E For Enjoyment
Enjoying is to take
delight or pleasure in an activity or occasion. If a person’s hobby
becomes his job that person is destined to excel. Let me illustrate. A worker
has to fit bolts in the wheel assembly department of an automotive company. He
does his job well but he does not give it his all, which he could offer. He is
working with his head and hands only. But he is not giving his heart. If
he can give it his heart he will become a master craftsman.
The same man loves dogs. In other
words dogs are his hobby. As far as dogs are concerned he would do anything to
satisfy his interest. He would pore over dog magazines, he would involve in
discussion about dogs with his friend, and he would gape at pedigree dogs that
he sees in the street. He would drive kilometers to see dog shows and he is an
avid watcher of dog and wildlife programmes on the television. All these
indicate that dogs are his all consuming passion. If this type of passion could
come into our jobs we would be excellent as workers and as employees.
The job that our friend should look
for is in the field of show dog breeding, dog training, sale of dog food and
dog related accessories. That way he can pursue his hobby as a career and make
a happy living for himself.
Cities in India are crowded and most
of the traffic on the roads is quite undisciplined and unruly. People honk, cut
each other off in the traffic, snarl, abuse and are at each other’s throat all
the time. Their road rage is very apparent but the people most affected are the
traffic cops. They are the most helpless, ill equipped and have limited
authority. They do not possess high speed vehicles and till very recently could
not even record and apprehend errant drivers. And to top it all they do
not get appreciation or sympathy from the people they serve, the road users.
The traffic cops do not have any
protection against pollution and tend to be a demoralized lot. They have to
perform duties in hot sun and stand cheek in jowl with milling vehicles and
traffic. No wonder they have grown surly, sulking and not surprisingly become
aggressive and abusive. Traffic cops are mostly ignored and are considered a
minor irritant when one is driving.
But one traffic cop’s direction
giving style is printed vividly in my memory. It was the late 80s and the
traffic junction was Jai hind cafe junction at Ashoknagar, Hyderabad. It
was manned by a traffic cop named Narsing Rao. Narsing Rao was a very nice
man. He always has a ready smile and would cheerfully greet his regular
friends. His style of directing traffic was like a ballet dance. His directions
were crisp, firm and very artistic. He would gently chide drivers trying to cut
ahead of traffic or who were trying to violate the rules. He would say “Arre
Saab, why don’t you wait for a few seconds please?” His gentle manners and
smile won him many admirers.
Narsing Rao was featured in the
local press and became a minor celebrity. The story was caught on and he was
featured in the local television channels and finally he was a part of a BBC
programme. The state government recognized his services, gave him a promotion
and made his an instructor at the AP traffic training school, Amberpet,
Hyderabad. I am sure that Narsing Rao became a very good teacher and may his tribe
multiply exponentially.
I could get hold of couple of YouTube
videos titled dancing traffic cops. The gay abandon with which both the traffic
cops dance while performing their duty makes us envious. That I think is the
essence of doing any job. Do it so well that other people become envious and
want to do the same job. Key words for the YouTube.com search “Dancing
policeman: America's most entertaining traffic cop” and Traffic Cop Dance:
Michael Jackson Style”.
Look at Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal
and the new breed of sporting icons. Their sheer enjoyment of playing their
respective games at the highest level, winning laurels for themselves and for
the country has spawned an entire new generation of wanna be youngsters who
want to emulate their sporting heroes. Enjoying what we do and doing what we
enjoy is the essence of living happily and with contentment.
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