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‘The Waiter’ – Loving what you do!

‘The Waiter’ – Loving what you do!

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Waiter

This narrative explores the theme of finding joy and fulfillment in one’s profession, regardless of its perceived mundanity. The story revolves around the experience of the writer during her visit to Mumbai where she encountered a waiter who, despite having a seemingly routine job, excels due to his genuine passion. The author uses this example to reflect on the broader issue of individuals trapped in uninspiring professions and advocates for a society that encourages pursuing careers aligned with personal interests.

He hovered around our table, with a smile on his lips, his head bent a little, waiting with pen and paper in hand, patiently, making polite suggestions and answering queries .. he was the man waiting at our table, our waiter. After an eternity of varying opinions and confusion, the order was confirmed and placed.

Soon, he returned with the first course, the smile in place. After serving the food, he receded into the background, unobtrusively. The piping hot, delicious food disappeared in no time .. and l noticed him waiting to clear the plates before serving the second course.
As he was clearing the plates, l complimented him on the cook’s  amazing preparation of the dishes, hearing which, his eyes lit up with  pride and pleasure .. his smile widened further and he trotted off to get the next course.
The waiter’s behaviour set me a thinking. What was he, after all?! Just a waiter, serving food to the hundreds of people who visited the eatery everyday…a very set routine, predictable schedule, doing a mundane job with no hope of any major change, betterment or excitement?! Yet, he looked so serene, so happy in his job. What drove him?
I guess the only answer that explains everything is that the man loves what he is doing…or he is doing what he loves!
Regardless of how mundane and routine one’s job may appear to another, if the concerned person loves it and wants to do it, it shows. Always. Somehow or the other.
When people love what they do, they are more likely to invest their time and interest in it of their own volition, and that makes all the difference. That love, that voluntary effort makes them excel, in the most trivial of jobs!
If you look around ,you will find plenty of people in this world who are trapped in the wrong jobs who do not love/enjoy what they do. They are labelled as bad or sloppy workers everywhere. They are the bane, the headache of any organisation, any employer!
These people just go through the motions, not doing anything out of the ordinary, never getting noticed, not leaving a mark…just ‘bricks in a wall’.
l see so many young men and women working menial jobs…as security guards, as chauffeurs, waiter as daily wage earners in various jobs, who look like they would rather be elsewhere, or who look like they had no other choice. There seems to be no spark in their eyes, no joy in their lives. They look bored. It is obvious their hearts are not in their jobs.
What does that make them?
Unmotivated, half hearted professionals? Can we even call them professionals? ! Can such people be expected to work really well, with sincerity, producing high quality work?
I wouldn’t trust such folks to do/ with anything at all, leave alone entrusting them with important things.
I take the example of the scores of security guards who man the apartment complexes and malls in big cities, who ‘guard’ the buildings and their residents round the clock with glazed, unseeing eyes. l doubt if it matters to them what they are guarding, that they really care about the security of anything…they simply live through their duty hours, their sights set on the paycheck at the end of the month. That is all that matters to them.
It is obvious they don’t love what they do and hence there is no real pride or loyalty associated with their jobs.
The magnitude of the job does not matter, the aptitude does.
Why is it so difficult for people to settle for professions that are extensions of their natural interests? Why are they not encouraged to pursue and excel in fields of their choice? Shouldn’t everyone have a shot at earning a decent livelihood doing what they love? Isn’t that what being civilized is also about? Recognising traits and offering the right opportunities, on time?
When will we stop bullying, gender typecasting and blackmailing our children in the name of deciding their careers, their sources of livelihood? Shaming male nurses and female chauffeurs?
As long as someone loves something enough to want to make a living out of it, the family, this society and the world should give them a fair chance to do so…..
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