Sands of time: From modest to ostentatious

“People say that time slips through our fingers like sand. What they don’t acknowledge is that some of the sand sticks to the skin. These are memories that will remain, memories of the time when there was still time left,” said an American author, David Leviathan.

Watching the grand inaugural of the new Telangana Secretariat, I also realised how time has slipped from the time when even a Chief Minister did not have an airconditioned car or a new swanky building. But at the same time, some of the sand that has stuck to my hand made me walk down the memory lane as that was the place where we the old-time journalists used to spend anything from six to ten hours a day on the secretariat premises and had easy access to the administrators, be it the officers or the CM himself.

Yes, the sand has slipped between the fingers. In1975, the then CM Jalagam Vengal Rao had a very small team of employees in his office – maybe fewer than what a senior officer today has in his peshi. Vengal Rao had one IAS officer Rao Saheb Krishnaswamy and a few non-IAS officers. In addition, he had one personal secretary and two personal assistants and one DSP rank officer as the CSO. No hi-tech gadgets, no metal detectors and no battalions of police either. Even at their residence, one could easily walk up to his office and seek appointment.

There were many occasions when the CMs used to meet senior journalists at home for a discussion, whether it be policies or politics. The CM used to go out with just one escort and one pilot car. The CM chambers used to be a small room in the old heritage building constructed by Nizam which is no more now as the entire old secretariat building has been demolished. It had a wooden staircase with royal look and railing whose wood was costlier than gold those days. Red carpet on the stairs and an open hall stood out. CM chambers used to have a few ordinary chairs. No huge sofas or no dining halls. They used to meet foreign dignitaries also in those small meeting halls with modest tables and chairs. The CMO just had one lift.

Neither the CM nor the ministers ever had PROs. A senior officer in the department of information and public relations used to perform the additional duty of a PRO. I&PR Director used to be in direct touch with the CM and it was the responsibility of I&PR to release advertisements strictly based on the norms – no recommendations from the CMO. Top priority used to be given to local papers unlike present times when national papers get topmost priority and the local papers which reach out to the voters get least importance. But, then, change is inevitable though growth is optional. You just have to laugh.