Tomorrow, Sarada Muraleedharan will take over as Chief Secretary of Kerala from her husband, Dr V Venu. This is the first time in Kerala's history that a wife follows her husband to the peak of the state's bureaucracy.

The outgoing CS is not interested in any official responsibility after retirement as he feels it would lower the dignity of the Chief Secretary's office. But the wife, his successor, has worked out a special post for him. "I want him to be my advisor in chief," Sarada said, half in jest. "The problem is, I won't get a salary. I can't even demand one," Venu quipped. Both were taking part in Manorama News Conclave 2024, themed 'Changemakers', held at O by Tamara in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Their session was titled "The Change We Dream".

However, it looks like the outgoing CS is not the ideal advisor in chief. "When we talk ideas we are on the same page. But when we discuss issues, we are polar opposites; we fight like enemies," Sarada said. Perhaps why Venu said that the most important post-retirement thing for him to do, as much as possible, was not to create trouble for Sarada. "Our perspectives differ," he said.

Venu, of course, did offer the new CS some counsel, but that sounded more like warnings any husband would offer his wife. "You talk too much. Don't do it. And don't be too emotional, is what he tells me," Sarada said.

But how does Sarada rate Venu as a CS. "He takes quick decisions and brings everyone together," Sarada said. In fact, the question that the anchor asked was: "How was Venu as a boss?" Sarada was quick to set the record straight. "He had never been my boss. I worked as additional CS alongside him," Sarada said.

However, Venu was sure of one thing. "Sarada is definitely more efficient than me," he said. And on the eve of retirement, he sounded protective of his wife, and also a bit outspoken. Venu hinted that politicians were impeding Sarada's work. "Since I am about to retire, I have more freedom," Venu said.

"For the past two years, she has been taking up waste management in Kerala as a personal mission. I know the struggle she is going through. But the political leadership is viewing the issue in a very narrow sense. 'Not in our backyards' is their motto," Venu said, referring to a politician's refusal to entertain waste management solutions that could potentially cause some disturbance at the local level. "If we are lagging behind in waste management, the political leadership will have to take the blame," he said.

Nonetheless, both are willing to give politicians their due. "We can put forward our suggestions but it is the political leadership that decides on the initiatives to be taken with the larger canvas in mind," Venu said.

Sarada seemed more convinced of the importance of the political leadership. "Some of our deeply felt recommendations would be rejected, and we will be forced to implement alternative programmes," she said. "But when we make a proposal it will be made within the confines of our reality. On the other hand, politicians see a reality that is beyond what we see. We have to accept it," the new CS said.

They also agreed on one more thing. In Kerala, IAS officers, even if they want to, cannot get intoxicated with power. "It is even wrong to say that we have wielded power. At the most, we can say we have been in close proximity to power. Here in Kerala, we cannot behave like we are the purveyor of all power," Venu said.

Sarada said she began her bureaucratic career in Madhya Pradesh. "There, civil servants commanded immense power. If they get angry, they can for instance pick up the phone and throw it out of the window, and this would then be seen, even admired, as a sign of omnipotence. Just imagine such a thing being done by an officer in Kerala," Sarada said. "In Kerala, people live with a certain sense of self worth and dignity. We officers in Kerala know how to function in such a society."

Still such conscientious and successful officers do suffer a sense of defeat, too. "We did not want to make our children a doctor or engineer. But I thought IAS would be nice," Sarada said with a schoolgirl-like grimace that suggested that she was embarrassed to even admit this. "Venu was interested in our daughter getting into the IAS. She had the right environment and the temper for it. But she did not fall for it," Sarada said.
Their daughter is now a dancer and son, a cartoonist.