A sports enthusiast, an avid reader, a passionate traveller in love with nature, a compulsive writer who has an eye for photography, Ashok Lavasa is also a former civil servant. He was born in Jaipur, received his primary education in Gujarat, completed his schooling at the Belgaum military school, studied at Delhi University for his master's in English literature, obtained his MPhil from Madras University and went to Southern Cross University in Australia for his MBA. An IAS officer of the 1980 batch, Lavasa served in various capacities in his cadre state Haryana and in the Government of India. He was Secretary in the ministries of Civil Aviation, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, and Finance. After retiring as the Finance Secretary of India, he served as one of the three Election Commissioners of India overseeing the 2019 general elections. He resigned from the post in August 2020. He is currently Vice President of the Asian Development Bank in Manila, Philippines.
<p style="margin: 6px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;">The world consists mainly of ordinary people leading simple lives. Their stories remain unheard as they haven’t been written about. But their lives inspire because they are a vindication of certain lasting values that survive in every society and keep us connected with the unseen forces that govern us.</p><p style="margin: 6px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;">In<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: 0px 0px;"> Ek Sadharan Si Zindagi</em>, the Hindi translation of <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: 0px 0px;">An Ordinary Life</em>, former Election Commissioner of India Ashok Lavasa tells one such warm story. He weaves the experiences of his father, Udai Singh, into the narrative of a fast-changing India to show how his Bauji’s principles served as a moral compass in his life – and can in ours too. Through a series of incidents, he explores the virtues of honest living and illustrates that it is possible to prosper in a world of rising aspirations and cut-throat competition while preserving one’s ideals.</p><p style="margin: 6px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;">Reflective and philosophical,<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: 0px 0px;"> Ek Sadharan Si Zindagi </em>is imbued with the grounded wisdom of an earlier Indian generation and its way of life, which is both ordinary and extraordinary, unique and universal at the same time</p>
