THE Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, hosted the Reunion/Retreat of members of the 1965 batch on May 25 and 26, 2015. Apart from members of the Indian Administrative Service, this year members of all civil services who had participated in the Foundation course at the Academy in 1965 were also invited. A record number of over 90 retired officers participated in the event. Two members, belonging to the IRS, who are now based in the US travelled all the way from there to be part of the event.
The coordinator of the batch was Dr Yogendra Narain, former Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha. The event started with a welcome meeting on May 25, addressed by the Director of the Academy, Rajeev Kapoor, and Dr Narain. A commemorative book compiled and presented by Ravindra S Mathur, former Chief Secretary, UP, was also released on the occasion by the Director of the Academy. The content was made up of articles by members of the batch, which were mostly anecdotal and experience-sharing, with some dealing with issues of governance. It also contained an overview of the collective journey of the batch, touching upon individual achievements, written by Mathur.
The Retreat, apart from giving an opportunity to members to meet one another–some of whom were meeting after 30 years–also had group discussions on various aspects of governance, where members shared their experiences and also provided recommendations on the subjects given to their respective groups/committees. As part of the event, the Academy also organised group interaction of the members of the batch with probationers of the IAS of the 2014 batch undergoing training at the time.
The event had a formal dinner hosted by the Director, preceded by a cultural programme on the 25th evening. The Reunion ended with a closing ceremony held in the main auditorium of the Academy on May 26. It was an exceedingly well-organised event for which the Director of the Academy and his entire team deserved full credit and appreciation.
Contributed by Ravindra Mathur
