A DONKEY, TOO, CAN DO SOME SMART WORK!

One of my favorite reminders to my students is, “Don’t do donkey work – the gadha mazdoori.”

Well, they are so used to hearing it from me, that they know exactly when I would be coming out with it in the midst of my teaching – or preaching.

“Do smart work; not donkey work, okay?” That’s what I want to remind them, “I want efficiency, you understand?”

The interesting thing is that, I am so used to reminding my students about the need for efficient work, the smart work… so much so that they have almost become immune to my reminders…

Lo! There they come, once again, with their donkey-work…

And, there I go, once again, with my broken gramophone!

Then, I smile, nod my head thinking about my own donkey-work sermons, thinking how inefficient they are in making the desired impact on my students… and, I realize it is time, I did some ‘smart work’ in this respect…

Yes, invariably, when the donkey-work drops from my sermons, the donkey-work drops from my students, too!

If you insist too much on efficiency from others, you will not only find more of inefficiency, you also realize how stupid you can be…

Yes, what a first-class donkey!

Mulla Nasruddin had the most inefficient donkey… He was so fed up with it, that he desperately wanted to sell it off, even if meant for free. But, Mulla failed to do that… The donkey had become so used to our Mulla and Mulla to our donkey, that they couldn’t live even for a day without each other!

Such was the bond…

Such was the beauty…

“Don’t harp on efficiency too much… See the beauty of donkey-work… See how smartly it is carried out!” I smile whenever I come home unable to get rid of my useless donkey… my old habit…

Yes, it works… It does…

People behave very efficiently – very smartly – 

when you stop cribbing too much about their 

inefficiency, their donkey-work…

Above all, you will see how smart you are when you stop cribbing too much about others’ donkey-work…

So, may Mulla-the-great, inspire you with one of his smart works…

Once, Nasruddin was working for an employer who was too cribby about Mulla’s work.

“You are worse than your donkey, too lazy and too slow,” Nasruddin’s master yelled, one day, “Why do you have to make three trips to the bazaar to buy things when you can plan well in advance and get them all together in one go? What I want is efficiency, some smart work… You understand?”

“Yes sir, I do,” Nasruddin meekly conceded.

Some days later, the master fell ill badly and a doctor had to be called immediately. “Nasruddin, I am badly ill,” the employer said, “Hurry, get a doctor.”

Within minutes, Nasruddin returned to his ailing master, but with two more people accompanying the doctor.

“Who are these two?” the master asked in a weak voice, “I had asked you to bring only a doctor.”

“That is correct, sir,” Mulla agreed, but, I remembered your advice and brought these two, planning well in advance. This one is imam, in case we need to pray; that one is the undertaker, in case you die!”

This Mulla-story ends here. So, we don’t know what happened after that: whether the fussy master died on witnessing Nasruddin’s smart-work… or, if he lived long and smart!

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: Malabika Ganguly