Cop burns midnight oil for his passion, to release book

MANGALURU: During the day, he sweats it out on namma Kudla's busy roads managing traffic and at night he finds time for his passion: writing.
Shanthappa Babu, a police constable attached to Mangaluru West traffic police station, is all set to publish his first book, Masth Maja Traffic, a collection of humorous articles. The book will be released during Dakshina Kannada district Kannada Sahithya Sammelan to be held at Sri Kshetra Kateel from August 28 to 30.
Shanthappa, who joined the police department in 2002, has written 13 articles on his experiences while manning traffic in the coastal city. At the end of each article he gives a message for motorists on the etiquette that one needs to follow while on the road. "I have been working on the book for the past three years. I prefer writing between 10pm-11pm," he said.
An avid reader from his childhood, Shantappa is inspired by writer Bhuvaneshwari Hegde who has written the foreword of his book. Appreciating Shanthappa's literary bent of mind, S Murugan, city police commissioner, said, "It is really admirable that Shanthappa managed to find time amidst his busy work schedule to pen a book. This will inspire many others in the department to pursue their hidden talents."