Few potshots and on Social Justice.

There are a surfeit of academic sessions. The result is that one tends to get overwhelmed in the information overflow. There is sleep to contend with, too. This potent mix of sleeplessness, comprehension difficulties, civil servant egotism gives rise to situations where one quite forgets what they are speaking. Of these, egotism is a funny thing. The joke, almost always, is on the egotist. Perhaps it is the altitude, perhaps it is the clouds rolling gently on to the lawns of Gyanshila or Kalindi, whatever may be the reason, some people (not necessarily OTs or may be only the OTs) think it condescending to walk on terra firma. 

It is a pain in the neck to watch such people. Partly because they are so high above the ground. :)

I understand I am venturing in to the mine-field of value judgements.  I should refrain from taking potshots at fellow OTs, maybe? If I do take potshots, the end result would only be so many deflated egos. :)

Me and my rotten PJs. My insufferable PJs.

A senior functionary from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment presented a lecture on the status of persons with disability in India and the legislative and administrative actions planned and taken to tackle the problems faced by the differently abled. There are challenges galore, however, the government is seized of these matters and is taking proactive measures. The lecture was akin to a CT scan. We got first hand knowledge of the thinking of a senior bureaucrat and it was amazing (but not surprising) to observe how a lot many issues that the OTs had raised regarding the subject matter were already anticipated and remedial actions were in various stages of planning/implementation. The bumps in the road were the coordination involved in rolling out of initiatives all over the country. The biggest challenge is the mindset of people across the administrative spectrum. Unless one empathises with the differently abled, one can never be an effective administrator. I hope the OTs of the 89th batch carry forward the same enthusiasm they displayed in asking so many questions.

We have visits scheduled over the next two days to institutes nearby which are affiliated to the Ministry. I look forward to these visits.