(This story originally appeared in on Feb 8, 2017)

A NEW JOURNEY

THE COMBING SCHEDULE

SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT

THE JOURNEY FORWARD

A close encounter with nails

Early morning, as Bengalureans rushed to work, a man could be seen quietly combing the road along the HSR-BDA flyover , looking for something. With a long stick and in cycling gear, he peddled along the stretch, seemingly oblivious (but not quite) to buses swishing dangerously past him. That would be Benedict Jebakumar , a techie who has been picking up nails — purposely thrown onto the roads — that lead to frequent punchers on this stretch. He has been doing this for the last five years – but this Friday will be his last. He’s leaving the city.The stretch between the Silk Board junction and Marathahalli is notorious for its many nails on the road that punctured tyres, compelling motorists to go looking for the make-shift puncture shops along the stretch.Several years ago, when Jebakumar travelled from his home in Banashankari to his office in Bellandur, he too suffered multiple flat tyres. When he realised that the nails were there by no accident, he began a silent battle against the conspiracy.With a cycle, a watchful eye and an equipment to brush the roads, he began picking up the nails to make the roads safer. He has been doing this for the last five years.But, now, with his passion calling him away from Bengaluru, he’ll have to stop, and he hopes someone else will take over the task.About two years ago, he began documenting his collection and as of now, he has picked up no less than 75 kg of nails.“Between 2012 and 2013, I avoided this road, fearing these nails. After a gap, I began combing the roads actively and now I have 75 kg of them since July 23, 2014. The idea to documenting my progress was given by an old friend and mentor. He was the one who told me to inform the authorities, go on social media as well as document my progress. Once I started doing that, there would be standard replies from the authorities, such as – ‘We will look into it’. But the next day, there would be nails again on the road. I don’t know what stops them from taking action. An arrest here and there, but nothing concrete has happened,” Jebakumar said.However, the situation has definitely improved, he says. “Earlier, within 500 mts of the stretch, two to three vehicles would be standing with a punctured tyre and there would be makeshift puncture shops. But this has reduced. Other than the Agara flyover, which is targeted on a daily basis, it is not that frequent anymore,” he said.Jebakumar calls his work on the road, a journey, one that he started with the help of several others. His job in a company that stresses on giving back to society has also helped him in a way to pursue his passion for fisheries by moving to his hometown in Tuticorin, a port city in Tamil Nadu. “I am not quitting the IT sector because I do not like it. I am quitting it to pursue my passion for fisheries. I am where I am today because of my job in the IT sector. My company helped me with its generous pay package to close all my loans and begin my passion as an entrepreneur with decent savings. My vision was to start out in 2020, but I am glad that I am able to begin even earlier,” said Jebakumar, who has worked in IT for the last 15 years.For the last two and a half years, Jebakumar has had a schedule. He cycles three weeks to the office and takes his bike for one. But no matter what, he spends at least an hour combing for nails. He starts from his residence at 6.45 am and hits the HSR BDA flyover by 7.30 am from where he begins combing for nails. By 8.30 am, he reaches his office where he showers and is set for the day’s work. “I have become accustomed to spotting nails everywhere now. During special days like Gandhi Jayanti and Republic Day, I drive a little further to see if there is a similar scenario but there are no cobbler nails in that area. Through my Facebook page and Pune Mirror, I understand that the situation is also prevailing in other parts of Bengaluru and even in Pune. In Pune, people have even beaten up the ‘puncture-waalas’ responsible for this.”Jebakumar said he started cycling for its health benefits but after repeated punctures realised he needed cleaner roads to do so. “Initially, it was to save myself, but later on when I started it on a wider scale, the awareness that I may be helping others too, gave me a great deal of joy. As a bonus, it has also made me efficient in time management,” he adds on a lighter note.This Friday, Jebakumar is planning to hold an exhibition, a Nail-a-thon, where he will display all the nails he has collected till date. “This is to raise awareness and the exhibition on the closed service road will be such that it does not disrupt traffic. From 9 am to 10 am, volunteers interested in taking this forward can do so through my Facebook page ‘My road, my responsibility’. A while ago, a rock