Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The strange case of the missing coaster

We were all sitting around the conference table waiting for another friend to join.
The chair on which I was sitting had one of its coaster wheels missing.
Venkatesh offered to exchange the chair with his!
I said, "As long as I know that one of the wheels is missing, I would not fall down!"
Naturally discussion ensued about missing somethings!!
Arun said "You should write a story about the missing wheel!"
I said"It is indeed a good idea!"

There is no story to tell here.
It is always the same story.
Whether you call it a leaky faucet (to an Indian it is a Nalla or tap) or the chair with the missing wheel, it makes the same meaning after all.

They say the Dharmam in this world should be moving on its four legs and not only the fore legs!!
They also say that these days Dharmam is limping only on one leg!!

It all starts there.
Perfectionists are the enemies of the system.
Mediocrity and compromise are the buzz words in whatever field you look at!!

I still remember the words of Prof. Chintamani Nagesha Ramachandra Rao (CNRRao for short!).
he said we are a country of people who drive a scew with a hammer!
How true!
When I was getting the carpentry work done in my new home, I was invariably reminded of his words!
Yes, the carpenter never used the screwdriver to push the screw.
He simply hammered it in!
Then why use an expensive screw at all?
We can make do with some good nails!
No!
We need screws to feel good that we have bought and used them.
When perhaps I want to dismatle one of those frames, I can never use the same screws because the holes have become much too big!!

I was translating a script of one of those international TV documentaries.
To my horror I read there that an Aeroplane blew away because someone has fixed the wrong screws tad smaller than the intended size!

Pressure cooker leaks because the gasket is not of the right size!
Airconditioner makes horrible noise because someone forgot to check the size of the hole and the pivot that sits in it's blower window!
Iron gets too hot because the thermostat is not properly set!
You construct the house spending crores, but later find that the bathroom stinks just because you are not attemptive and live to the fact!
The man who bought the home in teh next lane was getting the roof repaired because it leaks!
Mind you teh home costed him more than a crore.
People do not work because they are not trained to do the job well!
You name it!
There is a compromise at every step of life!!

That is teh story of the missing coaster!!
$$$$$$$$

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Dear vijaygopal ,
A nice one , remainding about perfectness at work quality.this is the major difference between our country and Japan like countries.
we generally love the note" kaam chal jaayegaa",or "nadusthumdhilae"

with regds
Ushakiran