BANGALORE:

After seeing him being stuck to `files' and `phones' for years now, his family is rather happy he'll soon be out of it. The last few years they've hardly got a chance to be together, except in that large family portrait that dominates the living room in their BTM Layout residence.

His children have chosen vocations different from his. His eldest son Arul Dasan's a radiologist, younger son Arul Oli an MBA and lives in Chennai while daughter Arul Kani has opted for social science. The family doesn't believe in flaunting their titles -- the nameplate at their house simply has their names, no `IAS' or `Dr' on it.

"Patient, hard working and helpful. He's a perfect father and husband except the IAS part of him. Just two days after we got married, he got the news that he was selected for the IAS. Little did I realize he'll get so involved with his career that we'll have to wait for his retirement,'' says his wife Poorana laughing.

Interestingly, the duo is as different as `Neeya Naana' (`You or Me', a popular Tamil TV show) but till date it's also their biggest bonding force, innumerable arguments over the years notwithstanding. He's from Madurai and she from Tirunelveli. Any corner of their house will do for her while for him it is nothing other than the office space. She watches TV, he gives her company nodding off next to her! And when she talks, he is just `silent'. The two first met and married in 1977 at Chennai.

Born in Thamirapatti, a small village in Madurai, to a poor family with four siblings, becoming an IAS officer was never part of Thangaraj's thoughts when growing up. "We lost our father when I was in Class 10. I grew up seeing my mother work hard to ensure we grew up well. So, my first priority was to get a job and earn,'' he says. After MSc in Chemistry, he got his first job as a chemistry lecturer in Gandhigram Rural University near Dindugal. Ten months later, in 1976, he got into Canara Bank.

Thangaraj first thought of applying for the civil services exam when he was posted at Faridabad and met a few friends preparing for it. "I just gave it a serious try and got in,'' he explains.

Unlike now, when IAS officers are paid quite a good salary, he started off on a rather small pay. While his bank job paid him Rs 1,600 plus a free furnished house, his first posting as an IAS officer saw him take home Rs 700 monthly, without accommodation.

Joining the Karnataka cadre meant he had to learn Kannada. It's quite interesting how the Thangarajs first learnt the language when he was posted to Bijapur. "It was probably the only time Poorana and I sat together learning in one class. Every day, in the evenings, we had a retired headmaster come over to teach us Kannada. Soon we became part of the state we settled in,'' he says.
BANGALORE: "Oh, Collector!'' Those were the first words he heard when news filtered to his home in a

small village near Madurai that he had cleared the civil service exams in 1976 and thus become a member of the prestigious Indian Administrative Service.

Thangaraj, who today is in charge of the state's urban development, is all set to retire early next year. Typically, he has plans in place, not just for his remaining few months in service but also post retirement.

In a career over three decades, he's held nearly 15-17 posts with at least 10 of them in the state secretariat. He's fondly remembered for a few of them, especially for being the first man in the state to be appointed as the secretary of women & child welfare department!
He has obviously enjoyed his career. Ask him what's been the best job so far and he says, "Nothing in particular. Every post has been a good learning experience. But, there have been a few special moments associated with my post as the DC in Shimoga (1985) and in Kolar (1986-88). However, my latest posting as principal secretary, urban development department, is perhaps the most challenging role so far."

The family's daily routine revolves around the `early to rise and early to bed' adage. Waking up by 7 am, Thangaraj makes sure he doesn't miss his morning session of badminton for "regular fitness", as he puts it. Off to work by 9.30 am, he's back home around 7.30 pm. Then, it's a compulsory `early' dinner with family before he calls it a day.

Once he retires, in addition to doing social work, he intends to spend more time with the family and "also take time off to develop more hobbies".