Musée du Ben

Ladies and Gentlemen!

    Today you’ll be hearing two stories from me. These stories will give you different perception towards the human workforce. The stories are real, men are real and the effort they make are real and classic. You’ll find more motivation, a philosophical view on passion, the future of the human workforce from these stories. This is a completely different category about the people I’ve met in my life (contains mostly strangers) who gave me insights on life. Drop the anchor and let’s dive deep into episode 1 of “Where Humans are with Ben”.

Story 1: Craftsman’s Touch

    It was on the evening of July 2018, a pretty sunny day when I and my friend Gopal were going to Saravanampatty, Coimbatore. Suddenly a view struck on the roadside. I saw a few shining woodcraft works arranged beautifully since we were on work, we didn’t visit the shop. On returning from our work we decided to hit the place.

 It is located opposite to Bhathrakaali Amman temple, sathy road. We witnessed exquisite bamboo craft works kept on a white linen cloth showcasing small houses and ships. On the left, we saw a man with rugged clothes and worn hat like Indiana Jones creating another work for the showcase. He greeted us with a smile on his face. The shop is positioned near the road, with a very messy workspace, not comfortable for crafting, also he sits on a plastic sheet. On the whole, it gives no vibe for creative thoughts. We didn’t say a word; we were awestruck by the perfection of crafts he created and the effort he did to make it look beautiful. The wooden shining houses were welcoming us to stay inside, the ships took us for a voyage to the medieval period and the temple gave us a divine feeling. We were delighted when the man said to us to take the craft by hand and asked us to touch and feel it, also it was written on a poster near the shop. We took it in our hands and felt the smooth finish and glossy look of the wood. Enchanted by the impression, we took every piece of crafts and started observing the finish of work. It was flawless, every cut, attachment and additional grass and roofs for house reaps a perfect finish. The man also requested us to take pictures of it and share with friends. He never bothered us in purchasing the craftwork also he was very silent concentrating on building a new ship.

All the man desired was to do his work with love and perfection. He bent his works and showed us how robust they are. He said he’s crafting these bamboo works for 30 years which he learnt from a stranger by staying with him for 3 years. He also wishes to teach these craft to handicapped and homemakers for free of cost yet he’s worried that no one shows up for the class. We promised to spread about his work to the people (and here is a small effort). We left the place with complete happiness after talking to this kind-hearted artist.

Story 2: Captain wheels

    I got a cycle when studying 10th grade, it needs a repair sometime. My father suggested me a repair shop where he got his cycle repaired during his childhood. So, I used to go there for any service.

There’ll be a big old banyan tree in the location. Under that tree, this wise old man sat repairing cycles. He has pumps and tools on a small sheet spread on road. He is nearly 80 years old but has the strength of the Thor. He calls me ‘kannu’(dear) whenever I come for a repair and he asks for my well-being, and I used to call him ‘thathaa’(grandpa). Every time I give my cycle for service, he repairs it with perfection and also does some extra repairs which I haven’t told him to do. He knows what is the problem with the cycle when I pedal to that shop, damn he is such a three-eyed raven. There are many cycle shops in the surrounding but I prefer him because I trust this person and I feel safe giving my cycle even though he doesn’t have an attractive building for mechanic works.

He said he is repairing cycles for more than 50 years. His family members are working as a coolie (daily wagers). Yet he doesn’t ask extra money for the hard work. I remember the maximum money I gave to this man was Rs.70. However, he stays strong physically as well as mentally. He always looks sane and makes his job as a priority instead of chit chatting. He may not be a warrior like Hercules or Atlas, but a hardworking captain wheels thathaa who do the extra to justify his passion for the work and gains the respect of people.

Why Passion matters?

    As you see, the men from the above stories had a passion for their job and did it with a purpose. You can ask why passion is important for life. Well, here is the answer to it. Passion is the driving force of life. It fuels the soul and gives us creativity and a different perspective for the work we do. You’ll start loving the job and it helps in revealing your true self. Passion gives you purpose and direction for life. Do you know the difference between passion and purpose? Here’s the answer, passion is the feeling and purpose is the reason WHY. It nurtures your desire and gives happiness. Happiness is what we crave for, isn’t it? Why not have passion towards something then?

“A great fire burns within me, but no one stops to warm themselves at it, and passers-by only see a wisp of smoke” 

― Vincent Van Gogh

Can Money buy Happiness?

    The craftsman and captain wheels were happy but they aren’t rich. Money never buys you happiness. Humans created this imaginary note where you can get any things with the exchange of it. You can’t give money to a chimpanzee and ask for banana; they won’t believe in money as humans do. That’s why we excel in trade and economy. We easily tend to believe in fiction. Money gives false hope for happiness and it becomes bait for consumerism. It makes us want more of it again. Love, Family and happiness can fulfill our destinies. Things we do for love!

The road from surviving to thriving

    Let’s now see how the early humans who survived for living evolved into humans thriving to bring a change in society. The early homo sapiens survived as groups by hunting the wild, capturing lands and killing other species. They survived by inventing fire, the wheel and developing skills. But in the later period, the humans evolved (and that’s when the earth knew she is f**k*d up) into many different races and started thinking in a cognitive manner. There were many inventions which lead to many industrial revolutions. Humans started living as individual leaving their parents and thrived to bring a difference impacting the world. Most people in the world love what they do nowadays despite the money they reap. The big families are evolved into nuclear and big technological machines into nanochips (hope delicious food doesn’t become capsules). Thus, evolution made the sapiens surviving as groups to humans thriving as individuals.

Substituted Labour

There are a new species evolving currently. Yes, technological beings. The world consists of humans and AI. This technology has taken over most of the employment. All the traditional works are getting vanished. Art can be done digitally and many services come in the form of an app. Humans live along with technology and they develop skills to compete with AI. Chess grandmasters like Magnus Carlsen and Kasparov have lost against the computer. Our future might become a dystopian world full of screens watching us unless we save our traditional human practice like agriculture instead of coping with technology.

“In proportion therefore, as the repulsiveness of the work increases, the wage decreases.” 

― Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto

Conclusion

    I request you to start valuing low wage workers. They will treat you with love, high wage workers were trained to show love. Meeting elderly people, strangers have helped me to get more insights on life. Attending conferences might help you boost your motivation for a while but having an unexpected real-life experience with a stranger will teach you and it’ll be there in your memory forever. All the answers you seek lie around you and within.

    Please do leave your view about the stories and message conveyed. Share this with your friends and boost them up!

Weigh the anchor and hoist the mizzen. Everyone! Board the ship we’re going to visit another interesting human story soon.