Trying to define success is quite difficult. However, it is easy to make out success and successful persons never fail to trigger in us a desire to follow them on their path of success. When success is accompanied by dignity and an earnest desire to be of service, the impact is all the more intense.
Elattuvalapil Sreedharan, popularly known as the “Metro Man”, is an Indian engineer who played a key role in the building of the Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro. In India millions of people are dependent on the public transport and the credit for changing the very face of Indian public transport goes to this enterprising engineer. The man who began his career as a lecturer in an engineering college appeared for the Engineering Services Examination (ESE) and joined the Indian Engineering Service (IES). He first proved his ability as an engineer when he was put in-charge of restoring a bridge that had been damaged by a cyclone. He executed the complete work within 46 days as against the six months allotted to this task. Recognized by the government for his brilliance, he was made the in-charge for planning and designing the Kolkata metro, the very first metro in India. The next several years saw him working with the single-minded conviction to improvise the public transport system in India. He had become such an invaluable asset to Indian Railways that the government let him know that his services would be required even after he retired from IES. Several national and international honours have been awarded to him for his pioneering works.
Delhi Metro continues to be the best work of E. Sreedharan. Delhi Metro is an idol for every metro in the country. Sreedharan was provided with the reins of Delhi Metro Railway Corporation in 1997 by the then Chief Minister. He was later honored series of awards and recognitions. In 2005 once the Delhi Metro project was completed, Sreedharan was provided with Metro building contracts. After completing Delhi projects, Sreedharan was handed over to him the responsibility of Kochi Metro. E. Sreedharan went against government’s will and enrolled DMRC to help building Kochi Metro. Kochi Metro is one of the smartest and well-managed metro systems in India.
He received the ‘Padma Shree’ from the Govt. of India in the year 2011. It was in the year 2008, the Republic of India honored him with the highest of all civilian awards – the ‘Padma Vibhushan’
The spirit to work anywhere under any circumstances and getting the work done has made him successful i his works throughout his life. Sreedharan has a detached attitude towards his work. He is disciplined in the way he carries out his work, always completing it within working hours and never taking the files home.
As the Geetha exhorts us, this great man works without expecting any reward.
