Riding a motorbike through Kochi city turns you into an acrobat of sorts, you have to at least think like one, says Reshma Lakhani looking at her ally, a Royal Enfield.
She wanted to learn horse riding for quite some time, but life had other plans. It gave her a bike instead and she mastered the art of riding it within a week.
It’s when you swim against the currents that you grow stronger, believes Reshma. She enjoys challenges and tackling crisis situations. This stems from the realisation that life was never a bed of roses. The Central Excise Commissioner of Kochi, Reshma Lakhani’s life has all the thrill and adventures of an off-road biking trip.
Reshma always had a penchant for uniforms. Just as she wished, she aced the Civil Services Exams and got selection for IPS. Her mother was against her entering the Police services, especially after a young trainee IPS officer Vandana Malik was killed by the insurgents in Manipur.
From there, she got into the Indian Revenue Services in the 1989 batch. The start of her career was as the Deputy Commissioner at the Mumbai Customs House. A service history, which spanned 25 years, took her to almost every other state in the country. As the frontrunner of the Kochi Commissionerate; that turns in around Rs7,000 crores tax money annually to the Central Government, her schedules are packed. In spite of this Reshma completed her degree in Law, got a certificate from Geneva on Copyright Laws, the Chevening Scholarship in Britain and a fellowship from the American State Department.
After learning driving on a Scooty, she progressed to an Royal Enfield in 3 days. Her colleagues and athletes, SI Madhu and Bijeesh Ben were a tad surprised seeing her on the bike. But the 500cc Enfield responds like a tame wild cat in Reshma’s able hands. When she gets transferred from Kochi, she hopes to bike all the way to Maharashtra via Goa.
There was a time when Reshma used to get down into the crowded Byculla station in Mumbai at night with a smile on her face. A smile that came from the surety that her mother Sareena, would be waiting for her right outside, wielding a torch, a habit she followed for many years.
My father passed away when my mother was carrying me. She was left alone at a very young age. My mother supported me in the same way that my grandmother took care of her. My grandmother had eight children of which four were girls. Though she belonged to a Muslim community, she made sure that her daughters were educated well enough. When her sons made a living, selling ice cream or washing cars, her daughters went all the way to college. My mother was able to secure a job as an operator with the Telecom Department. If she hadn’t educated my mother, I can’t imagine what would have become of me or my elder brother.
Reshma graduated in Psychology from Mumbai University with a gold medal. When she burned the midnight oil to study at their small two-bedroom home on Dongre Street, securing a job was the only aim. The job security in the banking-insurance fields made her join the coaching classes as soon as she passed out. This finally paid off as a clerk position in the State Bank. While working, she attended evening classes and completed her Post Graduation in Hindu Philosophy.
Her uncle Akbar Premji who taught her to set her sights high and without limits, encouraged her to attempt Civil Services. Back then Civil Service was not a big craze among the Mumbaikars unlike the Delhiites, and coaching places were few too. That was when her mother came across the contact details of a State Government Civil Services Institute on Doordarshan. Of the 60 seats at the Institute, 30 seats were for the reservation quota. There was an entrance test for the rest of the seats and she cleared the exam. There was no looking back after that for Reshma Lakhani.
That was the time when the hit serial Udaan was being telecast on Doordarshan. A serial based on the life of India’s second woman IPS Officer Kanchana Choudhary. Kiran Bedi was the first Lady IPS officer. Written, directed and enacted by Kanchana’s sister Kavita Choudhary. The lead character ‘Kalyani’ used to be an inspiration for many women during the 80s.
The day before her Civil Services Interview after she cleared her mains, there was a wedding in a house on their street. Loud music kept blaring all through the night. Her brother went over and told the family that his little sister was preparing for her civil services and could they please reduce the volume. They agreed to it too!
As part of her interview preparations, Reshma met an IAS officer Iqbal Rupani. He said since she was a Muslim girl, they might ask her about the Shah Bano Begum Case. She went home and read up on the controversial maintenance lawsuit. When she came in front of the interview board, they asked her the same question surprisingly. She couldn’t sleep the day the results were out, and just held onto her mother.
She never felt any disappointment when her mother asked her to let go of her IPS dreams. True success comes to only those that strive for it and put in earnest efforts. Put your best into whatever job is at hand and you will see the results automatically, says Reshma.
The only sorrow that she has is when she thinks of the officer that got the Maharashtra Cadre, when she opted out of IPS. It was Ashok Kamte, who got the cadre in 1989. He was the Additional Commissioner of the Mumbai Force during the Mumbai terrorist attacks and he was killed in the encounter. His wife’s tear stricken face refuse to leave Reshma’s head. If perhaps she had chosen to get into IPS, he would not have got that cadre.
What funny games fate plays with us and what more does it have in store for us, wonders Reshma.