Sarcasm for dodgers

“Donate blood but not on roads... Admin H!” read one post on the Facebook page of the Hyderabad Traffic Police. Another post that garnered attention was: “Levels of Athletes: PT Usha, Usain Bolt, violators when they see us. Admin H!”

For an avid follower of the page, such witty posts have become an everyday slice of life, all thanks to Admin H, whose wit and humour are serving some serious food for thought. So much that most of these posts have gone viral and have been subjected to jokes and memes as well. But who is Admin H? Some fictional character? No! Harinath Reddy, a 27-year-old employee with the department, is the man behind this much-needed dose of humour that is keeping several citizens engaged online.

“I have been a very sarcastic person since childhood and so, there’s not much effort needed to write these posts. I just try not to go overboard and want to be careful about engaging in a healthy conversation with people,” shares Harinath, who was born and brought up in the city, hence, he finds it easy to write these appealing posts. Recalling how he was the lone admin of the page when he began working in 2011, he says things changed for him the day he decided to rebel. “I was being nice, following the rules and being courteous. One day, I decided it was time to snap out of it as I realised being all nice wasn’t going to work. If we had to impact a change, it had to be done in a tactful way. That day, I decided to just go ahead and be sarcastic, I wasn’t worried about losing my job. I realised people weren’t taking traffic safety with the kind of seriousness it deserved. I have lost people close to me and I know how important it is,” he shares. Well, the response was brilliant. In fact, his senior officials too approved of his methods.

What has really got people talking is how Harinath has no qualms about writing satirical posts about other departments, or at times even about the latest political developments. “Whatever I do, I never cross my limits. Also, I am very responsible about what I say. Yes, there have been instances when people misconstrued what I had written and made it go viral. But that just pushes me to be more careful in future,” he explains.

We ask him if the memes made about him are overwhelming. “The first time I saw a meme, I thought one of my friends was playing a prank on me! When I came to know that it was actually being shared on the Internet, I was taken by surprise. Now I have become used to it. The attention feels great! But at the end of the day, I am just a regular guy doing his job and hanging out with friends otherwise,” he concludes.