Construction
I want to start swimming again after gap of more than a year. I need to get a doctor's certificate which states that I am physically fit and do not have any skin disease. I go the doctor. He is a busy man. By the time my turn comes, he has only one prescription paper left. He says that there are more people in the queue after me and if he has to prescribe antibiotics, it has to be written on the paper where his name, address and details of his degrees are printed. I am asked to come back the next morning when he will get his stock of the prescription note pads. I put the reminder in my Digical on the mobile phone. These are important things of my life like getting Atta from the chakki i.e. flour from the flour mill, buying coriander leaves or 'Dhaniya patta' aka 'Kothmir' from the Bhaji wallah (vegetable vendor). As I wait at the Doctor's clinic on a lazy Saturday morning, my cook Masi passes by. She is shocked to see me here, in spite of knowing that I was really unwell a day back. As soon as I have assured her I am fine, I give her instructions of what veggies are to be cut for the Fried rice. Now my earlier maid Sonal stops by. Sonal had quit all jobs as soon as she had conceived. She never wanted to raise her child in Kasarwadi. She had said kids get spoilt here and do not learn anything good from other Chawl kids. Her child is three now and is eating only junk food. Lots of shops selling groceries across the Chawl. The children run with five or ten Rupees to buy sweets, Lay's wafers and other packaged foods. Because of the crazy amount of preservatives and colour in these packaged foods, the child has a permanent cold and cough. Now she has fever too. Sonal said the child is getting pampered in the joint family with money. She is having fights with the family but no one listens to her regarding this. She plans to move to the far off suburbs and put her child in school there. Her husband had not agreed to move even three years back. She wants to move away from this vicinity to give a better lifestyle and environment to her immediate family.
A group of six men walk into the clinic helping a Sardar. I can see really muddy shoes and filthy clothes. The shoes... one is black and one is maroon. I am trying to gauge how poor the man is when I look at his bleeding hand. It has been administered some first aid. Another really young handsome Sardar is helping him hold the injured hand up. The bleeding man has vacant eyes and is not screaming in pain. They all actually sit down waiting in queue for their turn. I go to the receptionist cum nurse cum compounder's window and tell her to take the bleeding man in. He is ushered in with the team of five men. I can hear the doctor scream as he sends everyone out except one. The men in dirty clothes have all come out. One man amongst them is in clean clothes. He is explaining to the others that the clinic will stink because of their dirty clothes. They all are sitting and talking. The young handsome Sardar is not been chatted with. Others are talking in Marathi. The Sardar wants to go back inside the Doctor's room. The we'll dressed man is the administration officer of the construction site which is six kilometres away. The patient is a carpenter who has got hurt with a rod which has torn into his flesh. The older labourer said he had stuffed the flesh back when he was bandaging the man. The admin guy has clicked pictures on his mobile of the wound and is showing around. The Doctor has said the expense will be a lot to stitch up the patient. He has been hit behind his ear and is bleeding from there too. Frantic calls are being made to the senior officers to get approval of the costing which the doctor has given. Meanwhile, the doctor has started stitching the wound inside. The only joy is that no nerve has been cut, so healing will happen soon.
I start asking the administration guy a few questions about the construction site and how it works. The man who was allowed to accompany the patient is the "safety in charge". The admin guy is there to handle all the paperwork. He says "The construction line is always a risky job". The unskilled labourer is paid 250-300 rupees a day. All payments are made on a monthly basis. The contractor keeps his cut before giving the money to the labourers . The company makes tin roof barracks with lights, fans and toilets for the labourers on the site. The meals, they can cook on their own or eat what the contractor provides. The contractor then cuts the money for the food before paying the labourers. They have 8 hour shifts and most of them work double shifts. The work is risky and any slip up can cause grievous injury or death. There is one accident at least every week where a labourer is hurt. It is always the labourer's mistake. Never ever the mistake of the equipment or machines. The skilled labour is the carpenters, plumbers, electricians etc. They easily earn from 20000-30000 Rupees per month. They are paid as per the dimension of work they do. They can finish the work in one day or one week. The contractor has to deliver the building to the Builder/construction company in a stipulated time. So he keeps the pressure on on the sub contractors and so on. The entire medical cost will be deducted from the injured labourer. The admin guy said that is how the industry works world over. These are the unsaid rules. When he gets his salary, the medical costs and the days of work missed , all the money shall be deducted. After the stitching up the Sardar comes out. I feel so sad for him. His colleagues are all casual about it. For them it is a regular thing. They are concerned but they are not sad. I am feeling sad as I see the Sardar and his nephew . I am assuming both are from the same village in Punjab. They are there for each other. I am thinking of how tough the life is for all of them. I am feeling the weight of the real work, the real dangers they are facing day in and day out. I buy them Parle G biscuits and some chocolates for instant energy . There is no Chai wallah around to buy them tea. They all want to head back to the construction site and get on with their work.
