The Love & Dignity Of Labour

In February, we announced THE WRITE HOUR: A Story Writing Contest for Members of the Silver Talkies Club. A big round of applause to our members Preeta, Geetha Prasanna & Ramana Sista for their wonderful and heart-winning entries that were the Three Best Entries. We will share their stories here one by one. Here's Ramana Sista's.

Our theme:  The Different Loves-Love can have different forms, bonds and adaptations. 

Preeta, Geetha and Ramana's stories reflect those special loves. Enjoy the read.

LESSON IN LOVE FOR DIGNITY OF LABOUR.

By Ramana Sista

Christy Wilcent is 29 years old and stands tall at 6'-1'.

In my 82 years of life, I have seen life and love in all its colours and hues. But Wilcent's love for the dignity of labour is intriguing, unusual and rare.

In 2016, Wilcent called us, on the phone number given to him by a service provider, to offer deep-cleaning services for our apartment at a price agreed to by the service provider. 

At 9 a.m. sharp on the appointed date, the 22-year-old, well-built, athletic Wilcent and four workers with a heavy-duty commercial vacuum cleaner, mops, tools, a ladder and different chemicals needed for various applications knocked on our door. 

Without wasting time, he rolled up his sleeves and trousers and personally got into the job of mopping and cleaning, leading his four workers by example. After a brief 20-minute lunch break at 1 p.m., they continued the job. By 5 p.m., they had cleaned all fans, toilets, bathrooms, shower partitions, wardrobes, bookshelves, lofts, kitchen cabinets, balconies, glass panes, floors, blinds and every inch of the 1876 sq ft. apartment, giving it a sparklingly new look. 

My wife asked him to clean the washing machine drum too, which he did willingly. 

Piqued by his command of English and the professional touch in every activity, I asked him about his educational background.

"Sir, after B.Com., I did MBA from Imperial College, Jayanagar, Bangalore."

"Why didn't you go for a job?" 

"I wanted to become a Police Inspector, passed the first test but failed the second test because I didn't pay the daunting amount demanded for selection. Then, I decided to be on my own."

I was dumbfounded because while Wilcent was on the job, it was difficult to differentiate between him and his workers, job content-wise. When asked why he needed to come through a middleman, he said that, being new to this field, he could only get customers if attached to a reputed agency. That was only an introductory service on payment of 10 per cent of the charges for use as a launching pad. After that, satisfied customers call him directly. 

Quite happy with the quality of work and pleasant attitude, we have been using his services every six months since then. We continued with his services when we shifted to our new apartment in Yesvantpur.

When I paid his charges for that day's job, he said, "Sir, it is less by Rs.1,000/-." 

I said, "I paid as per last year's charges." 

"No, sir, last year the charges were increased for the enhanced scope of work: polishing a five-seater leather sofa with special oil and the carpet. You can check your bank account." 

I recollected and paid the balance but said, "The service provider's charges are much less than what you charge. Yet, I called you because of our six-year association." 

"Sir, I work on behalf of that company also, but that work gets over in two/three hours of sweeping, dusting, and mopping, and we finish two apartments in a day. The quality is entirely different, and we engage less labour for them, leaving the customer unsatisfied. That reflects on the service provider's reputation. Only when you use their services will you know the difference. In fact, I am slowly moving towards interior designers and established customers like you to protect my reputation. 

“In your case, I engage more labour and devote more than 8 hours to complete the job till I am fully satisfied.”

Wilcent, an MBA degree holder, is humble, soft-spoken, goes the extra mile and aims at customer delight.

The dignity of labour is in every job that is dutifully done with humility, honesty, sincerity and love.

Special words from our judge author Meera Rajagopalan:  A beautiful narration of a love that many of us express but rarely think about -- the love for what we do. The reader can easily imagine Wilcent, and each of us can recollect at least one Wilcent in our lives. In just under 650 words, we get a peek into the characters of Wilcent, the author, and even the author’s wife. Kudos! 

Cover image: Monica Robak/Pixabay

Please share your feedback in the comment box below. And watch this space for the other best entry award winner this week!

You can read Preeta's story here: Loki: The Biggest Love of My Life