Pandey sits at his desk surrounded by mountains of paperwork. His rich baritone voice, echoing around the sparsely furnished room, is full of earnestness and energy. Throughout the interview, Pandey simultaneously handles phone calls and signs documents.
While waiting for one of these phone calls to end, a wall-mounted board grabs my attention. It is covered with an array of letters from the citizens of Ghaziabad, all attributing Pandey with the monumental improvement their city has seen.
What strikes me is their diversity: A small thank-you from a boy at the local middle school, a thick, glossy letter featuring an impressive letterhead and fancy signature from a local industrialist, a four-page, hand-written note in Hindi from a 65-year-old woman.
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When Pandey puts down the phone, I comment on the amazing outpouring of support he has received in just six months in office.
"That's not even one percent of the letters!" he laughs, pointing at the board. "We hardly have place to store them any more."
Pandey begins the interview by recounting an incident that occurred in 1994, while he served as subdivisional magistrate in the Mathura district of the Agra division.
"I've always had an interest in urbanity, so my whole life I've worked to understand it. I believe that man learns from experience, and one experience from my time in Mathura will always stay with me," he says.
Also read: A day in the life of a school in Bihar
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