Metro Man

I spent my last five months in an architectural firm in ahmedabad and was mainly involved in the upcoming metro rail project of the city. This is when I read more about the transportation network in India and came across a lot of interesting details. In this process, I learnt more about one man who by the virtue of his hard work and dedication brought comfort to Indians – E. Sreedharan – true icon of our times!

56 successive years, in a single job, without a break – but barely anyone talking about him. Is it simply because, Dr Sreedharan, is not a typical Indian Success Story? As in, he is not an IITian nor is he from an IIM. He is not from a minority community. He did not study under street lamps. He did not milk cows to pay for his schooling. He is neither an actor nor a singer. Oh and he is not a cricketer!

He was just a simple middle class Indian, who went about his job – the man who probably contributed the most to our infrastructure and that too silently.

To know about how much he has done for our nation, all you have to do is probably read Wikipedia – right from the Pamban bridge to the Delhi metro – it is all there. After having read so much about this man online and an article that came in the newspaper, I felt like sharing what I feel made him the METRO MAN!

We all may have the potential, yet we find it difficult to answer ourselves whether we have given our best always and been able to create extraordinary results. Sir’s career has seen many incidents where he has gone against the tide when he was convinced of his own purpose. Thus making him a self-driven and persevering professional. He has been able to achieve what no one before him could even have imagined. His work with the Delhi Metro Rail has put the name of Delhi’s metro facility on the world map, at par with international standards. So say – Believe in yourself and believe in impossible!

Can we ever imagine ourselves taking up a task when the deadline is too soon for it – ‘out of your mind’ would be the result. And we would soon figure out some way to get out of it. But for sir, deadlines were more of a motivation than a stressor. He made sure that it brought out the best in him! If you are wondering how I could say so – I happened to read that this man in the earlier part of his career faced nearly 20 job transfers due to his dedication to deadlines, perhaps because his work ethics were difficult for others to match up to. Yet he remained undeterred in his method and approach. He took up the daunting task to restore a bridge within a tight deadline of six months but completed the restoration work in 46 days and made the bridge operational. So yes – Deadlines to motivate rather than pressurize!

He has simply done his best, with full devotion and a complete sense of honesty. People have looked up to him and in return have reciprocated by doing their best too. He has set an example and people have followed. He believes in working with honesty and the others will co-operate. The most important part is that he always stood by his ethics.

Today, the busy schedule one has is taken to be the best excuse to not be able to take care of their health. At the end of the day, your health is what decides about how much you will get out of your daylight hours, and eventually your life. In spite of handling projects of such magnitude, Sreedharan is known to never have stayed in the office beyond 6pm, and has never liked people working late too. He was disciplined and gave his hundred percent when on the job. His healthy lifestyle keeps him filled with youthful energy even at this age.

We all desire praise, but we have to remember that praise and criticism are both meant to make us better provided we know how to take it in our stride. Sir had the trait to take an unjust comment as someone’s opinion and never got bitter. To be able to remain focused and passionate about our work we must be able to remain poised in such situations.  Sreedharan has been decorated with Padma Vibhushan as well as many other prestigious awards internationally. But to this day, he remains a humble man whom we have not seen much in the newspaper or other media. He has silently toiled – and made travel more comfortable than ever for India.

Well for me, he is a man who has done an amazing service to his country. I respect him for his contributions and most of all, for the person he is.

*BOW IN RESPECT*