A bottle of cold water

Well not much can you conclude from the picture on the left or the title. Can you? So here is the story behind it. The bunch of sack is lying right outside my home. After that you see a series of dirt being piled on the road. This is what was stuck in the storm water drainage and was removed by the sewage cleaning workers earlier today. 

Initially couple of workers had arrived outside my home and they were getting ready for cleaning the sewage. We told them hello and asked if they would like water since they may have had a long day. We immediately got them bottle of cold water from the fridge (They did not expect we would get them water and that too cold). Then we struck a conversation with them where they revealed how tough the job conditions were. The man holes stinks and they do not get fresh air. They have to do this day in and day out. They had to wait for 10 minutes for the gases to dissipate. So we could chat with them while they waited. They were also not equipped with masks or any protective/safety gear. They just dive inside the sewage and remove the garbage and waste to clear the clogs. Now what amount of money would you be willing to do that even once? Now imagine that a person's daily work profile is clearing sewage. Let us rethink for a moment where we pass a comment easily saying "He or she is doing that work for the money". Well this profession of cleaning sewage drain is not worth any money in my opinion.

This got me thinking that if a city like Chennai is still following this old tradition of sending people to clean, imagine the plight of backward areas? Cant we automate the system? Let us pause for a minute to think that a human being is actually cleaning all the sewage from our homes. These are not heroes but super heroes who are risking and maybe shortening their life span to make our lives easier. 

Now coming to the climax, we met the same people on their way back in the evening and asked them whats the deal with the dirt outside our homes packed in sack bags. They replied back saying "Sir firstly no one talks to us or even looks at us. You guys talked to us. Then you asked us if we need water which never happens and to top it all you served us with nice cold water in a bottle. No one even cares about us. This is the way we could repay in a small way. We do not want any residue of dirt outside your home as it looks good. Please take this as our thanks". Powerful, yet a subtle reminder for all of us - Let us recognize and support the corporation workers or any workers, for they are not heroes but super heroes. Remember to say hi and thanks for their services. This is the least you can do. And yes do not forget the bottled cold water.

Adithiya Sreenivasan Nagarajan