Kuzuzangpo sirs

Few questions that were asked to me in an interview held recently. They have asked me many questions but can’t remember all. I have left out the expressions and who asked what, or the situation that I went through on certain questions.

1.      You are an engineer and why do you want to be a manager? Engineers make good money in corporate or private sector and even in government organizations.

No person becomes a millionaire with the salary. As much as I have the choice to be in civil service or in private sector I have the choice to remain happy. Private sector means only one thing – minting money and that attributes to being selfish whereas being in civil service is being selfless. We all know selfishness brings unhappiness and I am not ready to join the rat race and slog in life. And by the way who guarantees anyone in private sector becoming rich and if it is so is there any rich person who is content with his wealth? I want to be happy serving people than serving myself. Working in civil service has wider impact than being individualistic.

2.      Why do you think you are the perfect person in this job?

I will be very honest here that I don’t think I can be perfect because I have not met and worked with any of my other competitors. But I am an engineer and if there is something that I am not capable of then don’t let me operate a human being or an animal. I can’t replace the work of doctors but there is a living proof of engineers becoming better managers throughout the world.

3.      If you are selected, how will you work as the manager?

First thing first, if I am selected and become a manager, it will never be a one man show. We will work as the team always.

As a manager, I have to prioritize the works in close consultation with my colleagues. Those works which are important, I will do it personally and make it on time. Lesser important ones will be delegated as per the skills of the colleagues and not randomly. Again it will not be ‘you do it yourself’ strategy. With the delegation, there will be learning process both ways. Finally we will work horizontally without hierarchy in place. As a team we shall be bonded with cohesive working relationships.

4.      There is difficulty in retention of staff. How would you curb this problem if you get through this post?

If people want to leave for better perks like in international organizations, the credit should go to our office because they find it a credible institute producing high calibre of professionals. We should be happy about it. In such cases, I will be the happiest person to let them leave. But if they want to leave because they are disgruntled, it is my duty to find out the reasons. I will talk to them over the cup of tea, during lunch time and mostly over the drink either in their houses or mine. There will be some hidden reasons in their talks and I have to grasp those, analyze them and come out with the solution like appreciating them, mentoring and encouraging them. Grass is never greener at other sides; it is greener where it is watered. Will try my best and I know these are not the readymade answers but so is the problem not very easy to deal with.

5.      We all know there are problems in Dzongkhags with the engineers complaining of having many works in hands and that they are unable to supervise well. How do you think you will tackle it? You don’t have to say on system, just the strategy.

I am a practicing engineer and have got enough experience to understand the loopholes in the regulations which I would have loved to say it but since I have to speak only the strategy, I am equally happy to say some here.

Do we skip the mails in our inboxes? I would say never. We always read our emails, sometimes even the spam. But we may skip reading the letters or papers cluttered on the tables. Most of them get lost though.

It was my hope that before the start of 10th FYP engineers would be sent to geogs like any other officers of GAO, HA, RNR extension officers, teachers etc. But nothing happened like that. When many sites are in geogs what point is there in stationing them at Dzongkhag HQ. People rarely visit from site A to B to C and return to Dzongkhag HQ. It will be rather Dzongkhag HQ to site A and back and Dzongkhag HQ to site B, why? we all know the reasons, a virus that eats the exchequer. Therefore, station them in geogs and connect them with internet. I believe internet facilities are there in most of the geogs. Let them report the status or anything to Dzongkhag through emails, seek technical advises through internet and share information through internet, the boss at the other end will never skip to read those mails, as I said, do we really ignore mails in our inboxes? Only on the urgent cases, let them come physically on the need basis. I think it will have immense benefit to building good quality infrastructure and my hope it will happen in 11th FYP. There will be challenges and reluctance from the engineers but that goes with anything new. Nation’s priority must come first than the individuals.

