Lock down Diaries - Ramu Kaka and his towel

During lock down due to no maids allowed, all household chores responsibility was divided between me and my better half Papiya. She is very meticulous about her work and a perfectionist in what she does. I observed that she always has a towel on her shoulder while doing cooking and household chores. I was curious about her habit and thought why it's like that.

She explained - when her hands are wet, she cannot work properly and objects tend to slip and chances of break. Articles become sticky and this helps in cleaning. This is the main implement that she uses while doing her chores and is something indispensable to her work. Using a towel makes her work much easier and organized. She keeps changing the towel to a dry one the moment it’s wet.

This reminded me of old Hindi movies where household help Ramu Kaka was always having a towel on his shoulder. It was his main tool to perform his duty. They also knew the importance of their important tool and always kept with them.

I paused for a moment and realized that we should always know what our main apparatus is and should keep it ready and upgraded for use. It helps to do our work faster and with ease. It is better to be methodical and immaculate rather than worry about how to get your next job done in time. This lock down has actually given a chance to all of us to introspect what our critical tools are and how we can sharpen them regularly and keep ready for the next challenge once the world is back to normal after the pandemic break.