climber had asked for the nails I collected. I think I will give the nails away to him since I am going out of Bengaluru,” he said.Surprisingly, the man has never faced any threats. But he did have an accident, which made him realise the need for empathy. “Once, a two-wheeler hit me so hard that I flew across the road with my entangled bicycle. Though I tried crossing the road to get to the side, people just wouldn’t stop. It’s the same when people see an ambulance. It is sad that we are not willing to give way even for five minutes for someone in need,” said Jebakumar.Within his circles, Jebakumar is a bit of an inspiration, even an icon. His farewell gift from his colleagues is a collage of all his works and newspaper cuttings of articles written about him. Also, there is the big question of what will commuters do about the nails once he goes away. “I know Benny [Jebakumar] for last four-five years. We joined around the same time. When he started coming by cycle, suffered punctures, and started collecting the nails, we didn’t expect it would become so huge. Our company believes in caring and giving back and he was also awarded for his journey. I too have been affected by the nails. Most of my friends have faced this problem. In fact, whenever I get a nail, I take it to Benny and ask him to add it to his collection. Now we don’t know what to do, we don’t know who is going to take care of all this,” said Kalaiselvan Krishnan, a friend and co-worker.A few others are still astonished. “I don’t know how he sees the nails on the road. I have tried and I can never find one. But he comes back with kilos of nails. It’s astonishing. He has some sort of nail radar.”Jebakumar’s family is scheduled to move in April. “My sons, who are 14 and 13 years old, bring me nails wherever they find. I am so happy that I inspire them. It’s the same with my wife, Ratna. She was a little frustrated in the beginning but soon realised the good in it. The nail counting has become a family bonding exercise,” he said.The strange this probably is that once you develop, what his friend called the “nail radar”, it is hard to switch it off. He may not be in the city to save the tyres anymore, but that doesn’t mean that’s the end of it. “I lost my mother last year. When I went to her grave to pay my respects, I found nails even there. It’s like I am tuned to it. So, whenever I find it appropriate, I’ll do it,” he said.But as of now, for those driving between Silk Board junction and Marathahalli, the news could be the last nail in the coffin.*********The fourth nail was embedded in the back wheel of my bike, and is now part of my souvenir collectionEvery once in a while, the hunter becomes the hunted. Such was the case with this photojournalist whose brief was to tail Benedict Jebakumar in the morning, while he hunted for nails on the road, saving motorists deliberate flat tyres.I had to leave very early in the morning to hunt for this person and had to travel almost 40 km to catch him on his mission. While I was looking forward to the ‘hero’ in the story, I wasn’t expecting close encounter with the many villains – the nails. And they were in abundance along the flyovers from HSR Layout, leading up to Marathahalli ORR.The photo shoot itself was a life-and-death gamble. To capture my subject in the act amid speeding vehicles was no joke. With an eye on the subject, another on cars swishing by, and in the peripheral vision, the nails – I was acutely aware that one wrong step would be fatal, and not only for me. Such was the tightrope walk that was the morning shoot of Tuesday.After an hour or so, after some tense moments, I headed towards Ecospace only to get caught in a maddening traffic jam from Sarjapur junction throughout the Outer Ring Road stretch. Both service and main roads were choc-o-bloc with vehicles, inching bumper to bumper. The heat and the dust only added to the woes.Walking inside the Ecospace campus, I heard the clink of metal against concrete, under my feet. Quick inspection showed three nails had lodged themselves deep into the sole of my shoes. I said a silent ‘thank you’ that they hadn’t reached by toes.Instead of removing them, I decided to carry them to my office as souvenirs from the adventurous assignment.Once in office, I removed the nails carefully and kept them in my locker. Then, I hurried out for the next task. As always, the best was saved for the last. As I was reaching Webb’s junction on MG Road, my back wheel started wobbling vigorously and in a flash I knew who the culprit was. Yes, a Fourth One.This one punctured the tube too. It was a nail my tyre picked up on the flyover near BDA. But it had held in the air throughout my long ride to work. May be I should thank this Fourth One for that.Later, after a quick phone call, the ever-reliable ‘Puncher Specialist’ Rizwan bhai arrived. After he was done, the Fourth One was in my hand, and I knew just where to keep it. In my souvenir collection.