Getting into the saturated blue and orange coveralls, akin to what the sky dons every dawn, is what kickstarts a typical day for Padma, a 48-year-old sanitary worker from Chennai. For over 20 years, with a broom in hand, she has reported for the back-breaking work of keeping clean a metropolitan city, which has largely segregated people like her to the invisible corners of its streets.
Each crossroad in life has shown her only new heaps of materials to be discarded, reeking stench to stomach, and barking dogs and rash motorists to steer clear of. On the flipside, for her husband Subramanian, a 58-year-old autorickshaw driver and an ardent Rajinikanth fanatic, days blur past amid the chaos of traffic in the streets.
After clocking off, the couple return to their barely 200-sq ft house in a densely packed neighbourhood in VR Pillai Street in Triplicane, which lets them catch forty winks before braving for another crossroad to clean or wait at.
On January 11, when Padma was sweeping dirt off the Moopathamman Temple Street in T Nagar, she noticed a three-wheeler used for fish vending parked on the roadside, with a heavy white bag on it, abandoned. Assuming it to be trash, Padma picked up the bag to dispose of the litter. However, upon inspection, she found an ice box, and inside it, what gleamed back at her was unmistakably something valuable.
Recalling the day that placed her at a moral crossroads, Padma said she had initially kept the bag aside, assuming the unclaimed articles to be imitation jewellery. When her husband arrived at the spot, she showed him the bag. A closer inspection confirmed their fears – the jewellery was indeed gold, weighing nearly 45 sovereigns worth up to Rs 50 lakh in value.
In the next few minutes, the couple, without hesitation, made a decision to take the bag to the Pondy Bazaar police station, and handed it over to the personnel there.
Inquiries ensued, and police traced the owner – Ramesh (46), a gold trader from Nanganallur – and returned the valuables to him after verification. Both the police and the owner of the jewellery described the act of the couple as nothing short of extraordinary.
“We didn’t even stop to drink water,” Subramanian recalled. “Once we realised it was real gold, my autorickshaw headed straight to the police station,” he said.
Urbaser Sumeet, the employer under whom Padma works as a contract staff member of the Greater Chennai Corporation, felicitated her. As news of her act spread fast, Chief Minister MK Stalin invited the couple, felicitated Padma, and presented her a cheque for Rs 1 lakh, calling her honesty “a matter of pride for Tamil Nadu”.
Recognition continued to pour in. Among the many institutions that honoured Padma was the Department of Posts, TN Circle, which released a special ‘My Stamp’ postal cover bearing her photograph.
At a ceremony held at the office of the Senior Superintendent of Post Offices, Chennai City Central Division, Padma and her husband were honoured by postal officials. India Post Payments Bank also opened a premium savings account for her, gave a personal accident insurance cover worth Rs 15 lakh, and opened a fixed deposit in her name.
For this couple, financial hardship is an everyday reality, yet temptation has never taken a foothold in their lives. “I believe one should never desire another person’s property. What we earn through honest work is enough,” said Subramanian, for whom, another surprise was just round the corner.
To honour the noble act of Padma, actor Rajinikanth invited the couple to his residence. He hosted them and gifted a two-sovereign gold chain, appreciating their act.
This act of honesty was not a one-off. Subramanian recalls that on February 16, 2021, he found a bag with Rs 1.75 lakh cash, lying unattended, near Queen Mary’s College. He immediately handed it over to police, and the then Chennai police commissioner felicitated him.
For Padma, her belief system is much more straightforward. She said that if her actions encouraged even a few to choose integrity, her purpose would be fulfilled. “That happiness,” she said, “is greater than any reward.”
(Edited by Thamizhamudhan Sekar)