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Faceless Samaritans
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Think of police or bus conductors and the image that crops up is of rude, brutal people. But there is a human side to them too, feels GOUTAM GHOSH.
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ON FEBRUARY 27, Devipriya (4) boarded a bus (route 7H) to Ambattur Estate via Mogappair, where her grandparents live. Whether she wished to visit them or to enjoy the thrills of travelling unescorted one cannot say. Obviously she did not know where to get off, for she remained in the bus till it reached the Ambattur Estate bus stand at 12-30 p.m.
S. Rajalingam, the conductor (employee no.10342), urged everyone to get off before blowing his ``all clear'' whistle. It was then that he saw Devipriya sitting alone. He asked the last passengers if the girl was theirs but all of them shook their heads and walked away. Then who was she? How did she get in? From where?
He took her on a motorcycle to Ambattur Estate police station some distance away, and lodged a ``missing person found'' report. The police said the child could not be kept there and advised Rajalingam to take her home and keep her there till the parents were traced.
Rajalingam happily took Devipriya to his home in Thirumullaivayal, about six km away, and gave her food and company with his wife and two daughters. When Devipriya refused to eat on her own, they fed her. After a couple of hours, he realised that the child was beginning to miss her parents and was likely to be scared in the evening. So he took her back to the police station at 4.30 p.m. He said the police had not aired any message about the girl. He urged them to contact the T. P. Chhatram police station near Aminjikarai because the little girl knew her own and her parents' names as well as the area where she lived. The police did so, and it was learnt that the girl was reported missing since 8.30 a.m. The frantic parents, Vasantha and Loganathan, had filed a complaint at T. P. Chhatram police station when they realised that Devipriya was missing. And they went looking for her wherever she was most likely to be. The questions that remain are: what did the girl do for over three hours before boarding the bus? Why did the police refuse to keep her in their safe custody? What if Rajalingam had refused to take her home?
Soon after the message was aired, the grandparents waiting at T. P. Chhatram police station were informed, and they went bound to the Ambattur Estate police station. By the time the child was restored to the grandparents after verifying the bona fides, it was past 6 p.m.
We tend to view the police and the bus crew quite poorly. But as Rajalingam said, ``I had my first child after seven years of marriage. And I know how valuable a child is. I did what little I could do.'' The lopsided image that we nurse is created by a handful of young crew who are slaves to their vigour than to humility. What matters is Rajalingam did much more than he need have: taken the pains to look after the child and shared the joy of her relations when he handed Devipriya over to them.
There are many instances of virtually faceless traffic constables (uniformly faceless now with almost everyone sporting MGR-type sunglasses in sultry afternoons) taking old persons, the handicapped or children by hand across the road after freezing the traffic. Many a time have I noticed a bus driver stop at an unscheduled spot so that school children, elderly men or women could board the bus.
I remember one incident when a young ever-smiling driver on route 15JJ (Anna Nagar to Parry's) stopped so that a limping youth could board the bus. Soon after getting in, the young man ran to occupy a vacant seat. An involuntary response of most bus passengers but a mistake really.The young driver who had just shifted gears noticed the behavioural discrepancy and realised that he had been taken for a ride. He slammed the brakes, but before he could reach the youth to bounce him out, the young man scooted at a very impressive speed.
What we tend to remember unfortunately are the instances when the conductor failed to refund the balance because he did not have the right coins (even if it's 10 paise, it would mean Rs.10 of unaccounted wealth from a hundred passengers, one would surmise with disgust) or shouted at the passengers to get off or get in, or the driver bullied some two-wheeler rider or spat at an overtaking car; or of men in uniform who committed custodial rapes or brutalised the suspects in the lock-up. Or, as it happened one recent morning, the constable who cornered a rider of a brand new but not yet registered two-wheeler at the signal south of the High Court and took him far away for what would seem to be a ``crash course on traffic rules'', but kept an eye glued on this correspondent to see if he was watching.
We overlook the subtle human touch, which always go far beyond the call of duty. Is it because goodness is instinctive in all of us and we take it for granted? That's a hard one to answer, you'll agree.
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