Nothing stopped journey of an ITO
In conversation with Rajib Kumar Hota who talks to DC about his life journey and how he enjoyed being an income tax officer.
“My inspiration for civil service came from my father who was a first generation bureaucrat and was in the Indian railway traffic service before retiring as a general manager. We were taught that government service should be the best way you can serve the people and express yourself. In that honesty and integrity is important”, explains, Shri Rajib Kumar Hota, Indian Revenue Service 1985 batch, former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax and now a consultant.
Rajib Kumar is originally from Odisha and in 1966 he says his father and mother did a play where he also acted as a child artiste and that's how he got interested in serials and advertisements. Even during his college days, he acted in drama and radio play-acting. In college he part of a drama group called “Ruchika”.
“There is nothing that can stop me from doing anything so I do whatever interests me. For instance, at the age of 60, I started to learn golf which interested me”, says Rajib.”It's not just golf I also love doing new things in life, I'm a good cook too” he says with a relish.
Chennai seems like a cool place, the values are very rich, even the civic amenities, educated people, tradition and religion are perfect and he feels that it is ideal for his temperament. “The first thing that comes to mind when I hear Chennai is modesty and a well-cultured metro. There are a lot of law-abiding people, respect for intellect and knowledge. Though I didn't know the language, it never proved to be a basic hindrance even in doing my job”, he says.
Rajib came to Chennai in 2005. He also loves to associate with slum area children and does a lot of interaction with students. He says there is a basic level of modesty and depth which is missing in most of the cities.
“Students who seek for civil service exam have to be focused on what they want there is also a saying 'If you want to be you be but if somebody else wants you to be you cannot be'. Regular studies must be there and one should have all-round interest and zeal in life. Today the whole UPSC exam is based on pithy and how well a person can express himself in a short period. Students should have a clarity of fundamentals”, concludes Rajib.