The traffic light controller man

The most powerful man in South Delhi is the traffic-light-controller who stands in the shadows of the ring road overpass each night. As the horns rise to a crescendo around him, he orchestrates who goes through the intersection and who remains stuck. The secret to his power sits within a modest control box, set back from the road under a palm tree (I choose to imagine the box contains comedy-sized red and green buttons). Tonight the lights took 15 minutes to change - did he step out for dinner or did someone slip him a few roups?