Government. The Supriya Bhalerao published the book. She not only welcomed the gathering but also proposed a vote of thanks. Her lively anchoring of the event was an icing on the cake.