From Squalor to Splendour: Reviving Puducherry

An inspiring tale of a feisty woman's fight to clean up a decaying city. Shivi Verma interviews Kiran Bedi, the formidable former IPS officer, who leaves an indelible impression wherever she goes

- Shivi Verma

A few days ago, my chairman shared with me a video clip where Mrs Kiran Bedi, former lieutenant governor (LG) of Puducherry, Magsaysay awardee, and India's first and most famous woman IPS officer, could be seen waving from the balcony of an imposing-looking building to two sanitation workers standing on the streets. It was a throwback video from 2021 when Kiran was the LG of Puducherry. As a mark of their love and fondness for her, the two ladies had come to say farewell to Kiran when she was leaving Puducherry.

Chairman Aditya Ahluwalia wanted me to speak to Kiranji and discover the background story of that video. I spoke to her on the phone, and she said that it was a highly positive and inspiring story of an administrator's drive to clean up a dirty city and how she overcame the hurdles to achieve her goal. She asked me if I would like to meet her at her office to know the full story.

Meeting someone like Kiranji is a privilege, so I agreed to see her at her office in New Delhi. I was impressed by the power, conviction, and determination she exuded. She came across as someone whose heart is full of compassion and who is driven by the zeal to engender positive change in society. She was warm, affectionate, and highly energetic. Someone who doesn't know how to give up and has nurtured the habit of winning against the odds. I asked her to shed some light on her relationship with the sanitation workers in the video and the story behind it.