Saturday 8 September 2012

Rickshaw - Risciò - रिक्शा

Rickshaws in Geneva, Switzerland - S. Deepak, 2012
Rickshaws in Geneva, Switzerland - S. Deepak, 2012
Rickshaws in Geneva, Switzerland - S. Deepak, 2012

Geneva, Switzerland: If your educated son tells you that he drives a rickshaw in Europe, will you feel proud of it? Driving a rickshaw is usually seen as human exploitation because of poverty and circumstances. However if this allows your son to be self-dependent during his studies, and provides him healthy exercise through manual labour, shouldn't you be proud? Growing up in India where the thinking of "This work is inferior, this work is not up to my level" is so strong, if such an experience teaches you about human equality and dignity of work, then it must be good. And there is no pollution or noise. What do you say?

जेनेवा, स्विटज़रलैंडः अगर आप का पढ़ा लिखा बेटा कहे कि वह यूरोप में रिक्शा चलाता है तो क्या आप को गर्व होगा? रिक्शा चलाने को अक्सर गरीबी और लाचारी के रूप में मानव द्वारा मानव शोषण के रूप में देखते हैं. पर अगर आप का बेटा अपनी पढ़ाई के दिनों में इससे आत्मनिर्भर होता है और प्रतिदिन मेहनत के व्यायाम से स्वस्थ्य भी तो गर्व क्यों नहीं होना चाहिये? भारत में "यह काम छोटा है, यह काम नीचा है" की सोच के बीच में बड़ा होने पर, शायद इस तरह का अनुभव, मानव की बराबरी और काम की गरिमा सिखाये तो बढ़िया बात ही होगी! फ़िर न वातावरण का प्रदूषण, न शोर. आप का क्या विचार है?

Ginevra, Svizzera: Se tuo figlio universitario guidasse uno risciò, ne sarai orgoglioso? Guidare un risciò è visto come sfruttamento umano in India perché è collegato alla povertà e alla mancanza di alternative. Ma se questo permette il tuo figlio di essere autosufficiente mentre studia, e gli dà esercizio fisico regolare, perché non dovresti esserne orgoglioso? In India è diffusa la mentalità che classifica alcuni lavori come "manuali e inferiori", per cui un'esperienza del genere che ti insegna l'uguaglianza tra le persone e la dignità del lavoro, penso che sia bello. Inoltre, non inquina, ne produce rumore. Cosa ne pensi?

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7 comments:

  1. विचार नेक है. हमने कई प्रयोग किये और हँसी के पात्र बने. भारतीयों की मानसीकता विचित्र है. नुक्कड़ तक पैदल चलना आपको गरीब या कजूँस साबित करता है. गाड़ी लम्बी हो, हैसियत से लम्बी ज्यादा पेट्रोल खाने वाली तभी शान है. सायकिल गरीब चलाता है. विचित्रता है, कई बार गुस्सा आता है तो कभी घिन्न आती है.

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  2. पहली तस्वीर में बिजली के तार है? !!

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    Replies
    1. सच है सँजय, समाज की मानसिकता को बदलना आसान नहीं. :)

      पहली तस्वीर में ट्राम की तारें हैं, उसके अतरिक्त, यूरोप में बिजली की तारें नहीं दिखतीं क्योंकि ज़मीन के नीचे गाड़ी जाती हैं.

      Delete
  3. अहमदाबाद में भी जमीन के अंदर है।

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  4. I say it's an excellent thing. And there should be more of it.

    Most Indians only say repeat that "Work is Worship" and not really practice it or believe in the dignity of labour.

    A colleague was just sharing an anecdote from her son's engineering college. One of the weekly activities of the students is to clean their classrooms at the end of the week, including sweeping and swabbing. Some parents were so outraged that they threatened to take the college to court for making their children do manual labour, when so much money was being paid in fees. The college has now withdrawn this activity.

    I used to work in the front desk of a hotel during my summer hols in India, and have still not forgotten the comments I receievd from friends and relatives alike !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All the hard work of Gandhi ji was not able to change our thinking, but may be watching Hollywood films would help us change, because some of them do seem to have nannies and bus drivers as heroes and heroines (and if Americans can do it, then it must be cool)! :))

      I think that in India it is harder for us to get over the class and caste divisions, because there are so many poor persons who are willing to accept being treated as less than human beings, so that the better offs never really have to do anythig themselves!

      Thanks Sudha :), I can image the comments about your working at the front desk of a hotel (unless it was a 5 star place, where being chef or working at reception seems to be more acceptable)!

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