“The Pessimist Sees Difficulty In Every Opportunity. The Optimist Sees Opportunity In Every Difficulty.”

Versatility is an extra string to a player’s bow. With some players it comes with a wider bandwidth of creativity that expands the mind, stretches it beyond ordinary human comprehension, resulting in the mind being elastic and capable of transcending and discerning complex ideas. Ms Leena Mehendale, retired IAS officer of the 1974 batch is a commensurate example. Having spent 36 years in Civil Services, serving almost 19 postings, there are few disciplines she hasn’t handled with the dexterity that her profession demanded.

Scouring through her achievements is almost akin to collecting drops from an ocean. Planning, Implementations, Execution, Law & Order, Coordination & Monitoring, Revenue Administration, Industrial Development, Training and HR and as  Judicial Officer under several acts – each office handled with equanimity – were her forte. But wait, she straddled all these with a host of other faculties that invokes nothing but unadulterated awe.

Ms Leena elucidates about her career in a raconteuring style that made her immensely popular with her professional ilk. Post-retirement, she carries the same élan to the occupation she pursues and sets an example for others. In her own words, all efforts are directed towards good education (systems), unity through diversity, sustainable development with environment protection, writing, energy conservation, Ayurveda, popular science, women’s issues and Bhagwad Gita.

Having completed Master’s in Physics from the Patna University and Master’s in Project Planning from the Bradford University, UK, Master’s in Business Administration and well versed with statutes, Ms Leena relates her journey from a time when opting for Civil Services wasn’t a general trend. She recalls: “Unlike the situation today when most IAS aspirants have Humanities and Public Administration as their subjects, in those days if you did M.Sc in Physics, you went for IAS. Almost 50% of my classmates appeared for the UPSC then. My subjects were Physics, Law (Contract) and European History because Chemistry was not my cup of tea. Even the question paper pattern was different. My father was a research guide and a Sanskrit-Philosophy scholar apart from being a reputed astrologer. We came from Bihar’s Darbhanga and I remember my father would be a local guardian to people who had come on transfer – mostly officers — who came from south India and Marathi-speaking areas.”

Being an intelligent student, her father had told her that if she secured a first division, she should go for the IAS. “Looking back on my career, I can vouch that I enjoyed it with no regrets. I got to handle departments that were as diverse as chalk and cheese but I enjoyed each. However, if the Civil Services were not to materialize, I had zeroed in on Research. Even after retirement at 60, I was occasioned to serve a couple of postings.”

Ms Leena recalls her stint as the Collector of Sangli from 1984-1988 as satisfying being able to almost eliminate the social evil of Devdasi system. “Sangli, Kolhapur and the adjoining areas of the bordering Karnataka’s Jath and Soundatti were rife with this system where women would remain unmarried but had physical relationships and bore children. Their daughters carried this legacy forward. The annual fair at Jath would be the epicenter of the activity. I decided to demolish this system with economic and social rehabilitation of these women. Subsequently, I was posted with the Western Maharashtra Development Corporation. Thankfully, that allowed me to visit Sangli and continue to rehab work. The efforts paid dividends as women almost stopped sending girls. 170 girls were given vocational training in those years. Girls elsewhere entangled in the system also took cue. Mind you, the Devdasi system was not oppressive. The girls chose this of their own volition. In close by Gadhinglaj too we undertook rehab. These girls are now educated and married. It was particularly gratifying when they came and met me to express their thanks. A good fallout was successive collectors continued to keep up the good work.”

Ms Leena narrates how she approached the well-known Marathi actor Sudhir Moghe – who she did not know then — was approached to shoot an exclusive 30-minute documentary for Doordarshan along with ace cameraman Debu Deodhar on the Devdasi rehab. I picked up the nuances of editing, shooting and music seeing them work. Later as the Director of Natural Institute of Naturopathy (now under Ayush Mantralaya) for three years, it was Moghe who approached me to make jingles. It brought the institute on the centre-stage and I had a skeletal staff to support this endeavour. From such departments, she was posted to a completely different posting in Petroleum Ministry in 2002.” She did exemplary work in energy conservation promotion among the masses. The Radio and TV picked them up, with 185 episodes of Boond Boond Ki Baat on Vividh Bharti becoming so popular that it was translated in 7 languages and aired on 46 radio stations across the country. The audio version was turned into a video on Doordarshan. Khel Khel Mein Badlo Duniya was another that hit popularity charts with 140 episodes.

Ms Leena points out that there was no social media then. “A good feedback from the people and colleagues was the only way we would know about people’s response. Like when I undertook as mass media conservation of energy programme, I started from schools and colleges. To catch them young, the children’s magazines were useful mediums where one page was devoted to energy conservation. It was such a fulfilling experience to receive a sackful of letters of appreciation from all quarters.”

The propensity towards writing comes from her father. It saw her penning down 15 books (mostly stories for children) and over 300 published articles of various hues. Most of her writing, by her own admission, finds its roots in reality. She loves translations as is evident in the fact that she did so with 105 poems of renowned poet Kusumagraj. Being proficient in Hindi, Marathi, English, she can read, write and speak Bengali, can read or follow Sanskrit, Guajarati, Punjabi, Nepali, Maithili, Oriya, Assamese, Bhojpuri and Ahirani makes her an accomplished linguist.

The diversity of her talent also reflects in being a Faculty in Physics. She delivered a series of 13 lectures on AIR on Atomic Physics, wrote prize winning essays, status and research articles on issues relating to IRDP for women, crime against women, counseling women, Liberalization, new strategy in Education and many more. Writing has become a default temperament for her and it is remarkable for her eclectic substantive and diverse tastes. She admits she is drawn to Sanskrit and what she prefers to call as Bharatiya Granth Pranali (rather than Mythology). With a philosophical bent of mind that she inherits from her father, she is always happy, inquisitive, yearning to learn and never divorced from truth and reality. She has posted many videos on YouTube on Mahabharat. Reading, Classical Music, Ecology, popularizing Science, Indian system of Medicine and occasional trekking are her indulgences and pastimes.

To choose and sift from the stupendous work she has done – both in the office and out of it – is an enormous task, making it tricky to pin her down to any discipline or area. To be able to handle diverse ends of work and hobby spectrum – all with consummate ease –is no mean task but she makes it sound and look ridiculously simple with her affable air and jovial disposition. Majority of the retired personnel at her age are content leading a quiet life but Ms Leena’s quest for knowledge continues. Now settled in Pune, she continues to be as much active and devoted to her pursuits. Wisdom, as they say, is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.