The Corridors of Power

"Waiting in the Visitor's Room in North Block , Ministry of Finance . Appointment with the Revenue Secretary . Indescribable feelings . Was inside this building last maybe around 45 years ago when it was  our father's "Office" . Ministry of Home Affairs , North Block . 

I find everyone here so courteous and polite . The Security , the staff at the Reception , the Private Secretary and his team ; all of them so quietly  efficient. Babuji would be so proud to see the qualities he believed in still valued and practiced ."

I posted this on my Face Book page a couple of days ago . Truky , we are so quick to criticise, find fault and judge or condemn . How come we never stop to acknowledge and vocalise the positive experiences . It's become the fashion to dismiss all service providers, especially the "Sarkari" variety . 

I don't think we ever stop and put ourselves in another's place and understand the challenges others face in order to provide us the best service . I have noticed this in airports , hospitals , restaurants , stores ...how is it we carry so much of a sense of entitlement . 

One smile , a grateful acknowledgment of the service , remembering and thanking using the name of the person who serves you , stamps your pass, or does one of those tens of dozens actions that ease your path forward . 

To go back to what I have always thought of the corridors of power, the grand edifices that house the ministries ; as I climbed up the red , carpeted stairs that brought me in front of the Finance Minister's chambers and the kind attention of every one who helped me navigate my way to the waiting room I realised that it is I who hold an incredible kind of power. That of a citizen whose needs are taken care of by people who do their job to the best of their abilities no matter the magnitude of the stress and challenges and the paucity of resources at hand . The power to help those who serve us and making it easier for them to serve us.