Bureaucracy and Bureaucrats of a Bygone Era

of a Bygone Era Arun Ghosh TWO problems arise in reminiscing over the past era and its comparison with present times. The immediate, and first response of any reader would and should be that the 'good old days' were basically not so good after all, that 'time' seems to round off edges, to obliterate miserable experiences to such an extent that what emerges is nothing more than a romantic eulogy of bygone days, entirely unwarranted by ground realities. Indeed, it is the privilege of each passing generation to romanticise its past; and today, perhaps no one, no young person at any rate, has either the time or the stomach for such 'nonsense'. We live in a rapidly changing world where there is no time to stand and stare.