And here I wanting to start swimming in the luxury of a swimming pool with my new swimming gear. Are all the buildings made with so much risk, accidents and death? What do I construct from this?
A group of six men walk into the clinic helping a Sardar. I can see really muddy shoes and filthy clothes. The shoes... one is black and one is maroon. I am trying to gauge how poor the man is when I look at his bleeding hand. It has been administered some first aid. Another really young handsome Sardar is helping him hold the injured hand up. The bleeding man has vacant eyes and is not screaming in pain. They all actually sit down waiting in queue for their turn. I go to the receptionist cum nurse cum compounder's window and tell her to take the bleeding man in. He is ushered in with the team of five men. I can hear the doctor scream as he sends everyone out except one. The men in dirty clothes have all come out. One man amongst them is in clean clothes. He is explaining to the others that the clinic will stink because of their dirty clothes. They all are sitting and talking. The young handsome Sardar is not been chatted with. Others are talking in Marathi. The Sardar wants to go back inside the Doctor's room. The we'll dressed man is the administration officer of the construction site which is six kilometres away. The patient is a carpenter who has got hurt with a rod which has torn into his flesh. The older labourer said he had stuffed the flesh back when he was bandaging the man. The admin guy has clicked pictures on his mobile of the wound and is showing around. The Doctor has said the expense will be a lot to stitch up the patient. He has been hit behind his ear and is bleeding from there too. Frantic calls are being made to the senior officers to get approval of the costing which the doctor has given. Meanwhile, the doctor has started stitching the wound inside. The only joy is that no nerve has been cut, so healing will happen soon.
I start asking the administration guy a few questions about the construction site and how it works. The man who was allowed to accompany the patient is the "safety in charge". The admin guy is there to handle all the paperwork. He says "The construction line is always a risky job". The unskilled labourer is paid 250-300 rupees a day. All payments are made on a monthly basis. The contractor keeps his cut before giving the money to the labourers . The company makes tin roof barracks with lights, fans and toilets for the labourers on the site. The meals, they can cook on their own or eat what the contractor provides. The contractor then cuts the money for the food before paying the labourers. They have 8 hour shifts and most of them work double shifts. The work is risky and any slip up can cause grievous injury or death. There is one accident at least every week where a labourer is hurt. It is always the labourer's mistake. Never ever the mistake of the equipment or machines. The skilled labour is the carpenters, plumbers, electricians etc. They easily earn from 20000-30000 Rupees per month. They are paid as per the dimension of work they do. They can finish the work in one day or one week. The contractor has to deliver the building to the Builder/construction company in a stipulated time. So he keeps the pressure on on the sub contractors and so on. The entire medical cost will be deducted from the injured labourer. The admin guy said that is how the industry works world over. These are the unsaid rules. When he gets his salary, the medical costs and the days of work missed , all the money shall be deducted. After the stitching up the Sardar comes out. I feel so sad for him. His colleagues are all casual about it. For them it is a regular thing. They are concerned but they are not sad. I am feeling sad as I see the Sardar and his nephew . I am assuming both are from the same village in Punjab. They are there for each other. I am thinking of how tough the life is for all of them. I am feeling the weight of the real work, the real dangers they are facing day in and day out. I buy them Parle G biscuits and some chocolates for instant energy . There is no Chai wallah around to buy them tea. They all want to head back to the construction site and get on with their work.
And here I wanting to start swimming in the luxury of a swimming pool with my new swimming gear. Are all the buildings made with so much risk, accidents and death? What do I construct from this?
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