A salute to an un-named traffic policeman

We are so used to looking at police in bad light (alteast in India) that this incident came as a surprise, and also restored some of my confidence back in the police force, and goodness of humanity in general. Here's what happened -

I was waiting at ITO red-light for it to turn green (one of the busiest crossing in New Delhi) when I heard the all too familiar siren associated with police/VIP's etc, and suddenly I saw a traffic policeman coming out of a corner and thrusting himself in the on-coming traffic with a clear intention of stopping the traffic to make way for vehicle with siren. They cynic in me thought that this must be another of those VIP movements, and I had almost internally started cursing the policeman when I saw that the vehicle he was trying to make a way was an ambulance.

I was at-once filled up with admiration for this guy who was selflessly risking himself (with such heavy traffic he could easily have been hit by motorists who are always in a rush) to make way for the ambulance. A rather easier option for him, but which would have meant loss of precious moments for the ambulance would have been to simply change the lights from the console, and then let traffic sort itself out to make way for the ambulance. But he chose the difficult, albeit the right option - and for that I salute him.

While with the same topic, here is another story .... I once went to police station (Okhla) to report loss of my mobile phone and started to chat with the station officer there ... I asked him why are policemen so rude, and carry such a negative image. His reply was simple yet very thought provoking ... he said, that we (police) get to see so much negativity in society (he himself had only last week seen a mutilated body), people call us to complain about thefts, accidents, fights etc, but nobody calls us to celebrate their children's b'day, or nobody wants us if there is a joyous moment in their house - how do you expect us to react when we are all the time surrounded by such ugliness (gandagi is the word he had used)!

Yes, there are corrupt policemen who abuse their power and who need to be fought against, but there are many who are honest, and compassionate. In end, they are nothing but only our reflection.