Hmmm… so my mind wanders through a sea of thoughts while travelling. Sometimes they are not so related at all, and sometimes I feel they are the deepest feelings that I have felt or may be the innermost desires/ dreams that I have always had.
So here I was travelling to office today in my office cab. It’s an everyday affair that we have to cross this main road and reach office. There is Bangalore Metro work in progress in that road. In the beginning when the work started I was so irked by the amount of chaos the whole construction work would create for the commuters, but slowly with each passing day , my anger started subsiding and curiosity started growing. I would peep out to have a glimpse of what the workers in that area were actually doing. I saw them sweating it out in the heat of the scorching sun for days together and getting all dusty, muddy and greasy on the rainy days. Each of them was working to do something which I never understood but nevertheless they all worked hard. I only wondered “why they are digging the earth in those odd angles?” Or “why are they digging it so deep?” “How is the metro tracks going to be laid?” And as I watched those huge machine equipments, boulders, etc... I was only amazed how much of work was being done.
Today while travelling the same path, I saw the pillars getting erected, the iron rods being arranged and a cement concrete being placed. They are laying the foundation for the over bridge. The foundation below the ground is about 7-10 feet deep made of complete concrete and iron. Ok, I know everyone is wondering what is so wonderful about it, Well I was just thinking about the day when the work is complete and the city has a new flyover (I am not sure if the Metro will be running on the tracks above the flyover, see I have to get my data corrected.) lets leave those details aside for now. I was talking about the day when those cement concrete and iron pillars will carry the weight of so many vehicles/ trains. That day the worker who was a part of this project will have all the right to feel elated, he can always feel that this is what I gifted the city, the channels, the lifeline for it to keep running through with my and my fellow workers blood and sweat.
Isn’t that feeling a unique thing in itself that everyone of us possess for any of our creations which gets complete and is in its complete glory, no matter how small and how insignificant it is to the world ( well, I don’t mean their contribution is insignificant). I mean it’s just not the money that you get from your work; it also has a lot to do with the satisfaction that you get from doing it and doing it well. I am sure as the pillar was being built from strength to strength their joy of watching it and knowing that their hands / their strength and the Engineer’s mind behind those plans are responsible for this, and that thought alone should make them so happy and satisfied and proud of their work/achievement.
Just the other day in one of the functions in our Company, they had a stall where people flocked and when I peeked in , I saw that there was a potter who was making those beautiful flower vases of mud and giving it to them. Everyone took one of it and walked off. But the most interesting part was to actually watch something being mould by someone. It is a unique experience to know that we have the ability to create and also to see how others create and salute them for their ability to do that. Did we ever connect that attribute to our teachers and parents and thought they are like the potters who actually mould us into what we are today? Don’t you think that we should ponder over these thoughts and acknowledge their presence and meaning in our lives.
As I say this, I also think that as they groomed they also inculcated the same values in us, the value and the ability to create / to nourish / to appreciate the creations.
We all must understand the pains that is associated with any creations in any field, be it the manufacturing sector, agriculture, construction sector, or the software sector or the music sector, Film, Paintings, any form of creation is worth our salute and a recognition to those who have this ability to create. I still remember the small little greeting card that I used to make while we were studying in 5th STD during Christmas and New Year and gift to our friends; they were so meaningful to me. It did not have those expensive color papers or any fancy things on it, but the fact that we took the time out for making those cards and choosing the colors which our friends liked and give it to them in the end and see them smile to you was so special.
When we found happiness in doing those little things and feeling exuberant joy in them, then why is it that today we forget that we all are born to nourish/ create and just not lead our lives counting the money we earn? And why is it that after we grow up we attribute the act of creation to only certain kind of work? And why is it that we all forget to take the pride in our work? Should we always find joy in things that have a monetary, societal value alone? Should creation be limited by such boundaries and should we all associate our joy to the monetary / job benefits alone? Hmmm just some arbitrary thoughts…
