Less than a Minute Life Lesson-2407 Character and Competency

Learning from coolies who transport cement bags

I was delivering Training programs for Southern railway employees in 2003 in Salt Cotaurs which is a neighbourhood in Chennai, India. It is located on the bank of the Buckingham Canal, north of Chennai Central railway station, between the Elephant Gate Bridge Road and Basin Bridge railway station. It is well known for its railway goods yard owned by the Southern Railway

This was the place where cement bags used to come for distribution and the same was picked by coolies on their shoulders and it was arranged in the trucks for local distribution.

I used to witness this process during my breaks and I used to sympathize with those hardworking coolies who were paid on a daily basis.

One day I saw banana vendors who used to come regularly to sell bananas for those coolies and I have seen those coolies eating those bananas before lunch. I was wondering, why everyone eats bananas and I asked one of the railway employees who works at that location, He said  " Since they carry cement bags, the fine dust of cement might enter their body and it might impact their health, hence when they eat bananas, it might help them in their digestion.

After listening to his explanation, I was convinced on the health grounds and appreciated those coolies for taking proactive steps to take care of their health.

When I deliver programs for various industries, I come across participants who blame their jobs for their health issues and some of them are in some form of medication or would have fallen sick due to occupational hazard.

I used to think about those proactive daily wage earners who understood their occupational hazard and developed some proactive measures to stay fit and healthy, but I used to pity these educated intellectual monthly earners who  would  have undergone various personal effectiveness programs and talk about an ideal workplace, without realizing they are the owners of their lives.

 It's Time to educate ourselves about occupational health hazards and develop a lifestyle that suits our occupation rather than finding fault with the work place.

 Remember, your decision landed you in an occupation, it's your decision that will help you to handle your health based on the occupation you are in

 M. L. Narendra Kumar