Do you know what our least favourite jam is? Traffic Jam! Pretty sure you’ll aren’t fans either – the honking, the yelling, the cramped space and oh, the waste of time! Wouldn’t it be amazing if there were someone who could help prevent roads from getting clogged by vehicles?
Meet our Unsung Hero – Anthony Cruz. He’s just the person who makes our anti-traffic jam wishes come true!
Anthony Cruz, 38, was born in Athipakkum, Tamil Nadu. He has been in Bangalore for the past 20 years. What makes him a hero? Well, we decided to talk to him and find out.
Anthony voluntarily helps in handling the traffic on Brigade road behind St. Patrick’s Church on Tuesdays and on Infant Jesus Church road on Thursdays, when the traffic is simply out of control! What makes him so special is that he gets nothing in return for doing so.
So why does he do it you ask? Well, we asked him the same thing.
“I do it for God. I prayed to God that He would help me help others in any way I can. He answered my prayers. I was so fed up of the traffic jams on Tuesdays here. There are hardly any traffic policemen. So I decided to help end the traffic congestion. I don’t get anything for it. People offer money all the time, but I cannot take it.”
Anthony says he used to do parking duty earlier. During festivals, when the traffic situation is horrendous, he helps manage it from 7 am to 11:30 pm.
“I don’t want anything in return for this”, Anthony says, “as long as God’s grace and the people’s support is with me, I am happy”.
Anthony stays with a distant relative of his. His parents and brother passed away a few years ago.
How does he make a living?
“I don’t like staying idle ever. During the day, I find hotels to serve in, or help in shifting work or do any kind of labourer’s job”
What are his wishes and desires?
“I pray only for one thing every day. I cannot tell you what it is.”
We also asked him if we could take him out for coffee and he politely refused saying, “I’m sorry, the traffic needs to be maintained.”
When we asked a passer-by about him, he said “I have seen him for many years. He never takes anything from anyone; not even food. I don’t know him. But he greets me with respect. He is a good man”.
And indeed, he is a good, hard working man; for if there is one thing we have learnt from him, it is this :
If you have a problem with something, do not complain! Go about fixing it.
