IAS babus who karaoke: Bureaucrats seek relief in Rafi, Mukesh

If your mental image of civil servants is one of dreary offices, bureacratic paperwork and dull schedules, think again. There are IAS officers who organise karaoke evenings together to croon old Bollywood numbers and forget the stress of their working days.

According to a report in the Times of India, they are all amateur singers but make up for what they lack in professional training with enthusiasm.

Rajasthan-born Dr Vishwas Mehta, joint secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, told the Times of India that he swears by singer Mukesh’s music. Despite his classmates making fun of his choices (saying, “Kya dukhdard wale gaane gata hai”) Mehta has stuck by his favourite.

Naveen Prakash, chief vigilance officer, Steel Authority of India Limited, goes for Mohammam Rafi and Talat Mahmood. “Talat had a very different voice. It’s not possible to imitate the kampan that his voice had. It’s a challenge to attempt his tracks, and I love being challenged,” says Prakash.

“Our profession is very stressful. There is hardly any time for any artistic pursuits. But now we take out time for music, that not only takes us away from stress and beyond the mundane, it brings us closer to spirituality,” says amateur singer Puneet Kumar, secretary general, Apparel Export Promotion Council under Ministry of Textiles to the newspaper.

Read the full report here.