Spreading sunshine at the workplace

I have a couple of people to add to this list :

- The Janitor at my workplace (IBM Research - Hawthorne, NY) who is always cheerful and greets everyone with a big hello from across the hallway. Even if you have had a crummy day full of headaches, encountering him in the hallways leaves people smiling and ready to take on the world.

- The man who works at the grill in our cafeteria: The saving grace of our cafeteria is Martin, who prepares a mind-blowing quesadilla, and other grilled goodies. He is always a delight to banter with and knows the individual likes and dislikes of his regular customers. The passion with which he cooks and puts together our lunch makes the whole experience delightful.

They Make the World a Better Place

The blog is inspired by the name of a chanachur shop in Jamshedpur. Started in the 1950s by Fakirchand Gupta, it makes a potent mix and introduced (at least to me) the concept of having this popular snack with onions and lime. Its a true gem which has produced something unique and loved. Perhaps most importantly it has done it consistently over the years (started in 1950).

I believe there are a number of such places -- not just eateries -- around the world that are really institutions in their own right. They might lack in scale, but not in quality.

So that is the first purpose of this blog. I would love to hear about such institutions that you've recognized to be special in some way or the other.

And since ultimately it is people that are behind such places, I would also love to hear of people who provide some sort of public service -- and I consider selling excellent chanachur one.

People who conduct even seemingly mundane tasks with a sense of commitment. People who exhibit a love for their work that is frankly inspiring. So here I am talking about people like (examples from my morning commute):

• The lady distributing the free newspaper Metro on the 7th Avenue entrance to the Penn Station. I am truly amazed by the dedication with which she calls out to people to take their daily edition of the newspaper. Her voice resonates down the escalator and by the time you reach up there you really want the Metro. My guess is no way commiserate with her sincerity and the effort she puts in for the news-paper.
  
• The New Jersey Transit conductor working on the 6:54 NEC train to Trenton, who is extremely polite and helpful to bleary eyed passengers -- many of whom are in the wrong train. I've seen him patiently advise people on the best way to get where they want to go. In contrast, I've seen other boorish conductors who basically tell the hapless passenger to simply get off the train and find their own way.

People doing the same job, for possibly the same money but with such remarkably different attitudes. In some ways, I hope to hear about such people and places to counter the cynicism that often envelopes us. We too often make note of the negatives and ignore the positives. Second, on some level I would like to just understand what drives such people. Have they found the purpose of life that we keep hunting for?