Mind to Mend?
Ever noticed where all the cobblers went? What happened to them? When I was a small kid, there were a lot of cobblers and people-who-fix-umbrellas(or whatever they’re called) at every nook and corner of the city, but nowadays for some reason, they seem to have disappeared altogether? The other day, while I was stuck in the horrible Bengaluru traffic, I saw a cobbler sitting rather expressionless and stoic. This was quite a refreshing sight for someone who hasn’t seen a cobbler in years. I was glad that atleast someone was taking up that profession but was also rather displeased, for the poor chap was not getting as much business as in the olden days. Now that I think about it, I don’t think even I, would go to a cobbler to get my shoes fixed. For we, the modern generation is so used to just buying shoes and sandals whenever we feel like it. Is it because of the fact that shoes are made of stronger materials? or that they’ve become more cheaper and affordable? or just better standards of living? Maybe, but I don’t think so.
From what I’ve noticed, there seems to be a partical societal conditioning against the fixing and repairing broken things. Take the simple smartphone for instance, I still remember the days when my father used to replace the battery of his cellphone within just 20 seconds. Just remove the backplate and the battery would just pop out, whereas nowadays, he has to drive all the way to some random authorized service centre, located in some crowded part of the city and pay extra service charges to get his battery replaced. It seems like they don’t want us to keep using our old devices. Some smartphone companies even go to the extent of purposefully slowing down and restricting features and updates, just to get the customer to upgrade to a more newer and shinier version of the same thing.
Personally, I am someone who derives a lot of joy in taking things apart and putting them back together. Sometimes, I may end up destroying it completely, but hey, mistakes happen. Regardless, fixing and upgrading things is cool because it makes you feel like a little rebel for doing something which they don’t want you to do, sort of like Winston Smith, if you may.
If you made it this far, I urge you to go around your house, look for something broken and try fixing it. And if there’s nothing for you to fix, find a cobbler and fix that old shoe of yours. And still if there’s nothing to fix, fix yourself. As Michael Jackson said, “Take a look at yourself and then make a change!”. The thing is, there’s always something or the other to be fixed- shoes, personality, relationships and what not. You may not be able to fix everything yourself and that’s fine, for as it turns out, cobblers still do exist!
The world wants you to replace, not repair, but that only leads to despair! 😉