The Secretary of the Tennis Association, who issued railway concession forms, loved to keep people waiting in a queue. Kiran Bedi used to travel extensively for her tennis tournaments so she needed a concession form, but she had to stand for hours in this nearly static queue.

One day she finally lost her patience and boldly said to the Secretary, that thanks to his ways, she has learnt not to ever waste anyone else’s time. Hearing this, the Secretary got furious and later intentionally deprived her of participating in Wimbledon, although she was eligible for it. Kiran Bedi was heartbroken for a while, but remained thankful to this gentleman for teaching her to value others’ time.

Dr Kiran Bedi was the first woman officer to join the Indian Police Service in 1972. She pioneered humanitarian policing by transforming prisons and boldly reducing corruption. She received the prestigious Magsaysay Award in 1994. She has also founded two NGOs in India: Navjyoti for welfare and preventive policing in 1987 and the India Vision Foundation for prison reformation, drug abuse prevention and child welfare in 1994.

Adapted for BookBox by Ananya Parthibhan.