Some satisfaction, some irritation, kabhi khushi, kabhi ghum !

On Saturday, 20th February, Smita and I reached Aanandi at about 8:00 a.m. It was so peaceful. Thanks to all the clearing up that we had done last week, there was plenty of sunshine too. As we opened the gate, we were welcomed by a yellow carpet – a thick, one-inch, crispy-crunchy carpet formed by the Ashok leaves that had found their way down during the week :)

We just took a round of the garden and feeling quite pleased we took some instruments and started working on the Jackfruit and Mango trees. They are both covered by extra-large housing colonies of ants and other assorted insects that are harming the trees. Nearly immediately, Anil, the labour contractor turned up with his troupe of 5 labourers.

 

After a brief chat with Anil explaining what needed to be done, he and his men started work. We asked him to start off by clearing up the L-shaped patch that begins at the Prajakt plant and ends at the intersection of the two concrete walls. They would also have to properly remove and stack in the Ashok passage, the bricks from the half brick wall of the small hut that used to be there as a gardener’s residence. Then they would have to clear up the Shevaga patch, then the Jackfruit and Mango patch and finally the Banana patch. That would take them all day, we estimated.

As they got down to work, we kept a close watch. Soon Ashish joined us and a little later, Prajakta came too. Initially the men were working at a decent speed. About half an hour later, they had piled up all the dried and broken leaves and plants in one place. Suddenly Anil said that he would go and get the garden implements. I was a bit irritated and asked him why he couldn’t have brought them when he came instead of wasting time now. He said the shop opens late and hence he couldn’t bring them while coming. As soon as he left with his assistant, the remaining four said they would return in ten minutes after a quick cup of tea. As it is they wouldn’t be able to work without implements. So I agreed.

As they left, the four of us resumed cleaning the Jackfruit and Mango and Chikoo of the housing colonies. Smita and Prajakta get quite excited to see insects and would squeal with delight each time they found some unusual alive insect and would call for me to go and have a look at this “cuuute” green/black/white/etc. insect ! I, for one, cannot stand them ! Insects are alright so long as they stay away (far far away) from me ! I can do any amount of physical labour, can put my hands in waste and mud, but I cannot bear to touch insects. Smita, Prajakta and Ashish even used their bare fingers to lift off earthworms wriggling uncomfortably in a dry sunny spot to transfer them to the shaded and watered banana patch. Ashish even exclaimed, “Wow ! Here, keep one on your palm…you’ll experience a funny ticklish sensation !”. That was it for me ! I went off to do some other work.

A little while later the four labourers returned and to our shock one of them was stone drunk ! He was so disoriented ! All four of us got really irritated but didn’t react. We decided to take it up with Anil as he returned. So, fuming and fretting, we waited in the front portion while these four guys started dismantling the remainder of the brick wall in a leisurely fashion. As Anil and his assistant returned, we rushed to the gate. I opened the gate for Anil and asked him to set down the implements there itself. And after that, I just let him have it ! I told him that I wouldn’t tolerate a drunk person setting foot on our premises, leave alone working in our garden. His people were working at snail’s pace and I couldn’t care less even if they worked for eight days, since I was going to pay him only for two days etc. etc. Smita, Ashish and Prajakta too told him off soundly.

Right from the time we met him, discussed the scope of work, decided on his remuneration, we were a picture of politeness and very considerate. Seeing us so angry, he was quite shocked. He immediately promised me to take care of the situation. Soon after, he sent away the drunken chap, brought in two people as replacements and then work took off at a fantastic pace.

Then our relievers, Sayali, Amruta and Rahul came. We reported to them all that had happened and explained to them what had to be done. With a promise to return in a couple of hours, we left.

As we were getting ready to return to Aanandi, I received a call from Smita who had just gotten off the phone with Rahul who had called her to report that Anil had brought a smaller sized tempo to take away the rubble and waste instead of the one we had decided and was expecting us to pay at the same rate as the bigger tempo. Now, since he had a smaller tempo, the number of trips would be more and hence he would ask for more money. Smita spoke to Anil and again there was a small altercation. When he saw the she was so aggressive, Anil began to back off. Rahul, who was at Aanandi assured Smita that he would ensure that Anil took away all the waste at the predetermined amount, no matter how many extra tempo trips he had to make. Both Smita and I rushed to Aanandi, but till then Rahul had convinced Anil and work was going on fine.

As they loaded the last lot into the tempo, we took Anil around and inspected the work done that day. The entire back garden had been cleared. The Bakul patch (the patch along the concrete wall) was clean but had a lot of rubble and piles of dirt that needed to be taken away. Earlier in the afternoon Anil had told us that he couldn’t do that and that we would need a truck and he could arrange for one. We told him not to and that we would take care of it. So once all the inspection was done, we realised that only the Pomegranate side remained to be cleaned. It amounted to hardly two hours if six men got down to work. Anil started telling us that we were mistaken and that it would take them the whole of the second day too. When we countered, he suddenly said that just the Bakul patch itself would take half a day. When we reminded him that he had said he wouldn’t do it, he suddenly changed his tune and said that he would do it. Then we clearly defined the next day’s work, decided to meet at 8:30 a.m. the next day. Before leaving Anil asked for money ! I flatly refused…I said that we had decided on the previous Saturday itself that after all the work was done and inspection was complete, only then would I pay him. Then he requested me to give something at least, since his team were daily wage earners. Then I made some fuss and finally gave him half of one day’s remuneration. Finally after an eventful day, we left.

I developed an allergic cough due to all the dust and couldn’t sleep well at night. So next morning I requested Smita to go to Aanandi first and I would follow a little later so that I could rest a bit. She readily agreed. In the middle of this whole business there was also this “The Mystery of the Missing Key” episode, about which, suffice it to say that it was discovered to be with Amruta after Smita came to my place and took my set. I was up and about and a little after Smita reached Aanandi, she called to say that Anil was acting up again. He had flatly denied that he had committed to clear away the rubble and dirt in the Bakul patch ! This was the last straw ! Anil even said to Ashish, “What’s some extra money to you ? Why don’t you let us earn a little extra ?” Ashish replied that the problem is in their attitude. Had he stated clearly, right at the onset that this would be charged extra, we wouldn’t have minded paying him extra. Then Ashish and Smita who were at Aanandi and I, sitting at home, took a decision to ask Anil to drop the whole thing and just leave. I would reach there in a short while, pay him one day’s wages and close the chapter. Accordingly I went there and paid him off. He didn’t utter a word. Actually, four of Anil’s men were really sincere and hard-working and two of them had good knowledge of gardening, but their contractor was fickle. I felt a little sad.

After Anil left, Smita and Prajakta watered some plants and then we all left. For the Bakul patch, we will hire a truck / tempo and get that done. Actually, we know that the remainder of the cleaning is quite manageable for us. That is why we are satisfied that nearly all the cleaning work is done and the actual gardening work can begin from Saturday 27th.

Tomorrow or day-after I shall upload some photos of the work done so far. We are all quite happy to see the clean garden and excited that we shall soon plant new plants and see the old ones happy :)