Description
“In 1960, Lashio, Burma at 3 am, a 10 year old boy woke up crying inconsolably. When his nurse asked him why, he said that his mother had just died. Unknown to him, a few roads away his mother was, at that very minute, losing her life.
Strange and curious happenings, prestige and paucity, moments of masti, achievements and brickbats – the stuff of ordinary life is narrated with frank vigour and charm in this exploration of a man’s life, career and relationships. We feel his alienation and loss at the death of his mother, the troubles of an adolescence without money, the setbacks as promised job opportunities turn to dust; we cheer him on his boyhood adventures and welcome the joy of a good marriage.
We travel on a whirlwind of memories from pre Independence Dhaka to Burma, Kolkata, and to every nook and corner of India. Enlivened with wit, insight and anecdotes, this journey also offers us an inside view of bureaucracy as we follow the ups and downs of the author’s career in the Ministry of Drinking Water, Government of India… and beyond.
Ultimately, like the author, we ask ourselves: Do we choose our path in life or does the path choose us?”
About the Author
Kamal Mazumdar was born in Kyaukme, Burma and holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental Engineering from Jadavpur University, Calcutta, besides his training in Project Formulation and Appraisal from Bradford (UK). He earned his doctorate at Gandhigram Rural Institute, Tamil Nadu. He has diverse experience in Drinking Water Supply project formulation, implementation and on policy related issues. He has served under Government of West Bengal and has also served in the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and Urban Development (CPHEEO) under Government of India.
He has represented the Ministry in Water Sector on various National and International forum including visit to USA, Netherlands, Philippines and South Africa on technical exchange programme. He has number of articles and book publications (technical) to his credit. At present he is retired and lives with his wife, Sankari in Calcutta and their daughter Sraboni has settled in Lucknow and Ajita is settled in Canada.
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