Hard-working bureaucrat with a human touch
Dr G. Lakshmisha indulges his passion for music and yoga when he’s not busy with his official duties as a committed official
HE SAYS HE WOULD HAVE BEEN A ‘HARDCORE’ AGRICULTURE SCIENTIST HAD HE NOT BEEN A BUREAUCRAT. “I THINK I WOULD HAVE RESEARCHED VARIOUS ASPECTS OF FOOD SECURITY, PROFITABLE AND SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE PRACTICES AND SO ON,” SMILES
THE OFFICER.
ENGLISH WAS DIFFICULT AND THERE WAS EVEN A TIME WHEN HE WANTED TO DROP OUT OF SCHOOL BECAUSE OF THE LANGUAGE PROBLEM. TODAY, DR G LAKSHMISHA IS AN IAS OFFICER, CURRENTLY POSTED AS COMMISSIONER OF GREATER VISAKHAPATNAM MUNICIPAL CORPORATION.
THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE WAS A HARD NUT TO CRACK. BUT I TOOK IT UP AS A CHALLENGE AND STARTED WRITING ARTICLES FOR ENGLISH NEWSPAPERS ON VARIOUS ISSUES AND OVERCAME THE LANGUAGE HURDLE
— LAKSHMISHA
The English language was a huge hurdle for Dr G Lakshmisha as a child. Kannada was the medium of instruction in his village school. After completing Standard 7, he moved to the district headquarters town to continue his education. Transitioning to English as the medium of instruction was difficult and there was even a time when he wanted to drop out of school because of the language problem. Today, he is an IAS officer, currently posted as Commissioner of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation.
It was Lakshmisha’s elder brother Venkataravanaiah, a teacher in primary school, who guided him to continue his studies. “The English language was a hard nut to crack. But I took it up as a challenge and started writing articles for English newspapers on various issues and overcame the language hurdle,” smiles Lakshmisha.
Born and brought up in Halugondanahalli village in Urdigere Hobli, in Karnataka’s Tumkur District, Lakshmisha was the youngest among five children and therefore a pampered kid.
“Other than playing some games in the evenings, there was no specific hobby at that time. But during weekends and holidays, my family would gather and sing bhajans and that is how I developed a liking for music,” says the bureaucrat, who loves to listen to soft, melodious music, both vocal and instrumental.
OVERCOMING LANGUAGE BARRIERS
Having overcome the English barrier, Lakshmisha went on to get a B.Sc degree in Agriculture from Mandya College. “I was moulded by teachers and friends. I cleared a national exam and got a Junior Research Fellowship for post-graduation and went to
Allahabad, in UP,” he reveals.
After completing his PG, he secured a fellowship for Ph.D at the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) New Delhi. “The kind of exposure and guidance I got in Delhi was immense and from there I made it into civil services,” says Lakshmisha. His first attempt in 2009 was unsuccessful, but he cleared the exam the next year.
He initially got into the Indian Forest Service and was posted in Himachal Pradesh. Dissatisfied with the posting, Lakshmisha made one more attempt at the Civil Services exam in 2013 and bagged the 275th rank. He joined the Andhra Pradesh cadre.
‘HARDCORE’ AGRICULTURE SCIENTIST, IF NOT A BUREAUCRAT
Hailing from an agricultural village, Lakshmisha’s days started by accompanying his mother Lakshmamma to work in the
fields, before going to school. He says he would have been a ‘hardcore’ agriculture scientist had he not been a bureaucrat. “I think I would have researched various aspects of food security, profitable and sustainable agriculture practices and so on,” smiles the officer.
How would Lakshmisha describe himself? “A hard worker, a dedicated bureaucrat with human touch,” he replies. “In all my postings so far, I have worked to my satisfaction. The public feedback we get keeps pushing us to make an extra effort to make people happy,” he explains.
MORNING PERSON
The Commissioner of GVMC is a morning person. His day starts at 5 a.m. with a yoga session, including stretching exercises, surya namaskar and pranayama for half an hour. “I take a glass of homemade health Kashayam (an ancient herb-infused decoction that can help boost immunity and calm your mind) early in the morning,” he says, adding, “My food is largely vegetarian, with a lot of millets like ragi. It’s also low on oil. I take non-vegetarian food on the weekends.” He is a seafood lover.
While music has been a continuing love, Yoga is something he is very passionate about.
HOBBIES HELP REJUVENATE THE MIND
And given the time, he still writes articles on contemporary issues, in English. “The time for hobbies is not uniform, it depends on place and posting. Some postings take much of our personal time also. However, weekends and public holidays give me the time to pursue my hobbies,” he says.
For bureaucrats, stress is common. But Lakshmisha has his own way of coping. “Talking to friends and relatives, playing with my kids and spending time with the family are my main stress busters,” he says. If time permits, mostly public holidays, he catches up with some movies. “I prefer thrillers,” says the bureaucrat, who has two kids — Aadhvi and Siddharth Chakravarthe.