Invisible People

31^st December – this one day, every year, the whole world goes crazy! People celebrate the day in their own unique ways. Some get sloshed only to wake up 24 hours later, wondering where the hell did they miss the first day of the year. Others sing and dance away to glory whilst ushering in the new year.

There are people, who would much rather spend the last evening of the year with their loved ones. And then, there are people like us, who prefer to chill in their own comfort zone – getting the warmth from the bonfire, discussing the issues of the world, while sipping wine and eating home cooked roasted tomato pasta.

Normally, the ambience on such occasions gently caresses the philosophical side of people; and we are not saints. We too were bitten by the philosophical bug.

On a serious note, the thoughts that crept into my mind this new year’s eve were far away from philosophy. They were purely based on observation. They were worth revisiting and held enough sensitivity to linger and ponder over them.

While we made ourselves cosy near the fire, my eyes travelled to a dark spot near the house. There is some construction going on, adjacent to our residence. It was 19:00 hours, and I saw a bright bulb lit in the middle of the otherwise dark and gloomy construction site.

Two workers were unloading the cement sacks from a truck parked at the site. The men were carrying those sacks on their heads for storing them in the temporary shacks erected at the site.

A couple of men were sitting on chairs with their eyes glued on the bright screens of their mobiles. It seemed they were there to supervise the workers.

The owners of the site must have been celebrating their new year’s eve somewhere posh and comfortable while the labourers were slogging in the cold night of winter, well after their duty hours. 

The sight was provoking enough for me, and filled my mind with questions.

I wondered if these workers were aware that it was the last day of the year!

Did it make a difference to them if it was the last day of the year or the first one?

Do they never feel the need to find such excuses to celebrate life and live it for a few moments?

I continued watching them from the balcony. They worked late that night. After finished their job around 20:00 hours, they cooked their meal and retired to their small huts. Their day ended like any other day in their lives.

The following day, which was the first day of the year, and a big deal for us to begin it in a special way, they were up and about in the morning. I woke up with the sound of a digger cutting a trench at the site while the workers were busy in their mundane routine. For them that day was no different in their lives as any other. The new beginnings and resolutions, which function as motivation for many of us, eluded them.

My mind was constantly quizzing and puzzling me. A whole lot of thoughts were squirming inside. When a person can spend one or two crore rupees in constructing a huge building in a posh area, why cannot he/she spend 2,000-5,000 to make the lives of workers a bit livelier! After all, these workers put in their hard labour to construct the dreams of others!

Putting myself in the owner’s place, I started calculating what possibly could have been done to make the day special for the labourers. The labourers could have been bought a nice meal. They could have been asked to make a bonfire – which for them would have definitely not been a luxury but necessity. The workers could have been given one day’s paid holiday on the 1^st January, or anything to make that day a special one.

Any or all of the above would have cost a maximum of maybe 5,000 rupees to the owner; but it would have meant a great deal to workers for they would have gotten a chance to feel human.

 

My thinking process would have continued if it was not shaken by a sudden but harsh realisation – for many people these workers do not even exist beyond being labourers – available to slog for anyone who would pay them their daily wage!

In other circumstances (when there is no work), this community remains simply invisible to most of the people.

I do not believe in preaching, rather I practice whatever I learn. Ideas can strike anywhere and learning can come from any quarter.

I decided that from now on at least I can try to be humble and polite with these workers, who are in millions in number, in India, and make every effort to give them some happy moments.

This is because these humans need our humane approach and touch more than our money, which we spend to buy them.

If any one of you get some idea how the quality of life of these labour community be improved, please do share in the comments.

With these thoughts I wish Happy New Year to all of you and each one of those invisible worker!