Till Saturday, sanitary workers in Tamil Nadu’s Karur district never knew that life was beautiful and there were kind hearted people around. The district is famous for banking business as well as textile industries and daily life used to be fast moving. But COVID-19 and corona virus turned everything topsy-turvy. As the State Government declared a total lock-down, people in Karur district too were left with no other alternative but to follow the diktat. Whatever the compensation package announced by the Government seemed peanuts.
But there were some bright patches during the testing times. There emerged a person in Karur, an apolitical, secular and broad minded person for whom the man and woman in the streets were of paramount concern. Thogai Murugan, a 54-year-old self made entrepreneur who came up in life through the hard way, is the man of the hour in the district.
The sanitary workers and casual employees in Karur town who were left penniless and jobless because of the lock down were in for a surprise as Murugan and his family members invited them all to his house on Saturday and performed paada pooja (worshipping the feet) on them. Murugan, his wife and son washed the feet of the sanitary workers, offered aarati and sought the blessings of the invitees by falling at their feet. The icing on the cake was yet to come. “Each of the invitees numbering 105 was offered cash and essential items worth Rs 5 lakh which brought tears in the eyes of the recipients. The sanitary workers who are the frontline warriors in the battle against corona virus were insured by us,” Murugan told The Pioneer. He ensured that a total of 2000 casual workers in the city who faced bleak future because of the lock down got relief materials in the form of rice and groceries.
What prompted him to spend such big amount for these workers? “What is the guarantee that Ill survive this pandemic? How many of us will come out of this attack by the virus for which there is no vaccine as on today? I am not going to take with me the materials I had saved over the years when my dead body is taken to the burial ground. If I can save at least one life, I can die peacefully,” said Murugan.
He said the paada pooja was an act of reciprocation. “They are the real guards who ensure our safety from the pandemic. Can you imagine a day in our life without their services? This is my way of thanking the real life Gods,” said Murugan, a sworn rationalist.
For Selvaraj and wife Rani, the offering from Murugan was a divine intervention. “We were worried about how to feed the children in these times of lock out as there is no salary. Here, Ayya (a word of reverence) has made our Easter a happy occasion, something which we will remember throughout our life,” said Selbva, a sanitary worker.
Corona brings the good side of life too.