On many a hot tiring Chennai summer days, a traffic policeman at the junction near my office has brought a smile to my face. Embarrassed by my spontaneous smile at a random place, I look around only to see many other people smiling too. I am not sure if this policeman is aware of the influence he has not only on the direction of traffic but on people’s lives too.
In between all this, he doesn’t forget to gently scold the two wheelers who are in too much of a rush to cross the signal. At all times when I have seen him gently rebuking a driver, the person who is listening to him does so with a smile. How many policemen have you seen who can evoke such a reaction from a citizen? The usual perception of police officers is that of an uptight unapproachable law enforcer, not that of a law and order citizen-partner. Our Mr. M. Kumar is exactly that, a citizen-partner. He does this every day, at every shift – be it in the blazing sun (which is about 11.5 months in Chennai) or in the rain.
This person is a classic example of how we should work with passion and why we should do so. I hear from many people as to how tiring it is to be a policeman. Worse is the case of a traffic police, now with the added menace of pollution that they have to endure. It is a very physically exacting job. In spite of all this our police anna managed to do his job with much enthusiasm and such passion. I really would want to know as to what he tells himself when he starts his day at work. Now let us look at the why part of it. Knowingly or unknowingly, he is inspiring people every single day. I remember lamenting to my friend Vivek on the way to office one day as to how hectic work had become. Then we see our police anna at the signal and Vivek looks at me and asks, “What was your excuse again?” He is a thorough gentleman too. Once, one of my lady colleagues asked him for a picture. As soon as he got a moment’s respite from his duty, he obliged.
We all have big dreams and great aspirations. We think if we achieve all those, we will attain a position high enough to inspire our fellow beings. This police anna tells us that all one needs to do to inspire people is to do our job with a smile. Who would have guessed inspiring people is so simple, right?
