Two boys who did Warangal proud at Medaram Jatara

A sweet homecoming for two probationary IPS officers

Until two years ago, 29-year-old Rupesh Chennuri was one among the lakhs of devotees who were waiting for their turn to pray the Sammakka-Sarakka deities up close during biennial Medaram Jatara. Being a native of Warangal, he made it a point to attend the biennial jatara along with his family in his father’s auto-rickshaw or sometimes on bullock carts.

This year too, he attended the jatara but in a different role. The Warangal lad was among the large deployment of police personnel who facilitated the smooth darshan by lakhs of devotees at the biggest public congregation in both the Telugu States.

After chasing his dream of becoming a civil servant, he cracked UPSC examinations and is on the way of becoming an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. Currently a probationary officer of 2017 batch, Mr. Rupesh is attached to Ramagundam Commissionerate as a trainee.

“We used to wait in long queues, for hours on end every time, to pray to the goddesses. But, during this festival I was one of the persons in-charge of the Gadde (altars). Life has changed a lot,” Mr. Rupesh told The Hindu.

Tough life

Till he got selected for the IPS, his father, Ramanaiah, was an auto-rickshaw driver and his mother, Sarojana, was a beedi worker in Hasanparthy.

“Professionally, Medaram jatara was a challenging task and at the same time it was a great learning experience. I learnt how to manage such large gathering of people in a short time and motivate our men who worked round-the-clock,” he said. The series of interactions with senior officers and their guidance helped them perform well in the designated role, he added.

Similar to Mr. Rupesh, another Warangal lad who experienced a massive shift in dynamics of relationship is 28-year-old IPS trainee officer B. Rohit. He is son of Ashok Raju, an Assistant Sub-Inspector in Warangal Commissionerate, and recalls that he used to address his father’s colleagues as uncle. “Now my uncles address me as ‘Sir’, which I find uncomfortable but, I cannot insist,” he said.

Matter of pride

“It was a great moment for me. I was working with my father’s colleagues and his seniors. Many of them recognised me and waded through the sea of devotees to meet me at my post after darshanam. It was like a homecoming,” said Mr. Rohit, who is currently attached to Bhadradri-Kothagudem district for training.

During the jatara, which is popularly known as ‘Telangana’s Kumbh Mela’, he was in-charge of entrance gates, which includes VIP and VVIP gates.

“For me, it was a great learning experience and being a native of the place, I have a personal attachment which made me get more involved,” Mr. Rohit said.

Apart from Mr. Rupesh and Mr. Rohit, there were nine other probationary officers of 2017 and 2018 batch of IPS and around 10,000 police personnel of various ranks who were deployed at the Medaram jatara this year.

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