India, July 27 -- Civil servants are often posted in what are euphemistically referred to as 'public dealing' posts. But the situation in these 'seats' often actually resembles a 'public tormented' post or at least of a 'public hassled' post. While we are all cognisant of the pain and anguish that a common person often faces during his encounters with the "sarkar" and his visits to public dealing offices, very few watchers realise the levels of bombardment which the man on the hot seat has to undergo at times. Anyone can pop in, any time, you see: from a retired government official to a long lost classmate, from an ex-girlfriend to a very distant relative (twice removed) they all seem to have the licence to show up anytime, without preamble. Thus, our civil servant on the hot or cool seat, will have to be mentally prepared for anything, anyone and everyone. And all his visitors will usually show up at the most inconvenient of times, either when he's preparing for a top-level meeting with the fearsome chief secretary, or when he needs to spend twenty minutes discussing a delicate matter with an elusive colleague, who has finally dropped in for a cup of black coffee. The universal option of saying 'no' or "wait' is of course available to such an incumbent. But these universalities are subject to local 'office' and 'social' conditions! Such an officer's day seldom goes according to plan, and things quite often go utterly haywire. My own posting as deputy commissioner of Panchkula was a case in point. And although the DC is a senior enough official to not be expected to meet all and sundry, he has more than enough on his plate at all times. All sorts of people want to meet or speak to the DC. The local MLA, the MLA of a distant district, senior IAS officers, serving and retired, self-proclaimed political leaders who dot the district, chairpersons of this and that, media persons of all hues, shapes, sizes and egos, delegations of all kinds, welfare clubs, NGOs, school principals, visiting study groups, event managers, wannabe civil servants and above all, the ubiquitous sifarishi types: everyone makes a beeline for the DC office, whenever they feel like. These worthies are apart from the genuinely aggrieved common persons who queue up with applications and issues which need serious intervention. Thus, a DC, and still more so, a sub divisional magistrate, would probably meet, greet and shake hands with hundreds of individuals during his tenure. Some districts like Gurugram or Ludhiana might be even more exacting in that sense, but Panchkula had its fair share of challenges, I can assure you. Years ago, though, the situation was even more crazy at Ambala, where a junior of mine happened to be the local SDM. Having grown up in the same area and having always been called 'Babbu' lovingly by his friends and largish family, the poor fellow couldn't say 'no' to anyone for anything. His numerous childhood friends would walk in without warning, and even call him 'Babbu' loudly in front of unknowing onlookers. Babbu, the 'babu' would blush but there wasn't much that he could do about it. I myself was once embarrassed to find a motherly senior doctor in my office at Kalka, where I was posted years ago. The fact that I was newly married had not reached her ears, for she actually offered the hand of her daughter in marriage to me there and then, in my office. And she would not take 'no' for an answer at all! All others present, for the room was always full, somehow knew about my newly toggled marital status and the whole group started shielding me from the demanding, prospective mother-in-law. The fact that they managed to convince her eventually, was such a relief for me, for she firmly believed that I had been making up excuses, to avoid marrying her daughter! The whole town, except her, seemed to know everything about their darling young SDM. My wife, Neena, and I have a hearty laugh about the incident, even today. Civil servants may have to face some harrowing times during their careers, but they have a lot of stories to tell, forever after!...