The (un)important people !

Often at farewell meetings during superannuation or transfers etc, people talk about their experiences. About how life had been in a particular office, their higher-ups and usually a verbose about the value they had added. Most of them conveniently miss out a bunch of people who worked in the same office. The importance of these people cannot be undermined but it just fails to garner attention !

At my first place of posting, I never interacted with the contingent staff except for an occasional thanks when my table was wiped in front of me or my water bottle was filled when it was empty. But at my current place of posting with just 4 of us employed in the office, my interaction did not pertain to that occasional thanks. In the due course of time, I realized that Kanaga Vijayan or Kanaga Anna (the person employed for cleaning the office) knew way more than I did. It's like the Head Nurse in a hospital knowing things better than a freshly graduated doctor.

From my limited experience, I observed only a few people who took the phrase "Work is worship" seriously. I'm definitely not one of those. This person has been punctual and the office was maintained spick and span every single day. He fulfilled all his duties sincerely and never thought of making an excuse. In a Government setup, it's a common thing to crib about the system all the time. He had earlier worked with officers of the Higher Administrative grade with a hope that he could get permanent employment. People changed but his fate didn't. When I asked him if he felt bad about not getting permanently employed despite putting so much of service in the office and at times outside, he quietly smiled and told "I leave it to destiny. I am happy that I'm earning some money and thanks to an officer, a part of my kid's fee is sponsored."  

There are a lot of things I learned from him. His knowledge about politics & culture of the state though he barely managed to pass high school, is commendable. The way he debated about Late. Karunanidhi's greatness was funny and informative at the same time. He had helped me to an extent in learning Tamil by breaking a sentence into parts so that I could google the words and know the meaning and essence. Though it was initially difficult to decipher his sentences, I got accustomed with time. At times, his experience made me exercise caution while dealing with a few manipulative taxpayers. His eagerness to work over weekends outside so that he can make a few extra bucks talks about his hardworking nature. His sense of responsibility was portrayed when he told about how he took to drinking as a bachelor (because people in the department then used to get free booze) but abstained from it once he decided to get married. Despite working for a paltry salary, he was never greedy. At times during festivals when we gave him money, he accepted it reluctantly. On the contrary, a lot of his counterparts cribbed in anticipation to get more. And what does he expect in lieu of all his actions ? Absolutely nothing. But a token of gratitude in the way you talk, recognition of his work, treating him with respect and thanking him for what he does can go a long way. A mere act of just calling him Anna and not by his name meant a lot to him. 

These are some reasons why I love interacting with people around me. Their stories can move you. People like Kanaga Anna teach us a lot about life and inspire us by the way they live. They serve as a role-model on a few aspects and provide different perspectives without blabbering and by just being themselves. 

Well, that's probably why a few people who lead an ordinary life are seen as extraordinary people later on !  

                                                         And here's the ever smiling man !