Not all farewells are this sweet. But for K. Paramasivam, the official driver of the Karur Collector, his retirement date became his most memorable day at work as his boss, T. Anbalagan, took the wheel and dropped him home.

On coming to know that Monday was the last day of Mr. Paramasivam’s 34-year long career, Mr. Anbalagan asked him to bring his wife Banumathi to the Collector’s chamber in the afternoon and arranged a grand retirement party by inviting the heads of various departments.

Besides presenting a gold coin and shawl to the couple, Mr. Anbalagan recollected Mr. Paramasivan’s impeccable record as a driver to Collectors of the district since 1996.

Later, Mr. Anbalagan threw a surprise by taking the wheel and asking Mr. Paramasivam and his wife to take the rear seat.

The Collector drove down all the way to Gandhigramam to drop the couple at their house.

Fond memories

He also spent about half-an-hour at Mr. Paramasivam’s residence and had a photo session with his family members.

“I have served many Collectors of Karur district since 1996. But, I never imagined that a Collector would drive me home. It was unimaginable."

“I will cherish the moment forever,” said an emotional Mr. Paramasivam, who had, during his career, received awards for accident-free driving thrice.

Stating that being a chauffeur to the Collector of a district was a demanding job, Mr. Paramasivam said that pressing assignments and sudden developments always kept him on his toes. “It was not planned. I decided to drive them down at the spur of the moment. It was a nice experience for me too,” Mr. Anbalagan said.