HONOUR LIES IN HONEST TOIL

 



“The dignity of labour is the dignity of man.”

Unknown

 

I have already blogged twice on Rajubhai. He is the istriwala who comes to our housing society. As we have agreed upon, he comes to collect the clothes from our house (for ironing) every Thursday at 9 a.m.

Let me type that again… at 9 a.m., every Thursday…

So, in my earlier two posts, I have described how punctual  he has been… 9 a.m. sharp; so much so, we can set our wall clock based on Rajubhai’s punctuality. Another thing, that I have wondered in my last two posts is: How does he manage to keep count of the number of clothes each potli (bundle) contains… He collects from dozens of residents in our buildings. But, never even once, he has done any goof-up… Above all, I have marvelled: How does he keep the account –- who has to pay how much without noting down anything… So brilliant his memory is!

He explains, “Saabji, main computer aur calculator use nahin karta hun.”

Respect to this man who is in his mid-fifties… He comes from far… loading so many bundles of clothes on his bicycle… Obviously, there is no way he can sit on it… He walks, balancing the load on his bicycle…






Now, for last couple of months, Rajubhai’s young son (who is in his mid-twenties) has been deputed to do what the father had been doing for years –- collect the clothes and deliver them back. This young man has fabulously carried forward his father’s legacy… He is absolutely punctual and dependable; besides, he is blessed with his father’s enthusiasm and  elephant memory…

The other day, I asked the young man, “Are you doing this work fulltime?”

“No Sir, I am an I.T. Engineer; I work for Ernst & Young,” the young man said, “I assist my dad in the mornings as I have the option to work from home with flexy-hours.”

My respect for Rajubhai and his son shot up even more…

Though he did not use a computer or a calculator to manage his ‘istri’ business, Rajubhai did manage to make his son an I.T. professional in a highly-respected company…

You see, even the best educational institutes or companies cannot inculcate in us the dignity of labour. But, yes, it can be ironed out at home.

 



GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic.: 1. pixabay/stockcake.com  2. fiti.club

Video: Ajay Focus

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