We have a three seater garden swing (Jhula) bought from ‘Home centre’ couple of years back. This is kept in the balcony and has been one of favorite place for us and our guests to relax either in the mornings or evenings while sipping hot tea or reading newspapers.
As the swing aged, its seat, comprising of thin flat plastic strips woven around the structure, became brittle and some of them started breaking. So, it needed a repair. Just as it was a pride of the home in its good condition, we were worried that it might become an embarrassment in its present and future condition, if not repaired soon.
So, I started my search one evening going from one furniture shop to another asking whether they would take up the repair works. I had carried with me the photos of the swing in my mobile so that it becomes easier to explain my requirement. After visiting three shops, I realized that it was going to be difficult, as no one was willing to do repair works. Then I had the final option of visiting the furniture lane in Karama where there are at least 25 furniture shops. I was quite sure to find someone there who could repair my swing.
However, I was getting a flat refusal from every shop there also, with an occasional advice to use super glue to the broken pieces, or to take it to a Chinese mall. None of the shops gave me any headway or positive indication of repairing the swing. As I had just one more shop left, I reluctantly entered inside the shop, more out of formality to complete my task rather than any expectation of finding a solution to my problem.
I saw the sales guy sitting on one of the display sofas kept in the showroom. I enquired him whether he would be able to repair a swing and showed him the photographs. For once, he said, yes it is possible. He estimated from the photo the material required for this and also the labor cost to complete the work. He enquired me for how much did I purchase this swing. When I told him the cost, he said, the repair cost would be around 70 – 80% of the purchase cost. But he kept on reiterating that it is possible.
I was in a dilemma. Should I get the swing repaired at such a cost or buy a new one. It was then that the discussion continued and he said that he was a carpenter who came to Dubai 27 years ago in search of a job. Over these years he became an owner of a chain of furniture showrooms. He said this to me not with any intentions of boasting, but just to give me an idea that he had the skills to estimate the work readily, as he had worked as a carpenter before. I was dumbfounded. I was standing in front of one of the most inspirational characters I ever met in my life. Often we read or hear about some rags-to-riches stories, but rarely do you get a chance to meet them. Here was one. There were several lessons to be learnt from this person.
I learnt my five lessons. They are as follows:
Positive attitude: When all other shops were refusing to take up this repair works mentioning that it is not possible, here was this man exploring how to make it possible. While others did not even bother to think about it, he actually estimated the costs for repair. He did not say NO. He provided options instead. This surely must have been one of his strategies on the way to success.
Hard work and dedication: It is amazing to see that a carpenter landing in Dubai 27 years ago has gone on to become owner of chain of furniture shops. This is only possible by hard work and dedication towards the profession. There could have been many carpenters who landed in Dubai along with him, but almost all of them would be either working as senior carpenters or might have returned back after their retirement.
Don’t forget your origins: I wondered that this person did not have any inhibitions in revealing to me that he was a carpenter 27 years back. One may branch out very high and in several areas in course of life, but one must not forget his roots. A person must respect his past because whatever he has achieved today is due to his yesterday’s conditions. The steel king Mittal has still kept his old fiat car in perfect condition and whenever he is in Kolkata he goes on long drives in evenings with his wife in his old car.
Be simple and humble: A person’s greatness is reflected in his simplicity and humility. He was a millionaire, yet he was very humble. He wore very simple clothes. If he wanted he could be spending his evenings partying around, dressed in jazzy clothes, in high profile hang out places. Human desires have no limitations, anyway. But he chose to look after his business sitting in the showroom, focusing on each and every customer. He seemed to derive much pleasure from this activity. Some of the most successful yet down to earth humble people of our times are Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar and Lata Mangeshkar.
Be ambitious: Azim Premji once said, ‘One must have ambitions at all times during the life time. With age there comes some limitation in what one can aspire for, but then one must continually revise his ambitions suitable to his age and circumstances. The important point is that one should not be left without any ambition’. Failure is acceptable but low aim is crime. This carpenter started dreaming big after landing in Dubai. He nurtured his ambitions. A person without any worthwhile ambition in life is like a boat left in the sea without controls. It moves in any direction. When a machine under performs to its capacity we repair it. But when a person under performs to his capacity, it is a wastage of the community and the country.
I did not ask his name. But it was not required either. He was a real life hero, who made the best use of his skills, capabilities, ambitions and desire.
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