Thaindian News

New Delhi, Sep 22 (IANS) It’s seldom the chief election commissioner of India gets discussing literature and music, but at the book launch of civil servant Vivek Atray’s “Move on Bunny”, S.Y. Quraishi did exactly that.

In front of a small gathering at the India International Centre here Wednesday evening, Quraishi reminisced about his guitar days, his association with music bands, The Beatles’ initial failure to impress recording companies and the immense need to write.

“The busier I get, the more I need to write, listen to music. It’s such an important distraction,” he said.

Narrating an incident from his younger days, he said he was performing with a band at the Golf Club when it turned out that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) chairman was in the audience.

Quraishi said: “I had given my written and my interview was next week and here I was performing in front of the chairman..!”

“But is an IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer supposed to be dull and boring? Don’t we have a personal life?”

Quraishi kept the audience in good humour, keeping the theme of Atray’s book in mind.

Published by Prakash Books, the book is about Bunny Kapoor, the protagonist, and his “uproarious escapades” that land him in sticky situations and his “happy knack of wriggling out of each one”.

“The book is made of my interactions with the common man, small anecdotes, incidents that bring a smile on your face,” said Atrey, a Haryana-cadre officer.