Role models

“MY DADDY STRONGEST…!” – A line from a TV ad of the last decade makes a lot of sense to us when we see a small child shout it out. It captures the very essence of this writings title. As a child most of us would have looked up to our parents as role models in life. We try to model our own behavior, styles and speech based on our parents. Over the years we are exposed to new people, new environments, new experiences and soon each of us idolize someone other than our parents as a role model. Not that the parents are no longer “valid” role models for us, but it’s just that we begin to realize that each have their own short-comings and some other person outside the family is actually more stronger, braver, fashionable, etc. which captivates our imaginations and hence we aspire to be like that person; our role model.

From my earliest childhood memories I can pick out my father as my greatest role model. He is honest, God-fearing sincere, loving of his family, uncorrupt, hardworking, intelligent, street smart and some more. I have idolized him for all that he is; and for all that he is not – alcoholic, abusive, corrupt, etc. Such qualities and strength of character I have tried to emulate from a young and impressionable age. I am a teetotaler and that, I feel, is a start!

I think I was in high school when I first heard about the Infosys and its enigmatic founder N R Narayana Murthy. The papers were abuzz with his stories, background, the achievements of Infosys and the man at the helm of it. The sophisticated English NRN spoke could not be mapped with a humble roots or upbringing. The IIT brains showed through in his work. The middle class backgrounds humility and concern for the general masses was evident in his chosen life style and various works. Here was a man who had inspired thousands since the start of Infosys and surely millions more by the time I write this article. Yes, he was definitely a role model for me. I could connect with his values, ideals and thoughts at a sub-conscious level. It was inspiring!

Enter Nandan Nilekani, the CEO of Infosys when I joined the organization in 2005. Suave, charismatic, ever-smiling and a totally charming personality, Nandan was inspirational to say the least. A dashing young man – yes, he exudes youth at any age – to head one of the most respected organizations of India was something fantastic. Of course, he did a great job of it. Infosys grew 4 times its size during his tenure of 5 years at the top post. Definitely, a role model!

Fast-forward to 4^th June, 2011 – the day before my second wedding anniversary. I had flown down to Bangalore from Mumbai especially for that memorable event. How memorable it would turn out to be I could never guess! Snoopy (my cute German Shepherd), my wife and myself took an auto from Indiranagar to Rajajinagar to catch up with my parents. Snoopy being nearly 4.5 feet long, very mischievous and restless, I decided to put my laptop bag in the storage space behind the passenger seat. After a tiresome journey (for Snoopy) of an hour we finally reached our destination and I got out of the auto first, followed by the belligerent Snoopy, who was now eager to break free and run up the stairs to meet my dad, and lastly my wife stepped out. After 5 minutes in the house I suddenly realized I had forgotten my laptop bag behind the seat. Immediately I took my dad’s 2-wheeler and shot off in roughly the route the auto may have taken after dropping us off. Half an hour later my guesses and driving proved fruitless. We did not know the auto number, the driver’s license details nor anything else that would help uniquely identify the person or his vehicle. As I thought more about it I realized that it was not just laptop; the bag had contained my passport, my marks cards of SSLC, PUC and BE, as well as my degree certificate and marriage certificate! In short, I had lost my identity!!

Now what do I do? How could I possibly get duplicates of ALL those documents within 2 weeks? I was confounded, to say the least. Yet, there was a tiny flicker of hope in my heart. I had seen the auto driver when I got into the auto. It was a face which reflected innocence and nicety. When I reflected on it, I was somehow very confident that if at all that person found the laptop bag he would definitely return it to me. I said so to my parents and wife as well.

Hoping is one thing; reality is another. Per reality and per procedure I was supposed to register a complaint with the nearest jurisdictional police station reporting the loss of my items and key documents – especially the passport. That was the only way I would be able to procure duplicates in future. Everyone have a phobia of the police. I, for one, have never developed it in my life. I believe that if I have not done a mistake there is nothing wrong that can happen to me – that too from police! When I went to lodge my complaint, the police response actually vindicated this belief of mine. Never once did they hint at “something…”, nor did they take my loss lightly blaming this “careless guy”. Instead, the ASI who spoke to me took the necessary details from me, made a note of it in the station house book and immediately gave out a wireless message to all the police stations of Bengaluru. I heard the broadcast message within seconds on the Motorola wireless set which was on his desk in front of me. I was positively thrilled. Not everyone is corrupt in the police after all. Not every complaint needs a “something” to get it registered. The ASI also guided me regarding the next steps like getting an affidavit done detailing the loss of my documents so that it can be attested by the police and utilized for my duplicate passport application. He also promised to file the FIR the very next day to help smoothen the way for me. This was all so nice and this niceness is what most people do not expect when they approach the police. But it’s true; it happened to me!

