Sabhanayakam Sir...

Sabhanayakam Sir...

I remember my respected colleague Sabhanayakam sir, who was an Inspector of Incometax, aged fifty two when I joined the department in Chennai in 1977,,

He was a bright person, but he did not want to take promotions so did not pass the departmental examination which would qualify him to become an officer or entitle him to greater promotions..

When I met him first he had already put in about 15 years of service as Inspector and many of his juniors had become group A officers. He was utterly friendly with all and his influence in any field of human existence at Chennai was phenomenal..

That apart, what attracted me most was that every morning when he met us, he would l greet all of us, irrespective of cadre, age or seniority , heartily and say that it was a great fortune in his life to meet each one of us.. Also he would peep into the cabins of each officer and repeat this..

In fact, I used to feel it as very odd.. He was a clean and upright person and his sons were well settled, and he had no wants..He would use his influence only to help anyone of us, his colleagues or bosses.. Hardly ever did he take advantage of his connections for his own benefit.

Some people with acid tongue would remark that Sabhanayagam was carrying gooja..

But it was not so. . He liked people and loved it when he saw that people were happy, and perhaps was happiest when he felt that a few words from him would make all who lived around him happy..

God, Such human beings too exist.. May be that proves that God is there.