NEW DELHI: Former Delhi chief secretary Omesh Saigal has come out with a book which gives humorous insights into some of the happenings in the higher bureaucracy and the "mental agonies" that trouble them the most.
Saigal says "I@S: Tale Told by an IASs" is told "from my point of view" and "I do not claim to be speaking in a representative capacity". The book, by Haranand Publications, has Saigal's experiences in the course of his service and how the IAS has evolved over a period of time.
"Since as a civil servant I never really merged with the stream but strived throughout to retain my sense of individuality, retirement neither holds the devil nor will I allow it to become a burden to carry," he says. The book has numerous anecdotes on transfers of officers, interactions with ministers and prime ministers among others.
Saigal graduated in 1962 from IIT, Kharagpur and joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1964. He worked at various governance levels from a BDO and SDM to the chief secretary of Delhi to a secretary to the central government. After retirement in 2001, he was chairman of the National Commission for Food Processing and served in several bodies. He has written for TV and important newspapers and magazines.