This morning we'd called the 'kabaadiwala' to collect the pile of old newspapers, magazines, bottles and plastic that had accumulated over a period. Ummer, from the nearby neighbourhood, has come for the same purpose before too and has a friendly disposition. Since Lekha was pre-occupied I was overseeing the entire operation and as is my wont, I got to chatting with Ummer because frankly, I was impressed with his dedication to work which would be a tremendous strain in this holy month of Ramadan as he fasts during daytime.
Ummer was philosophical this morning. His eldest son , an IT professional in an MNC, wants him to chuck his job of 'garbage collection' as he finds it 'infradig' to his newly acquired status. I must quote Ummer here, "Sir, my son is ignorant of the fact that this is one of the 'cleanest'(with added emphasis) jobs shorn of glamour, though. One can eke out a comfortable living if one's sincere!"
He further added that in Kerala, there's no dearth of jobs but what's lacking among the malayalees is the will to do any job. Here, everyone wants a white collar job and a governmental one at that. I'd a lump in my throat because this was the same conclusion that the PN Panicker Foundation had arrived at after doing a state wide survey, a year ago!!
Tailpiece.
What we forget, in our eagerness to live our lives, is the yeomen service that the 'kabaadiwala' or the ragpicker does for the society in keeping the surroundings clean and unlittered! Perhaps, giving them modern equipments for disposal of waste, integrate their chain to bring about a comprehensive waste management system are the immediate steps to be taken towards attaining a cleaner environment!!
Ummer was philosophical this morning. His eldest son , an IT professional in an MNC, wants him to chuck his job of 'garbage collection' as he finds it 'infradig' to his newly acquired status. I must quote Ummer here, "Sir, my son is ignorant of the fact that this is one of the 'cleanest'(with added emphasis) jobs shorn of glamour, though. One can eke out a comfortable living if one's sincere!"
He further added that in Kerala, there's no dearth of jobs but what's lacking among the malayalees is the will to do any job. Here, everyone wants a white collar job and a governmental one at that. I'd a lump in my throat because this was the same conclusion that the PN Panicker Foundation had arrived at after doing a state wide survey, a year ago!!
Tailpiece.
What we forget, in our eagerness to live our lives, is the yeomen service that the 'kabaadiwala' or the ragpicker does for the society in keeping the surroundings clean and unlittered! Perhaps, giving them modern equipments for disposal of waste, integrate their chain to bring about a comprehensive waste management system are the immediate steps to be taken towards attaining a cleaner environment!!
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