The man had come to buy medicines at a pharmacy on R K Mutt Road, Mylapore. Seeing a familiar face walking by, he stepped out of the shop and shook hands with him. "Aren't you Natraj? I've been to your violin concerts," he said with a broad smile on his face and the band of sacred ash on his forehead glistening.
For most others, R Natraj is the man with the fierce handlebar moustache that stamped him out as the typical police officer. After service in the Tamil Nadu police that included a stint as Chennai police commissioner, he took over as chairman of the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission where he instituted many reforms.
For the upper and middle-classes of Mylapore, he is the local man - one who is part of the kutcheri circuit, who attends seminars, and takes part in panel discussions. "I grew up here. Many of my friends live here and people here know me," said Natraj. Among poorer voters, however, he is Amma's candidate who is banking on her appeal, the two-leaves symbol, and MGR.
The transition from khaki to whites has been smooth, he said, as he stepped into a small temple where the priest performed special prayers for him. "Even when I was commissioner I interacted with people and listened to their problems. I always thought there is more to governance than files. I see this election as a chance to do more," he said, obliging to selfies with party cadres and youth. He says the pressing issues in Mylapore are garbage and traffic - and he will address them.
The former Chennai commissioner of police was removed from the post ahead of the 2006 assembly election after he told a newspaper that chief minister Jayalalithaa was "the icon every woman should look up to" on Women's Day that year.
Based on a complaint from then Union minister A Raja of the DMK, the Election Commission asked the state to remove Natraj from the post. But Natraj insists his regard for Jayalalithaa was only personal. Only recently did it become political loyalty.