Dignity of Labour - My Experiences.

Humble Beginnings:

I had heard of teens in the Western World doing all sorts of odd jobs to meet their requirements beyond the pocket money they received from their parents. This was the inspiration to my story, and I have never shied away from labouring any type of work; be it masonry, carpentry, gardening, etc., as by nature, I am a restless person always working on something or the other, whenever I have time on hand.

So, I tried my hand at various jobs during my teenage years, be it working as a sales assistant displaying the wares at a fabric gala sale or other such jobs. By the way, I hid myself when I saw my paternal aunt and uncle on one such occasion, lest they see me and complain to my parents, who would have been embarrassed. 

Hailing from a conservative Brahmin family, many of the jobs I did growing up were taboo. So, I just kept things to myself, and just two of my siblings knew about it.

Be that as it may, my focus for this article is to narrate my experiences during the execution of a few anomalous jobs, which, normally, would have been ridiculed by my cousins, other relatives, and many of my fellow students, as menial jobs below their status or dignity. These jobs were taken up by me during our summer breaks and did not affect my studies in any way. In any case, my intention was not to earn money, as my parents took very good care of me physically, mentally, and financially. 

Trotting Further:

One such job was that of a Sales Representative for a Shoe Polish Distributor. My friend and I took this initially, and later on, a couple of friends also joined us in this venture. Our initial assignment was to canvass the product at various Shoe Shops across Bengaluru. The product was primarily a reasonably well-known liquid shoe polish under the brand ‘Carnoba’, (in Black and Dark Tan), sold mostly in Mumbai. A few other lesser-known liquid shoe polish brands (in Black, Tan, White, and one for Suede Leather) were thrown into the basket as well. Radio advertisements of this product were on Vividh Bharati radio station, and I still remember its punchline ‘Joothey Chamke Pal Bar Mein, Carnoba Hain Ghar Ghar Mein’. Mind you, there were not many televisions in those days. 

This was a month-long operation, and we were supposed to hold demonstrations at Bata shoe showrooms in prominent areas in the city. This demonstration involved wooing the pedestrians whose shoes were polished with the product. If they evinced any interest in the product, they were suggested to get their supply of liquid shoe polish from the nearest Bata showroom.

I couldn’t remember how many pairs of shoes I polished, and my friends did the same in different locations. It was a humbling experience that taught me a very valuable lesson about ‘Dignity of Labour’.

Turning Point:

The second job that reinforced my belief in myself as a ‘Salesman’ and that I had a natural flair for this profession was during the summer break of 1981. JK Tyres, a renowned tyre company, had introduced their novel product ‘Steel Belted Radial Tyres’ for cars and trucks. However, our focus was on promoting the car tyres.

The company’s Bengaluru branch had posted their requirement of students to act as ‘Consumer Contact Representatives’, and as many as 60 students from different colleges across the city appeared for the written test on a fine afternoon. They shortlisted around 10 students, and my friend Kishan and I were among the lucky ones to be on the list. The following day, they had an interview, and their Technical Manager and Marketing Manager had flown in to the city for the interview.

The process of this interview gave me a shot in the arm, boosting my confidence as the panel of 4 people grilled us with various questions from the product leaflet and made us mock an interaction with consumers. Suffice it to say, there were only 4 students who passed this grilling, and I was one of them. The compensation was a princely Rs. 500/- for one month of the campaign and a commission of Rs. 5/- per tyre sold under our name.
The campaign was launched forthwith at Woodlands Hotel, and we four were given product-branded T-Shirts, Caps, and other paraphernalia, including decals (stickers), Discount coupons to cajole consumers into buying the products, etc.

Our campaign started off at Indian Oil Petrol Stations across the city, and we split into teams of two to take up different locations. The erstwhile Drive-in theatre in the city was one of the chosen spots for our campaign, and I still remember the movie ‘Rocky’, introducing Sanjay Dutt, was being screened. I met a cross section of people from chauffeurs to owners of different types of cars, including many a lady driver who didn’t know a thing about cars, let alone tyres. By the way, I also met my neighbour, Uncle Navaratna Ram, who encouraged me for what I did. Fond memories!

At the end of the campaign, we did get Rs. 500/- promised, but we were not aware if we sold any tyres under our names. The company didn’t respond with this information. Nevertheless, we were given a certificate for having participated in the campaign that helped me in landing up with a job at Modi Threads Ltd. This happened soon after I graduated with a B.Com and had applied for a job as a Sales Representative. Based on my experience at JK Tyres, the interviewer offered me a job, and I promptly received an appointment letter by mail a week later. They offered me one of the top packages for those years. Other than a handsome salary of Rs 1,600/- per month, I was also offered allowances to cover conveyance and other expenses.

Providence had decided otherwise, and I politely regretted this offer to take up further studies and went on to become a Chartered Accountant, and that is a story for another day!

My respect for the dignity of labour was reinforced during my experience in my workplace at a renowned and India’s largest Alco-Bev conglomerate, the UB Group. The person I was reporting to and interacting very closely, was an ex-World Bank top official and our head honcho in Finance, who inspired me with his attitude for work. He didn’t even hesitate to sit at a clerk’s workstation and perform clerical jobs. This was an eye-opener and a great inspiration to those who appreciated his down-to-earth working style, but many others thought he was just showing off by doing frivolous jobs. He went on to become the MD of a major Battery Manufacturing company.  

Looking back, most of my close relatives were ignorant about the odd jobs I undertook as a student, and I never volunteered to mention this lest I get ridiculed by them.

Even to date, if somebody, particularly youngsters, shies away from any work they feel is below their status or dignity, I come out with my life’s stories and those of others, to showcase that no work is trivial or to be ridiculed. The experiences I have from these odd jobs during my formative years put me in good stead as I climbed the pinnacle of the corporate ladder, reaching the position of Finance Director during the last 6-7 years of my overseas assignment. I quit the corporate world in 2017-18.

Bottom line: 

Lessons learnt - Be Humble, Listen to your heart. No job is big or small.

Remember the Janitor in NASA who, when asked about his job description, said that he is there to help NASA put the rocket on the moon!

Don’t just talk the walk unless you can walk the talk!