A social media post by a popular IAS officer from Karnataka, Captain P Manivannan, who had created the “Corona Warriors” teams during the peak Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, is inspiring many on Twitter to walk down memory lanes and share their “roots”.
Currently posted as Principal Secretary Social Welfare Department, Karnataka, Manivannan, on Thursday, shared the picture of a dilapidated Railway quarter in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, where he grew up in the 1980s.
He shared: “…Made my first friends. Played with marbles. Chased the butterflies. Ran in the rain till it drenched the heart. Romanticized the aircraft flying in the blue sky on a summer afternoon.”
While a follower commended the officer for preserving the picture and the memories related to his roots, the officer whose transfer in 2020 had created a major uproar, said: “I happen to take this pic a few years back when I went searching for the house. I also found the other places I lived also intact. Will share them sometime.”
As one user commented, “Revisiting the places we lived is like a pilgrimage and they ground us better,” there were several others who started sharing their memories of living in Railway quarters, some of which were demolished for development work like metro rail.
In 2020, as Principal Secretary to the Department of Labour and Department of Information and Publicity, Karnataka, Manivannan was reportedly shunted out over disagreement in the distribution of dry ration kits to construction workers. Such was his popularity that he had inspired an online campaign – #BringBackManivannan as the state government’s announcement had shocked many volunteers, who were part of the ‘Corona Warriors’ team established by him.
One user, TK Srinath, expressed his gratitude to the officer for helping his kid during the pandemic.
“God bless you sir. You are a great role model for all. Still remember your immediate help and empathy when my very young son contracted what was presumably Covid in March 2020 not knowing me as I reached out for help. A rare civil servant sir…,” Srinath tweeted and shared how he was let down by a friend also in civil services.
Soon the one post by Manivannan, had turned into a repository of Railway quarters, which inadvertently came with a small kitchen garden with many fruit-bearing trees. The officer said, “…was lucky to have a wonderful childhood closer to nature. Later, fell into the vortex of computer screens first in 1990 and never could come out fully!”
A user, Dr KP Ramesha, commended the IAS officer saying that his humble beginning made him “an upright and honest officer today”.
Manivannan promised he will compile his memoirs one day after retirement if not for anyone else at least for his grandchildren.
