It took more than three hours to reach Puducherry by road from the Chennai airport. The Chief Secretary chose to come to the airport. During the drive, he volunteered to brief. I felt, he was understating many essential issues I was already aware of from the earlier orientation. But for me, his was additional information. I thanked him for all that he shared.

INSIDE RAJ NIVAS

I reached Raj Nivas by early evening to a warm reception. Almost all of the Raj Nivas staff was present. I greeted and shook hands with everyone. The officers honoured me with the most colourful stoles and bouquets. I saved the stoles for the service workers – flowers I sent to senior citizens’ homes. I was escorted to my formal office and then to my first-floor residence. Adjacent to my residential suites was a historic dining room and a monumental Durbar Hall. This sizeable hall had precious artefacts meticulously preserved.

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Raj Nivas is a magnificent French building of 1765 and a former palace with a long history of its own. My office was on the ground floor; I climbed the elegantly winding staircase dressed in a red carpet. There was an elevator which I never used. On entering my king-sized bedroom, the first thing I did was push back the long, high, velvet curtains to see the sky, and the stately tall palm trees visible from the clear and clean french windows. I gazed at the limitless sky, thinking of Papa. I remembered him telling me, “Kiran, for you, the sky is the limit.”

I programmed my Oath Ceremony for the evening of May 29, 2016, even though it was a Sunday. This day was solemn for me as it was my Mother’s Day. She lived her entire life considering work as worship. I recollected my Mummy saying, “Kiran, one day you will………….but I don’t know whether I will be there to see it”.

MEETING AT THE SECRETARIAT

I informed my Secretary about my intention to greet and meet all key officers the forenoon before the oath ceremony to interact and share my thoughts. Secretaries, the Director-General of Police, and other seniors were present in the conference hall. I found them well turned out, with anticipation on their faces, wondering what was coming from their new Lt. Governor, a woman, senior-most in age but shortest in height. I greeted them with affection and assurance that I was here to serve the people of Puducherry and work closely with them as one large family. I shall ensure total fairness and justice in all processes. I will always be just a message away from them.

SWOT FEEDBACK

I then explained the objective of the SWOT form I had brought for them to express their views on the administration’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Threats, and Opportunities. Before making my views public at the oath ceremony, I needed to sense the pulse and the prevailing challenges. My opening statement would set the stage for mutual expectations between the administration and the people. I requested them to express their views as these shall remain with me only.

The officers then got down to record their reflections. Once they finished filling the columns, Amrita Bahl, my OSD, collected the forms. I thanked them for respecting my request and invited them to be part of the oath-taking ceremony the same evening. I apprised them of announcing the Mission Statement – ‘Prosperous Puducherry’ at the oath ceremony as the ‘North Star’ for all we will do while administering the Union Territory. Their written responses remain in my safekeeping. The Strengths were its educated and youthful workforce; Opportunities were scope to upskill and Weaknesses and Threats were political vagaries.

Every single feedback form was an ‘education’ of the predominant complexities. It enabled me to get into the thinking of senior leadership early on as to how they felt about themselves and their work. It became evident they were functioning in Silos. With time this analysis proved to be on the mark and became the bedrock of substantial administrative reconditioning.