My next tryst with the police was at the DCP (East) Office of Bengaluru, Shivajinagar. The sprawling DCP office sitting atop the transport hub at Shivajinagar was practically deserted when I went there at 6 pm on a Saturday. Still, luckily, I was able to find a gentleman who listened to my predicament and assured me that they would try their best to help me identify the auto driver by face. The computer operator who was supposed to do this was off home for the day and the person talking to me called him in front of me and requested the operator to give us a slot the next day, Sunday. After the call the gentleman told “I can understand how much it hurts to lose something of value. I know it is paining you a lot right now. But you say that there were important documents in it which are practically useless for any auto driver. So, 200% of 100% I feel you will get back those documents if he gets it. I will also pray to God on your behalf. Don’t worry. Go home now.” Coming from a policeman, the italicized line above was really touching for me. How many people around us in today’s world would actually say such a thing and actually mean it? I could see he meant it. Kindness and gentleness are rare qualities in any human being. Seeing them in a policeman is an exception in itself! So, you see, here was another role model for me. This gentle policeman showed that “you can still be yourself irrespective of what you do for a living”.

But the story doesn't end here. Sunday 11:35 am I was almost near the DCP office and I got a call on my mobile “Sir, are you coming?” I was pleasantly surprised! Not only was the police computer operator going out of the way to help me by accepting to see me on a Sunday, but he was also punctual and proactively calling me to check if I was coming or not. Too many surprises for a person to handle in 2 days! I confirmed I will reach in 5 minutes and I did. At the office within minutes we realized the humongous task that lay ahead of us. Bengaluru had 1+ lakh auto drivers and all their details lay before us. We could see thousands of passport size photographs bundled in packets and thrown into huge trays and cartons lying in that room. Luckily, my wife had noted the last part of the address – “…jinagar, Mysore Road” – on the driver display card in auto. My dad and wife made a fairly accurate guess that it must be Bapujinagar. With that filter we started searching in the computer and retrieved close to a 1000 results. After nearly 1 hour and having seen close to 300 photographs we realized it was getting nowhere and already I was thinking of alternate routes to track down the auto in my mind. All the while this policeman never once complained that he was working on an almost impossible task on a Sunday!

Just then I got a call from my brother. He was shouting excitedly “Madhu the auto driver has brought back the laptop…” – the sweetest words anyone could have uttered to me at that moment! I asked my bro to detain that auto driver as much as possible and that I would reach home in 35 minutes. I thanked the policemen who had helped me at the DCP office and requested them to buy some sweets for their families as it was my wedding anniversary that day. Both rejected the 500 I gave, but I assured them it was not for the laptop, but for my wedding anniversary. Finally, they wished us and accepted it. Nice! J

By the time I reached home my dad had brought 2 boxes of sweets and already presented them to the auto driver and his brother-in-law who had accompanied him. A lot had already been said and done by my family before I reached home with my wife. I thanked the man profusely when I met him for the second time in as many days. When I told him “you must have seen all those documents in my bag. They were sooo important to me and you brought them all back to me. I am so grateful for that…” and to that he said “Sir, I don’t know what all that was because I cannot read or write. I did not even realize it was your bag. So I took the bag to my brother-in-law who can read and it was he who told me that ‘this man’s entire life is there in this bag’ and gave me the address. So we brought it along today morning. Even if we could not find you we would have given it to the police station. But before doing that we wanted to try once to reach you ourselves…” I was dumb-founded at that moment. Here was a man who earned not more than 300-400 on an average day. Here was a young man of around 24-25 who would naturally have all the likes and temptations of youngsters of that age. Any person educated or not, would be tempted on seeing a high end mobile or a laptop. Not just for the monetary value but just by the attractiveness of the product itself. Here stood a man without the benefit of a good education and its associated teachings of the righteous behavior and yet this young uneducated man had made a choice to take the “right path”. He had not yielded to any temptation, or maybe he did not have any. Without realizing the importance of all those documents he had decided to return a bag that did not belong to him. Even if he had sold that laptop bag to a thief he would have easily made 25k!! How many days should he drive an auto for earning that 25k? Yet, this young man had brought it back to me and when I offered him a fair recompense for that act he was not ready to accept. “Sir, you have given me sweets. That is enough. Please don’t try to put a value my nature by giving money” I can hardly think of an “educated” government employee or the “highly educated” civil services members saying something like that. Of course, not all are corrupt. But a whole lot of educated people have no qualms about being corrupt. Amidst such masses, this young, uneducated and poverty ridden auto driver stands out a head above the shoulders. His sincerity and dignity could not have been taught by education. He had cultivated it personally.

So, you see, this article is a tribute to that auto driver, Manjunath Hegde. He shall forever be a role-model to me and my children. He proved that a role model can come from any walk of life and make an impact on others. He showed me and to the society that a man can always choose the right path irrespective of his financial and family background, nature of work or education. It is to that young man who chose the “right path” and provided me a humbling experience that I pay homage to by trying to capture his honourable deed and words herein.