-Brian Mendonça
When Uttam stepped into the house to attend to the tube light that
was not working, he exuded confidence. He was by no means tall. The stool we
had did not suffice for him to reach the ceiling fan in the kitchen. However
his no-nonsense attitude made you look at him with respect.
In seconds he figured out what was wrong with the fan – the capacitor
was not working. What is more, he fished out a brand-new replacement from his
pocket. ‘I brought it along when you said the kitchen fan was not working,’ he
said in Konkani by way of explanation. He stretched his small hands upwards as
far as he could and tried to fix the fan by just feeling the parts.
Soon the fan was twirling along merrily. The whole family looked at
it in ecstasy. I heaved a sigh of relief. Now my better half would not be able
to get my goat about the fan not working, and that I should get someone to fix it.
The last electrician I called never showed up.
From there we followed Uttam to Dwayne’s bedroom. He heaved the chair
onto the priceless Sleepwell mattress and proceeded to stand on it. I held the
chair uncertainly to steady it as it swayed. Though we had replaced the tube
recently, it still refused to work. He checked the point and said the choke was
not working. He suggested replacing the entire unit with an LED light. Since
Dwayne has been reading a lot since the summer holidays commenced, we thought
this would be a good investment.
Since Uttam was in the house, I took the opportunity to connect one
more point in the master bedroom – which doubles up as my study - onto the
inverter. Of late there have been frequent power outages and I have had to cart
my computer to the hall-cum-dining room – amid all the distractions – to do my
writing. I prefer to work undisturbed in the quiet recesses of our home with a
book rack by my side and a balcony to look out on.
Uttam, who stays a stone’s throw away from us, in Pilerne, bounded
downstairs to pick up an LED tube light and a new Legrand frame for the jaded
light point.
When he was back, he fixed the LED tube light. It set us back by
Rs.450 but the brightness made me wish he had changed the one in our bedroom
too. Soon he was at the main switchboard and connected the study point onto the
inverter.
He seemed to be in a hurry to be on his way. He had a few jobs to
attend to in Mapusa, he said. ‘Potak
lagun kaam korunkutzai’ he said somewhat philosophically in conversation.*
As he pocketed the Rs.500 for his services, I saw him to the door. ‘Dev borem korum’ he said as he left.
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*(Konkani) To fill the stomach, one has no choice but to
work. Published in Gomantak Times, Weekender, Panaji, Goa on Sunday, 21 April 2019. Pix courtesy magikledlights.
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