I felt the compelling need to connect the Raj Nivas with public officials through a daily, inspiring morning greeting. I wanted them to feel related as one large family at work, in service of the people of Puducherry. Puducherry was home to me. I left Delhi behind.
To knit them together, I created a seamless WhatsApp group called ‘Prosperous Puducherry,’ with all Secretaries to the Government to stay connected across departments. Soon, I added the Directors and the Heads of Departments.
This technology tool brought us together with no prior working relationships with rank and file. It became a broad network prioritising relationships to enhance the workplace experience. It further strengthened in the coming weeks as we interconnected with new groups using the web to think and work together.
DAILY MORNING NUTRITION
I posted my daily greetings as ‘Morning Nutrition’ at 6:00 am to the group. I prepared the message the night before but posted it at daybreak to save my morning time. Many woke up with that ‘good morning’ inspirational notification, and with time a voice-over. I have been tweeting motivational content on the Twitter handle as a continuing practice for years before coming to Puducherry.
The ‘Morning Nutrition’ greeting got forwarded to individual groups of respective departments, thus spreading readiness. Even if I did not meet in person, I did through inspiration. This form of messaging steadily facilitated the LG office to relate with public officials at the cutting edge. Whether it was increasing a feeling of camaraderie was too early to say. But without this, the LG office could not have communicated with rank and file at the needed pace and consistency to transform the existing work culture. The ‘Morning Nutrition’ greeting steam-rolled the system for incremental use of the WhatsApp social media tool, keeping in mind the Mission Statement ‘Prosperous Puducherry’
POETRY THROUGH LENS
Nature was bountiful in the Raj Nivas. It had an abundance of flora and fauna, birds, flowers, the fountain, the sunshine, the moonlight, the open sky, and just ONE cat, towering palm trees, more than a dozen mango trees inviting the koel cooing. Woodpeckers, parrots, crows, squirrels, mynas, sparrows, and other birds, were all over, with an occasional bat and an owl. And once in a while, a peacock flew in to save himself when chased by a monkey.
I was amidst nature during my morning workout. I cherished gazing at the lush green lawns and tall palm trees with birds crisscrossing the skies from the gallery. I watched birds jostle with each other to perch on the sharp and thin tips of the palm trees, with many latching and swinging on the lean ends of the palm leaves. The crows came to take a bite of my morning NICE biscuit, which came with my morning tea. They waited for their share and cawed at their friends to join. The attendant at Raj Nivas came with extras for me to feed.
The centre of the lawns had a fountain. When played, the shower of the spray broke into a riot of colours. My favourite jay bird looking a bit like the Kingfisher with turquoise feathers, visited the fountain pond once in a while. When it rained, it made the lawns lush in all hues of green. While the palm leaves swayed, the tree trunks stood erect. Nothing rattled them, not even the ‘Nivar’ cyclone that hit Puducherry during my time.
Sharing nature photographs added a new dimension to our interactions at the start of the day. My photos even went into an exhibition held later. Raj Nivas made me a nature photographer while mother earth nourished me holistically.
