In most cooperative housing societies we have this concept of a watchman. He is a man who is supposed to secure the building, yet he has nothing on him (not even a baton mind you) he sits by near the gate all day, reading a paper or sleeping on the chair. (what else can he do anyway?) his job entails washing the cars, and opening the gate when the cars come by. He lives in the motor room (yes that’s right!!) and is the society’s aadmi, at its beck and call.
But why is he there in the first place? It’s not that he can stop anyone from robbing the building if they wanted to. Its notional security something akin to building a three wall to ‘protect’ the building from thieves.
What is it about the watchman that makes people comfortable? Just one day, when the watchman isn’t there, I see people squirm with discomfort, suddenly worrying for the safety of their houses. Its weird we feel the need to have them around, yet we consider it okay to treat them in a manner ill befitting any human being. We make them sleep in the dingiest of places. I still remember how my watchman nearly died of malaria thanks to sleeping outside on the water tank. Yet no one did anything, no one considered it important to give that man a space, a place where he can truly rest. We pay them a pittance as salary. Mind you, more than half of that miniscule salary goes to the village to help his family tide over their monthly expenses. Yet when there is a robbery the doubt always goes on the watchman. ‘he must have aided the robbery’ what no one understands is the fact that the watchman is utterly dependent on this job, it provides his family with a semblance of a chance of living a decent life. I still remember how my watchman one told about the fact that he works in two shifts in a day. He guards my building in the day and another building in the neighboring sector at night. I asked him when he would sleep. He just shrugged his shoulders and replied “I have a two hour break in between the two. That’s when I sleep” he did this so that he could supplement his income. It’s inhuman, the way we treat them at times. Why do we need a watchman anyway? If we do is it possible for us to treat them in a better fashion?
My watchman earns close to 2500 rupees. My driver earns more than that!!!! Is this the way we should be treating these people? If that’s so, then one can truly say that slavery has never been abolished; it has but manifested itself in a different form to suit the workings of the world.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
The transient nature of our public space
Its weird really.. our malls seem to have taken over our lives. You must be wondering what the reason is behind this venom spewing. I just visited the Inorbit mall in Vashi. It’s Monday afternoon, and its jam packed!! I just couldn’t fathom the reason behind this. I always assumed that most of the people visiting malls during the week must be students, probably bunking their classes for the day in order to spend time with their partners.
To my horror I noticed that most of the people visiting this mall seem to be middle aged, some couples some families even. But what are they doing in the mall on a bright Monday afternoon? Its as if malls have taken over our public space. A visit to the mall has become a regular family outing, where one can feast on McDonalds, Pizza Hut and the likes. Its okay to eat junk, after all it’s a choice that people make. But what’s unnerving is the fact that this seems to be a trend. We seem to prefer overpaying for the food we eat in return for an ambience which consists of air conditioning and good infrastructure.
Earlier the prime areas where the city would congregate in their free time would be the gardens, and the sea fronts. It was that which made Marine Drive synonymous with Mumbai. It was the fact that one could sit with one’s partner near the water front, making small conversations. It cost one close to nothing, but the experience was one that was cherished. This was a trend prevalent pretty much all over the country, wherein such places would entail the development of a local economy wherein hawkers would cater to the taste buds of these families.
Change is inevitable they say, it is argued that people’s preferences have changed. Nowadays one prefers sitting in the confines of a well designed coffee shop, preferring the overpaid coffee over the heat and dust of the outside world. We seem to prefer having conversations with air conditioning rather than feeling the wind on our faces. Of course one still finds people doing that, but these are the ones who cannot afford a Café Coffee Day or a Barista, where the cheapest coffee often costs more than their daily wage.
As one walks into these places, one does feel intimidated, its almost as if that make believe world is challenging you, “prove that you belong here. It entices you, pay your way through, and you can belong to the rich man’s club, albeit for a while. If you can’t, too bad for you, the world is an unfair place, so remember to stay in your league”
These people are of course content walking along the pavement surprised at the fact that there is something in the world which does not cost money, a place where how much they earn does not determine how they are treated. At last a public space which is truly inclusive.
To my horror I noticed that most of the people visiting this mall seem to be middle aged, some couples some families even. But what are they doing in the mall on a bright Monday afternoon? Its as if malls have taken over our public space. A visit to the mall has become a regular family outing, where one can feast on McDonalds, Pizza Hut and the likes. Its okay to eat junk, after all it’s a choice that people make. But what’s unnerving is the fact that this seems to be a trend. We seem to prefer overpaying for the food we eat in return for an ambience which consists of air conditioning and good infrastructure.
Earlier the prime areas where the city would congregate in their free time would be the gardens, and the sea fronts. It was that which made Marine Drive synonymous with Mumbai. It was the fact that one could sit with one’s partner near the water front, making small conversations. It cost one close to nothing, but the experience was one that was cherished. This was a trend prevalent pretty much all over the country, wherein such places would entail the development of a local economy wherein hawkers would cater to the taste buds of these families.
Change is inevitable they say, it is argued that people’s preferences have changed. Nowadays one prefers sitting in the confines of a well designed coffee shop, preferring the overpaid coffee over the heat and dust of the outside world. We seem to prefer having conversations with air conditioning rather than feeling the wind on our faces. Of course one still finds people doing that, but these are the ones who cannot afford a Café Coffee Day or a Barista, where the cheapest coffee often costs more than their daily wage.
As one walks into these places, one does feel intimidated, its almost as if that make believe world is challenging you, “prove that you belong here. It entices you, pay your way through, and you can belong to the rich man’s club, albeit for a while. If you can’t, too bad for you, the world is an unfair place, so remember to stay in your league”
These people are of course content walking along the pavement surprised at the fact that there is something in the world which does not cost money, a place where how much they earn does not determine how they are treated. At last a public space which is truly inclusive.
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