Fix them up
We miss out many things in our busy schedule. Like morning walks, visiting temples, wishing good morning and other such things. But we also miss out fixing up broken stuff.
Like for example, we hardly ever repair anything- be it a phone, favorite dress, lucky watch, wall-clock, shoes and sandals or even an umbrella. The reason is simple enough- why waste time fixing these while they can be replaced. We apply the same logic in relationships too--- but that’s a topic for another article.
Since it hardly rains in Chennai we use umbrellas only to protect us from sun, not from rain. My umbrella got stuck and wasn’t opening. I had closed it even before drying it. It completely slipped my “Chennai brain”. We all are used to it, not to this though. The first thing my mother did was give me a lecture as to how I was a literate fool. I didn’t have the common sense of drying it before closing.
The next thing she did was to inform me about the price of the umbrella. When I said it was cheap and we could buy a new one hell broke loose. She scolded me that I didn’t know the value of anything.
When I quietly pointed out that it was an old umbrella she gave a stunning retort “I am old too will u get a new one?” How could an umbrella be compared to a person? How could anything be compared with mother?
It was beyond my arguing skills. I accepted defeat. I just took the spare umbrella. My mother ordered me to repair the old one. Now where would I find the umbrella repair guy? However I didn’t say that out loud. I didn’t want to hear her say “how will you find a job if you can’t even find this?
The following week, Varad cyclone happened to Chennai and everything broke down. Three days and still Chennai was recovering.
Everything was being fixed.
I was out to buy stuff when it suddenly started pouring. I tried opening my umbrella but it was obstinately adamant to open. I cursed myself, the rain and the umbrella.
I ran to the nearest store to get a new one. But thanks to Modiji i didn’t have rs.100 I had only Rs.2000.
The rain didn’t stop. That was when I spotted the umbrella repair guy. I immediately ran to him and asked to repair it. He took it gladly and fixed it in o time. He took just 30 bucks for that. A new one would have cost 200.
He said “madam bring it back if it’s not opening again. I will do it for free. I am here alternate days. Please don’t buy new ones instead. This is my profession.”
Tears stung my eyes. In our replacing madness we have thrashed many small workers. I have taken out the old umbrellas and given it for tiny adjustment. My old sandals and shoes are next.
So instead of replacing take a few minutes to fix stuff. Small thing for you, but a big thing for the repair guy.
