A policeman

I followed a policeman around like a creep today. Almost as if I was policing him around.

It wasn’t a usual scenery to me to see an inspector stroll around an art gallery inspecting not criminals but art. Each and every piece of them. I lurked around with my camera like a weirdo until he started to notice me.

I decided to put both of us at ease and minimise my possibility of getting arrested by asking him a question as simple as, “What does this make you feel?”

He was standing in front of a 4 segmented piece signifying motherhood and was visibly struggling to take a photo.
“My mother passed away last year. I’m the oldest to three younger sister. I have a wife who gave me a daughter. I did not just grow up with women, I felt their presence to the very core. I’ve been trying to take a picture of this, to show my daughter. Responsibilities pushed me towards the profession I stand in today. Going to an art school has always been just a dream. But, my daughter can be whatever she wants. I’m taking these pictures home to show her this different world. I’m on duty, so I couldn’t bring her with me.”

I stared in awe like a deer caught in a headlight and took his phone to take a proper photo of the artwork for him.
As I watched him move on to the other art work, I wondered how they’re not just men in uniform for us to judge all the time, but they’re men with stories, families, individualities and emotions.