The Polymer Bureaucrat
Field Notes on Public Service 6:13 AM: First WhastApp - “श्रीमान महोदय, कल आपसे भेंट हुई थी एक बार सीवर साफ हुई पर अब रोड सूखा हो गया है, इसमें कुछ गड़े हैं, कृपा टीम से बोल कर नया रोड डलवाने का कष्ट करें” (Dear Sir, I met you yesterday. The sewer was cleaned once, but the road has now dried up and has developed potholes; please instruct the team to have a new road laid.) 6:32 AM: First Call - “सर, मेरे घर के सामने कचरे का ढेर है। कृपया इसे साफ़ करवा दें। (Sir, there’s a dump
23 hours ago18 min read


Stories - the first of many
So we are published. Finally. What started as a musing almost an year ago is now in paperback. Unimaginable. But there are always firsts and this seems to be mine. Always thought I would write books but starting off never seemed this surreal. Here is presenting to the world, the first of many . . . https://www.prateekrao.com/twojourneysonedelusion
Mar 61 min read


What I read in 2025
Presenting the best of the lot Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine – Gail Honeyman I laughed for the first fifty pages. Then I stopped laughing. Then I realized I was Eleanor. Not the trauma part but the coping part. The routines. The emotional distance dressed up as independence. The way she treats loneliness like a job she’s good at. This book doesn’t scream sadness. It whispers it politely. Like people who show up to office every day with broken hearts and perfect attendan
Feb 26 min read





