Prasad Lolayekar and his stellar achievements

After more than a decade of stellar service at Goa's department of art and culture, Prasad Lolayekar will leave to take over the department of higher education. We can expect an immediate, dramatic improvement in that vital field of administration, because that is precisely what the understated 49-year-old has achieved throughout the past 10 years. In a government apparatus otherwise mired in mendacity and mediocrity, this soft-spoken civil servant delivered a series of spectacular bonanzas to the public, on a scale unparalleled in state history. While it remains vital for citizens to stay vigilant to bureaucratic abuse, credit must be given when due. Lolayekar merits unreserved kudos for his job well done, beyond all expectations.

"I've always felt Prasad's own creative talents are wasted in that government position," says Damodar Mauzo, the eminent writer and Sahitya Akademi award winner, "because he is an outstanding poet, playwright, scriptwriter, and connoisseur of art. But his commitment to the art, literature, and culture of Goa is absolute, and he placed it ahead of his own personal achievements. As a result, Prasad has served Goa's artistic and literary community like no one else anywhere I've ever seen. And he still remains such a voracious reader. I have always wondered how he finds time, despite his demanding schedule, to read such voluminous books."

The list of Lolayekar's achievements contains many highlights. Amongst the most significant is the quietly efficient taming of bureaucratic tangles, to make his the first government department in Goa, and the first in its specific field of art and culture in India, to achieve International Standard of Organization (ISO) certification for quality management. Later, it added separate ISO certifications for social accountability, environment management, occupational health and safety assessment, and energy management. This achievement is so far ahead of other government departments across the nation, that it's like they are operating in different universes.

Another example of Lolayekar's singular vision, which is always accompanied by subtle forcefulness, is the way he brought a dream into reality with regard to the visiting research professor's programme at Goa University. Nothing like it exists anywhere else in the country. And there is no doubt it would have remained just another phantasmagoric aspiration if his department had not crossed way past its usual bounds to make it happen. The results have ranged from solid to absolutely spectacular. In the cases of Orijit Sen (Mario Miranda chair) and Santiago Lusardi Girelli (Anthony Gonsalves chair), their presence has triggered immensely valuable spillover benefits that rank high among the very best cultural developments in Goa in the new millennium.

When the state had access to special funds on the occasion of its golden jubilee since decolonisation, Lolayekar delivered splendid gifts to his fellow citizens. Many will recall him musing that Goa had established the first public library in India, and this legacy should be honoured with a facility aiming to be the best in the country. This became the mostly fantastic Krishnadas Shama Goa State Central Library in Patto. The highly ambitious institution has some flaws, including failed air-conditioning that has remained broken for over a year. But the size, scale, and superb equipment is of a standard no other place in India rivals. The ultimate proof is enrolment more than tripled within just a couple of years of inauguration.

Look across the state where hundreds of millions are squandered on outrageously wasteful, environmentally destructive scam infrastructure that nobody wants or needs. Then refocus on the stunning restoration projects undertaken on behalf of Prasad Lolayekar's department. The historic Institute Menezes Braganza refurbished into first-class performance spaces. Maquinez palace polished into a jewel, including two wonderful little cinemas. The oldest building of Panaji, the Adil Shah palace revamped into perhaps the most spectacular, soaring art galleries in India.

Most of all, Lolayekar consistently displayed a highly creditable broadmindedness and willingness to support good ideas, whether the brilliantly conceived (but now noticeably flagging) D D Kosambi memorial lectures, or the riveting concert series Sufi Sutra. Damodar Mauzo has translated one of Lolayekar's poems, which seems to perfectly capture this good sense towards the arts and culture landscapes of Goa: "I live in Margao/ My brother in Canacona/ Uncle in Mumbai/ Aunt in Dubai/ We all have one house/ With one wall in Margao/ One in Canacona/ A wall in Mumbai/ The fourth in Dubai/ And in the middle of the walls/ A lamp is burning ceaselessly."

The writer is a photographer and a widely published columnist. Views expressed are personal