Friday, August 8, 2008

LOCAL WARS : Kadia Vs. 'The' Professional

I met our friendly neighbourhood 'Kadia', Ramlu the other day. He was in deep concern over being fast replaced by professionals who claim to have 'studied' how to build the wall. Why, even his uneducated masons could do it till recent past, exclaimed Ramlu, who now works as a 'Contractor' under a local architect. The architect too, only instructs him about the shape, dimensions and location at which to build the wall anyways. HOW to build it is left to Ramlu, The King's discretion.

And guess what, Ramlu couldn't be more correct. If the entry of qualified professionals is restricted to sophistication in elevations and plans alone, who takes care of the quality? Quality that cannot be superficially seen. Quality that is instrinsic and does not get appreciated at face value. Like the proportions of cement, sand and water in basic mortar.... like techniques of inter-locking of wood used beneath all the decorative lamination..... like the adhesion of putty hidden beneath the paint. These are the technical details that mark 'studied' professional excellence.

Else, even Ramlu has enough creativity to build up breath-takingly beautiful bungalows, those too.... sans any working drawings. After all, he's been doing it for 20-odd years before the advent of guys who have 'studied' to build the wall.

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