A Lesson on Life Management
Appearances are often deceptive. Hemashri tells us the story of Gitali, a cleaner in a government office. At a young age, life taught her much more than the books...
An Invalid Character Certificate
A senior officer made a passing remark about the author’s character in front of her husband, which was humiliating for both of them, as they are officers in the...
Love is Not Love Till You Give it away!
Hemashri pays tribute to a former IAS officer, who was also a pro bono lawyer. His immense love and compassion for others set him apart. In him, she found...
A Life-Enriching Training
Hemashri shares her experience of training as a bureaucrat, which enriched her. She shares her experience in the weekly column, exclusively for Different Truths. I was nominated for training...
A Friendship Soured
Hemashri recounts a painful, real-life experience in a fictional voice in the weekly column exclusively for Different Truths. Syamoli still wonders whether colleagues could ever be friends! She wishes...
The Professor Challenged Me
What appears rude, crude or too strict to us, during our student days, are perhaps blessings in disguise. Hemashri pays her tribute to one such professor, in the weekly...
Prayers, Process, and Reforms: Some Things do Not Change for Ordinary People
The state administrative service is rife with arbitrariness and discrimination. Hemashri recounts how her study-leave prayer for higher studies at JNU, New Delhi, was denied, while two other batchmates...
Caught Between Files and Life: Diagnosis of a Restless Bureaucrat
Hemashri recounts the harrowing incident of a government decision gone wrong when her father, a mid-level police officer, faced tough times. It had a serious impact on the family....
Her Ozymandias and Mine!
One class, taught by a teacher, was so different. Hemashri talks about her and her daughter’s experiences studying Ozymandias, three decades apart, and the stark differences between them. In...
Toilet Trauma: Do Indian Women Have the Right to Pee With Dignity?
There are no proper women’s toilets at public places. Would it seem very strange if we were to start a campaign for a proper ladies’ toilet now? We live...