Rain in the Capital

I was in love with rain since childhood. Befitting then that I ended up in a city where it rains more on average than any other major city in Pakistan. But here we have a different way of dealing with rain than in my native Lahore. We do not celebrate, like they do, but merely acknowledge, with a nod of our heads, a look out of the window, and carry on regardless. Most of the residents in this city are pursuing very important tasks which have implications on a national level, so we just give the rain a look and go on with our routines. It is a rarified atmosphere that we live in here, far removed from common people and their problems, and not a very good sense of the ground realities prevail here as far as the bureaucracy is concerned. The pace is slower, not a great sense of urgency apart from some offices. There is a far greater opportunity of making a difference, if one wants to. But we lack freshness, new perspectives, out of the box thinking. Islamabad needs waking up. It needs to become more frantic, more desparate to find the twentififth hour during the day to get things done. I wish we could do that. But why would the best officers come here to work, who want to or could make a difference. Living and working is difficult for younger officers here. The Pak Secrtariat is falling to pieces while CDA looks the other way. Authority is diffuse among ministries and the buck doesnt seem to stop anywhere. Each day humans wake up and set out to create order out of the perpetual chaos that surrounds them, we are supposed to start afresh each day to keep chaos from taking over. Yet it is difficult to discern order from chaos here. It is quiet, beautiful, peaceful. Still. Yet chaos prevail. In an ivory tower, the pulse of the people is hard to hear. One is surrounded by courtiers, who say little and only what their agenda allows. But common people expect us to better their lives. Can we be sure to deliver through our myopic thinking and set systems, and predictable schemes and strategies? The system of doing things needs to be changed. Im not sure if reform is a big priority of the federal government. It is direly needed if we are to move forward. We could start by making life easy for the staff and downsizing. Ministries restructuring is great and welcome. Downsizing would be a bigger, more difficult task. But how and why we do things should also make sense and be more transparent. Right now it doesnt. Some people think Im too outspoken for a government servant. But what is new in what I say? We all know about these issues but choose to look the other way. I think i need to clarify...These are my views, not necessarily my own personal experiences. Hope to provoke thoughts only.