6.      Do you think there is GNH in Bhutan?

It is ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Personally I feel it is NO. I feel the link is missed in socio-economic development and having to be happy. Before the farm road, people are unhappy for not having roads. After the farm road, they are still not happy for lack of transport facilities or for high fares of taxis. I am not saying development is not necessary. I just don’t see the link right now. For me to say YES, I want everyone to be content without complaints or discomfort in their lives. May be I am asking for a heaven but GNH does sound one so. All the better if it happens one day.

7.      What was happening in India yesterday?

I don’t remember anything catchy but I definitely remember something that happened few days back. Three ministers were caught watching pornography in the Assembly hall in Karnataka.

8.      This is the last question. There are three switches in ground floor and three bulbs in top floor. You can’t see the bulbs but you get only one chance to go up. How will you find out which switch is for which bulb?

(Thought a lot and asked questions a lot too)

Hmmm, here it is:

Put on the first switch and wait for some time. Put it off. Put on the second switch and go up. The one which is glowing is obviously for the second switch. Feel the other two (non glowing bulbs). The one which is warm or hot is for the first switch and the colder one is the third.

Panel: Thank you; we had a very entertaining interview.

I: Thank you.

24 hours later, the result was declared and here it is: NOT SELECTED

Bark baby bark

Jadha, what’s wrong with you? And Jadha what’s wrong with me? Two negatives make positive and two Jadhas thus solve the problem between us. If there had been no neighbours’ cars I swear I would have broken your head. I just did that a few years back, in fact, I killed it, and I am never sorry if it was your distant kin for I swear you can’t be. Dogs at Kanglung cannot have relatives in Thimphu. Will they?

Back in Kanglung, I had bought a compound bow after one prominent civil servant nagged me to become a gentleman. He thought a man without a bow set is not a man. I bought it and on the very first week he enrolled me into his team. The novice player could not find the wooden target and my arrows landed elsewhere, either broken or lost in the bush. When the day ended, I was tired and when I calculated the broken or lost arrows I learned I had lost the price of two quintals of rice to feed me all through the year. I lost the spirit and feeling dead tired I went to sleep like a log. The log stirred disturbed when dogs started to howl around my house unceremoniously of my first lost game. When the howling did not stop, I had no choice but to pick up the bow, fix the broken arrow to the string and released it. I wonder whether other dogs learned the lesson and shut their mouths because I wasn't there. Searching for the empty jute bag, dragging the dead dog and carrying it to dump took hell lot of a time.

                               

And now, at least I am kind enough to address as ‘you’ although you disturbed my very good night sleep. At first, I grumbled under the blanket and proclaimed this inherent word. Later thinking of you as just an innocent animal, I confessed my stupidity and proclaimed the same word to myself. Then I was not so angry to pull the string of the same bow. I had spent enough on butter lamps for forgiveness at various monasteries. And even throwing a stone at you could empty my thin wallet from negotiating with the automobile workshops repairing the neighbours’ cars. Maybe, I thought, you had the reason to bark and I could not help comparing you to Mr. Humjaiga although the reason of seeing evils was not ruled out.

Mr. Hamjaigo for his wrong doing was punished by letting him spend the night on the roof on a chilly night naked. His master, concerned about Mr. Hamjaiga and even thinking he could be dead from frost climbed the roof early morning assuming to see the corpse. But the naked man was seen sweating profusely and on the reply to his master on what he did to save from the cold only said he carried and arranged all the stone boulders covering every area of the roof. And I thought, you had the similar reason to keep yourself warm by barking all through the night while human beings like me had the choice of sleeping peacefully under the thick imported blankets. And therefore, I uttered Jadha to myself and allowed you to do your warming up exercise without any further complaints. Also, I am thankful to you for keeping my wallet intact though I sure know this old bone could have missed your head in that pitchy dark.

Now bark peacefully and I shall only wish you the best. If you have any complaints from other people, tell your friends to flock around my house. I will do my duty to go to the town and buy the ear-plugs.