I learnt that I must excel in whatever I do. I remember a conversation with a friend who had gone back to teach in the village school he had studied in. He was comparing his path and mine. I remember telling him: if as a teacher, you receive the President’s Award and I failed as a civil servant, whose life will be more fulfilled and successful? So it is about achieving excellence in whatever I do.
So whenever I get to talk to the younger generation for instance, I insist on EECC: Excellence, Ethics (because excellence without Ethics is not worth it), Commitment and Clarity.
It has been my effort throughout life, in whatever assignment I took, to do my job, or discharge my responsibility in as excellent a manner as possible.

And politics, is that something you always had in mind or did it come by chance?
I was very far from politics. So it was a deliberate decision, based on the desire to be useful. I basically realized after almost two and a half decades in the civil service that I would be doing more of the same in the next twelve years left of my career and then retire into anonymity. If I wanted to make a bigger contribution and be more useful to society, then perhaps I could run an NGO and do some good work. Then I met a politician for whom I had great regard. He convinced me that politics in a democracy provides a greater opportunity to have an impact, to strive for change. In an NGO, I could change at best a village, or ten villages whereas in politics I might do much more. That was a convincing argument and that is when I decided to join politics.

... contd.