“The Night the Alarms Rang”- What Ramesh Learned About Staying Calm When Everyone Else Couldn’t

At 3 a.m., while the entire building slept, a sudden fire alarm shook Sunrise Apartments awake. People panicked. But one person didn’t - security guard Ramesh Verma, who says, “If I panic, the whole building panics.” This is his story.

“People Think Nothing Happens Here, But I See Everything.”

If you walk into Sunrise Apartments on any school morning, you’ll probably see a tall man in a navy uniform sitting at the security desk, his walkie-talkie clipped at his side. That’s Ramesh Verma, the guard who has been watching over the building for seven years.

While most teenagers push past the entrance with earphones in, Ramesh is looking everywhere; at the lift, at the gate, at the CCTV monitors, at the people coming in and out. Even when he sits, he sits straight, as if relaxing isn’t part of his job.

Ramesh didn’t grow up dreaming of becoming a security guard. In fact, he grew up in a small village in Uttar Pradesh, where life was simple and money was tight. After school, he followed thousands of others who leave home searching for work in the city.

“I just wanted a job that would let me support my family,” he said. A friend suggested a security training program, and Ramesh decided to try it. For the first time, he learned about emergency drills, first aid, and surveillance. “It made me feel confident,” he said.

His first posting, however, was scary. It was at a huge shopping mall.

“I was nervous every day,” he admitted. “Crowds, kids running around, alarms going off… I kept thinking I’d mess up.”

But shift after shift, he learned how to stay calm, and he learned how to observe people.

And that skill would soon become the most important part of his job.

“Staying Alert Is Not About Staring at Screens.”

If you ask Ramesh what his job really requires, he’ll tell you something unexpected:

“A lot of people think security guards just sit,” he said. “But staying alert is not about staring at screens. It’s about reading people.”

This is something a lot of teenagers miss when they run past his desk without noticing him.

His day begins early. At 7 a.m., he starts by checking the fire exits, walking around the building, inspecting cameras, and updating the visitor log. During the day, he deals with delivery workers, confused guests, parking fights, and even missing parcels.

The hardest part? The hours.

“Some days I’m here for 12 hours,” Ramesh told me. “My family sleeps when I leave and sleeps when I come back.”

Yet he still finds pride in his work. He knows that people depend on him, even if they don’t always say it out loud.

The Fire Alarm That Changed Everything

One night last winter, everything Ramesh had learned was put to the test.

“At around three in the morning, the alarm suddenly rang,” he said. He remembers the sound clearly loud, sharp, echoing through the empty building.

Within minutes, sleepy residents rushed downstairs. Some were crying. Some were shouting. Some didn’t even know what was happening.

“My heart was beating fast,” Ramesh said. “But I knew I couldn’t show it.”

He directed people outside, calmed those who were panicking, and checked each floor with a torch.

The “fire” turned out to be a short circuit in the basement, but the lessons were real.

“That night, I understood my job isn’t small,” he said. “People look to me during danger.”

It was the kind of moment that changes how someone sees themselves.

The Job That Teaches You More About People Than School Ever Could

If there’s one thing Ramesh has learned over the years, it’s how different people can be.

“You meet every type of person here,” he explained. “Some smile. Some don’t. Some talk like they’re your boss. Some treat you like family.”

Teenagers especially fascinate him.

“You guys are honest,” he laughed. “If you’re annoyed, it shows. If you’re happy, it shows. I see everything.”

But his job has taught him not to take things personally. He has learned patience, something he never thought he had.

“This job taught me how to stay calm,” he said. “Even when the situation isn’t calm.”

And that calm is what keeps the building safe.

Dreams Don’t Retire—They Just Change Shape

Ramesh isn’t done growing.

He wants to take an advanced security course so he can become a supervisor. “I want to grow,” he said simply.

He wants his two children to study more than he did. He wants them to chase dreams he never had the chance to imagine.

And until then, he will keep doing what he does best, protecting people quietly, without expecting applause.

“If I can prevent even one accident,” he told me, “then my job is worth it."

Written by Aesha Agarwal, Grade 9, Sanskriti the Gurukul, Guwahati

Aesha wrote this article as a participant of the Media-Makers Fellowship's Nov'25 cohort.

This profile article was awarded the 'Best Profile' award during the fellowship.