TNSTC bus conductor cheers passengers, wins hearts online
Pratiksha.Ramkumar@timesgroup.com
Coimbatore:29.01.2019
A majority of those e who frequently travel to Madurai from Coimbatore on a government bus always look for Shivashanmugam to be their conductor.
The lucky ones take photos or selfies with him to upload on their Facebook and Instagram pages. Videos of Shivashanmugam welcoming passengers with a ‘vanakkam’ and giving a pep talk on keeping the bus clean and rattling out fares for different destinations have gone viral on social media.
He also asks passengers to inform him if any of them feels like throwing up. “I can give you a bag or tamarind candy,” he says. “I also request you to pay us in change as much as possible. Last but not the least, the TNSTC, the bus and I wish you a happy journey and pray that whatever you aim to do in Madurai or Coimbatore is pleasurable, successful and victorious,” he says in the video.
Shivashanmugam has never travelled in a plane if you think he has taken a cue from flight attendants. “Earlier, being on the town bus, I used to be stressed because of the pressure to issue tickets and tear them before a stop. I used to even get into arguments. To stop all this and make work a pleasure to myself and a ride happy for the passengers, I attended drivers and conductors training school in Pollachi, where they told me about a conductor in Mettupalayam who would recite Thirukkural verses before a journey,” he said. “I felt shy initially, but slowly formulated my dialogue. I was encouraged by the response.”
Shivashanmugam says many passengers strike up conversations with him. “School children like me because I always wait for them to get on safely. I also recognize a regular child in colour dress that it’s his/her birthday and give a sweet or a small gift,” he adds.
Shivashanmugam runs a small organization that helps fulfil educational needs of people.
Pratiksha.Ramkumar@timesgroup.com
Coimbatore:29.01.2019
A majority of those e who frequently travel to Madurai from Coimbatore on a government bus always look for Shivashanmugam to be their conductor.
The lucky ones take photos or selfies with him to upload on their Facebook and Instagram pages. Videos of Shivashanmugam welcoming passengers with a ‘vanakkam’ and giving a pep talk on keeping the bus clean and rattling out fares for different destinations have gone viral on social media.
He also asks passengers to inform him if any of them feels like throwing up. “I can give you a bag or tamarind candy,” he says. “I also request you to pay us in change as much as possible. Last but not the least, the TNSTC, the bus and I wish you a happy journey and pray that whatever you aim to do in Madurai or Coimbatore is pleasurable, successful and victorious,” he says in the video.
Shivashanmugam has never travelled in a plane if you think he has taken a cue from flight attendants. “Earlier, being on the town bus, I used to be stressed because of the pressure to issue tickets and tear them before a stop. I used to even get into arguments. To stop all this and make work a pleasure to myself and a ride happy for the passengers, I attended drivers and conductors training school in Pollachi, where they told me about a conductor in Mettupalayam who would recite Thirukkural verses before a journey,” he said. “I felt shy initially, but slowly formulated my dialogue. I was encouraged by the response.”
Shivashanmugam says many passengers strike up conversations with him. “School children like me because I always wait for them to get on safely. I also recognize a regular child in colour dress that it’s his/her birthday and give a sweet or a small gift,” he adds.
Shivashanmugam runs a small organization that helps fulfil educational needs of people.
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