Corridors of Social Media: Bureaucrats toss power ideas, and get witty, seriously

Nirupama Rao with an Indian delegation

WHY are gardens not flourishing in Indian cities? In this age of social media, you do spot fascinating conversations among senior bureaucrats on a subject like this. Gone are the days when government officers reserved their comments only for file-notings, hesitating to air their personal opinions on subjects that might fall into the domains of other departments. Here is a Twitter conversation between Amitabh Kant, the IAS officer behind Incredible India and his senior colleague Nirupama Rao, a career diplomat and India’s ambassador to US:
Kant: Why r gardens not flourishing in Indian cities. #Bangalore has declined as a Garden city. #Singapore’s Botanic gardens attract 4.2m visitors.
Rao: But the Lalbagh in #Bangalore is still beautiful - took tour called Bangalore Walks: really nice. End up with breakfast at MTR.
Kant: agree. Lalbagh still remains exotic. Rest of Bangalore is facing urban chaos with severe traffic jams.
Rao: Doubtless. The asphalt jungle is like a creeping, advancing, swallowing Godzilla.

For those who are miles always from Facebook and Twitter, here is an explanation. These conversations take place in open platforms with thousands of followers reading those.

What's more, the social media is fast transforming the bureaucrats’ image as a boring breed of people to a humorous lot. Alex Paul Menon, a 2006 batch IAS, retweeted the following on the Budget Day. 
#Budget2013 The Budget is the noble democratic process through which money is transferred from those who work to those who vote.
Here is a disclaimer. Retweeting does not necessarily mean endorsement.

Also, bureaucrats give catchy introductions in their Twitter handles. This is how Indian Revenue Service officer Saikrishna BVS describes himself:
IRS Officer, PhD Student, IITian, Bird Watcher and Sky Gazer. Loves travelling in India. Follows Money Laundering, Cross Border Flows and Tax Havens.

Finally, how a young IAS officer of 2011 batch Ajay Prakash airs his nationalistic feelings through a social media platform.
Witnessing the Republic Day Parade on Rajpath fills one with pride on seeing our mind-boggling cultural diversity and awesome military prowess