5 Karmayogis of our times.

Each one of us in our life comes across people, who make an impact on our thoughts & actions. Following are the five persons whom I have observed as the true professionals, workaholics & source of influence & inspirations for the people with whom they have worked & interacted.

E. Sreedharan:

I came to know about the greatness of this man while working on a documentary based on his life. While as a government servant he created benchmarks in railways & even after the retirement his achievements were marvellous. Whether it was the task of establishing Konkan railway on an arduous hilly terrain or to lay the network of Metro Rail as per deadline in urban jungle of Delhi, Sreedharan made value addition to everything. He was full of optimism & energy & negotiated all the hurdles in his projects with ease. Calling him “Metro Man” just underplays his contribution to India’s infrastructure. He was a man who displayed genuine enthusiasm for his work & had high level of integrity which is generally rare among the people who work for the government.

Sudhakar Solomonraj:

He is the head of department of Political Science department in Wilson College, Mumbai but this designation just explains a fragment of works which Sudhakar Solomonraj does. Mumbai’s educational sphere in general & Wilson College in particular are fortunate to have an educationist like him. He is a wildlife enthusiast & supervises the nature club of the college. The unique co-operative education programme which is an interface between academic & professional world has been a success due to his efforts. Students call him “walking talking encyclopaedia” due to his elephantine memory & knowledge on numerous things. He reads a lot & he does this for the betterment of his students. Solomonraj is an unsung hero who doesn’t have any personal life & has dedicated himself to his books & students. He makes value addition to anything he does & goes out of the way to achieve “his” targets.

Milind Khandekar:

He is the managing editor of Star News. With his sincerity, dedication, integrity, leadership qualities, ability to learn quickly & intelligence, he achieved at a very young age what other journalists take years to get. Coming from a humble family from a small city of Indore, Milind Khandekar was the part of original team of S.P.Singh who made history with his style of presenting Hindi news bulletins. He is one of the pioneers of new age news television. Those who have worked under him, consciously or unconsciously follow his philosophy of professionalism. Inspite of severe neurological problems & personal tragedies he has created an image of upright & hardcore media professional which has inspired many. When he was a reporter, he was known for breaking many major stories & today he is one of the trendsetters of Hindi news industry.

Sunil Mehrotra:

Navbharat Times is the only surviving Hindi morninger in the city & Sunil Mehrotra is one of those species of print Hindi journalists in Mumbai which is about to extinct.

With around more than 12 years of experience as a crime reporter, Mehrotra has emerged as the most resourceful, credible & upright member from his fraternity. Inspite of various hostilities within & outside his organisation Mehrotra has managed to maintain his image. Although, being a veteran in his field, his level of enthusiasm has never declined. While many journalists of his batch now have comforted themselves with desk jobs, Mehrotra still spends most of his time roaming on field, meeting his sources & delivering original content. He hates “telephone journalism” which some lazy print reporters have adopted. Crime reporters during the course of their duty undergo several experiences ranging from threats to life, prosecution & offers of bribe or favour, but Mehrotra has never allowed these influences to touch his integrity. He has been a guide for many print & television reporters who have earned their names in their respective professions.

Sanjay Pande:

He was the real life version of police officers you have seen in the movies like “Shool”, “Gangajal” & “Singham”. Sanjay Pande was an upright policeman who always went by the book even if it meant wrath of his seniors or being thrown out to some unimportant posting. During short stint with Mumbai Police, Pande earned a name for his honesty, sticking to his professional ethics & confrontation with corrupt politicians. During his tenure as the DCP, he unearthed the leather scam & brought many rich & powerful in the net of law. For obvious reasons he had to face hostilities from his political & uniformed bosses. He was frequently transferred from one post to another…but this harassment never deterred his spirit. Pande did something at his every posting which made politicians & scamsters uncomfortable. He resigned from the post in late nineties but not before leaving a message that – “Not all men in Khaki work for money. Some work to protect the dignity of the profession also.”