Collector Bro by Prasanth Nair: Unwinding Kafka

When I was twelve or thirteen years old, I overheard my uncle talking to someone passionately about Amitabh. I was thinking of Bachchan, but then he revealed it was Amitabh Kant, then district collector of Kozhikode. A dashing young IAS officer, it was him who did the facelift of several landmarks in the city, including Mananchira. That was the first time I noted the name of a person associated with the term collector. 

Next time, it was while watching the blockbuster Malayalam movie The King, in which Mammootty played the hot-headed Collector of Kozhikode, who disbursed justice to the poor and lengthy monologues to the corrupt. I don't know if it's a coincidence that another collector who made his presence felt to me was also from Kozhikode. Prasanth Nair, an IAS officer known affectionately as the Collector Bro, became famous when he extensively used the power of social media to make positive changes in society. His unique initiatives, which depended more on the participation of the public than negotiating red tape, changed the outlook of authorities and citizens alike. 

The district collector, who is also the district magistrate, is a civil servant appointed as the executive head of the district administration. In pre-independent India, collectors had to perform revenue duties and maintain law and order. But after independence, the duties of collectors evolved, and they are now more responsible for coordination between departments to ensure administration in the jurisdiction. While the prestigious position gives enough administrative capacity and independent power to positively impact society, the protocols, political interference, and pressure to perform within the confines of an established Kafkaesque system make it practically a cumbersome effort. 

Prasanth Nair wrote the book Collector Bro in 2021, focusing on his term as the District Collector of Kozhikode. In this book, he describes how he initiated several innovative ideas and was able to associate the energy of the public with government operations. Instead of depending on support from the local or state government, he tried to encourage the public to work with him voluntarily and contribute to the welfare mechanism. To get this support, he relied on using social media. His usage of popular culture, humour, and appeals to the general good within individuals made him endearing to the people of Kozhikode. 

When I read a memoir or autobiography, the first thing I do is accept that it is biased. It's plain human nature to boast. No one would prefer to admit their failures to the public. We all try to attribute them to someone else until they decide to write their own autobiography. I think the only memoir that I've read that's a pretty honest appraisal of oneself is Chidambara Smarana by Balachandran Chullikad. Prasanth Nair has played a reverse UNO card by admitting in the book's tagline that he is boasting. He explains it nicely in his introduction, prepares us for what's ahead, and then goes on to deliver exactly that. So no complaints. 

I would like to comment on two aspects of the book that I loved the most. The writer has admitted wherever his projects fell short with probable reasons that sound convincing and is never shy to admit his or his team's shortfalls. Also, he has always given credit where it's due. He mentions people who worked and delivered with him, people who incepted ideas in him, and also the parent projects that helped him inspire and conceive his pet projects. Someone of his stature and acceptance could easily take the credit, and he chose not to. 

The one approach of his that worked big time with the youth, who were a critical part of his style of administration, were his constant references to popular culture. According to the situation, he used phrases and imagery that were part of popular movies and songs, which made his social media posts instantly relatable to the demographic that he wanted to target. The book also uses the same approach. Its language is abundant with such titbits of phrases, pages contain humorous caricatures and margins are filled with memes that are apt for the situation that he narrates.

Collector Bro by Prasanth Nair is a book that can inspire its readers to do good. But more than that, it demonstrates that one can do wonders with resourcefulness and smart, out-of-the-box thinking.