New Delhi: Retired IAS officer Ram Varma of Haryana cadre has been a busy man. He has written a number of books covering topics ranging from religion to civil service life, with a bit of golf thrown in too.
Now, he is back with a new book called Hinduism: From Rig Veda to the Republic. And its launch at the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi drew dozens of retired civil servants, especially from Haryana.
The event began with a note from his daughter Vandana Sehgal. She recalled when everyone used to ask her if she is the daughter of Varma, because of his witty middles in the newspapers. Sehgal said that even though Varma published all his books after he retired from active service, he had been writing all along.
“And many a time, my late mother and us three sisters were fodder for his witty pieces. As a result, we have been asked more than once when we were growing up if we were Ram Varma’s daughters,” she added.
The latest one is Varma’s fifth book published by Rupa publications. Earlier he had written Ramayana: Before He was God, From Gillidanda To Golf and Life in the IAS: My Encounters with the Three Lals of Haryana.
Outside the hall, near the coffee shop, bureaucrats kept the chatter alive about Haryana’s politics, never quite leaving their work behind.
During the short book launch, which lasted about 40 minutes, a few nostalgic moments were shared by the author and the guest present on the stage, SK Mishra, principal secretary to former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar.
“It was SK Mishra who turned me into a writer,” said Varma, adding that Mishra’s encouragement to write press notes for journalists helped him hone his craft.
Then an interesting sidelight to the 1965 India-Pakistan war was revealed. It was when Varma’s writing and perception-building skills came in handy. The district public relations officer had just retired and the war had started. There was a need for the post to be filled in order to mobilise public opinion and raise funds.
“Without waiting for government orders or a successor and knowing how bureaucracy functions, I appointed him (Varma) straight away as the emperor,” said Mishra. Varma was still in training at the time.
Varma said that he was posted as Assistant Commissioner under training when Mishra was the Deputy Commissioner of Hisar. Mishra started holding public meetings every day at sub-divisional and tehsil headquarters.
“There were four or five accredited journalists in Hisar. I used to take them in a ram-shackled kind of a bus, which the department had, to the meeting site. After the meeting, I also made a press note,” he added. Mishra said that he was impressed by Varma’s enthusiasm and communication skills.
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Knowledge about Hinduism
Varma described his new book as a compilation of information he gathered from religious texts. “This book is to teach the history of Hinduism. I gathered information from Rigveda, Mahabharata, Upanishads etc. and compiled all of it. I jumbled up things here and there and the book is here,” said Varma with humility.
The book traces the spread of Indian culture in Southeast Asia, alongside the rise of Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism through figures like Guru Nanak, and the influence of saints such as Saint Kapila, Mirabai, Swami Yogananda Saraswati, and Osho.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)