The passionate worker

There are some who have the ability to infuse passion and zeal into the most mundane or dreary work. I remember a bus conductor who used to have his distinctive and ‘signature’ whistle, a musical one that helped in lightening the mood of the passengers. At a traffic signal on my way to office, I often spot a constable who swings his arms in an animated fashion and almost dances while directly traffic, obviously loving his job. With some creativity, one can convert any monotonous or routine task into a piece of art.

Why, even a murderer can be inventive and resourceful. Hitchcock often took pains to point out that murder could be a ‘fine art’ too. He wanted his movies to appeal to the true enthusiast, one who would be able to appreciate the ‘individual expression’ in the planning and execution of the crime, rather than the crime per se. Shooting down a person or poisoning him was too tame and insipid. A victim had to be subdued by more subtle and creative means, to win accolades from the true connoisseurs.

To this category of imaginative professionals must belong “Thikkuvai Ram” ( Source: TOI) who was arrested in Chennai yesterday. Where ordinary burglars would clinically rob a place and move on to the next site, Ram brings a certain finesse to his job. He goes around with a backpack and when he spots a locked house pulls out his tools from the bag and breaks in. His area of interest is only gold articles. Having stowed that away carefully into his bag, this excellent fellow would proceed to raid the refrigerator and eat to his heart’s content in an unhurried and laid-back manner. After which, to complete the full cycle, he would move to the toilet and make full use of the facilities there. Not for him, the frenetic pace of life and the ‘loot and scoot’ methods of his fraternity. For Ram, burglary has other perquisites that need to be enjoyed and moments that need to be celebrated leisurely.

Burglary can be such a dull and dreary job, often carried out alone. Instead of cribbing about his lot and the drudgery involved, Thikkuvai Ram goes about cheerfully and brings in the element of ‘joi de vivre’ into the proceedings. May his tribe increase.