The story of Prabhu Das and the commitment he brings to his profession of garbage-collection.
My father once made a comment about my working on government holidays. He added that he knew one other person who did it. I asked him, “Who?” To my surprise, he told me it was Mr. Das, the man who collects the garbage in our locality. I got my chance a few days later—on a government holiday!—to speak to Mr. Das. “It’s a holiday today, Das. Why have you come to collect the garbage?” His reply: “No, Amma, my only holidays are Sundays, Christmas, Good Friday and Easter. There is no holiday for throwing out the garbage, and my duty is to collect it.”
I was astounded at the duty-consciousness of the person: Mr. N. Prabhu Das, a conservancy worker in the Corporation of Chennai. He has been at the same job from the age of nineteen, and no one has ever considered him for a promotion. He said: “In the old days, we used wooden push carts to collect the garbage. Many of them were broken or leaky. The waste consisted of decayed food, broken glass, nails, footwear. Today, it is more plastic bags, aluminium foil covers, thermocol and much recyclable waste. The load is light, but the burden of disposing the garbage is getting heavier, Amma.”
I asked him about his life and work.
“I come to work every morning at 6 am, to the same location. I travel the same streets. I complete my work by 1.30 pm. I sign the register, and leave. It takes me an hour to come from home in the morning and another hour to get back home. I have seen the area grow from a lower middle class locality with thatched homes to a posh residential one”
“How do you feel about your work?”
“God gave me a job.” He is aware of the mechanisation and privatisation that have taken place, and grateful that he did not lose his job. “We will always be needed. Way back, when I joined, there were not many cars, bikes and not much garbage. Today, everything has increased a hundredfold. I find it difficult sometimes to make my way through the traffic. That is why I begin my day early and make sure the roads are clean early in the morning itself.”
Curiosity got the better of me. I asked him if he had ever thought of being anything else other than a conservancy worker. “No, Amma, I have not thought of anything more. I know that some people look down on me, since I am doing a menial job, but it does not worry me. What matters is that I can take home my pay and look after my family.”
Mr. Das has been at this job for the last forty years and is due to retire next year. He has not availed of any Medical Leave or Earned Leave. He hopes to encash the Earned Leave at the time of retirement. Of the twelve days of Casual Leave permitted per year, he has taken only seven days a year. He said: “If I am on leave on any day, I ask a colleague of mine to take my place and complete the work. Till today, there have been no complaints against me or my work.”
One difficulty he faces is this:
“I ask the residents to separate their garbage, but most of them do not do it; so, I do it. It takes time! I also ask them to place the garbage in a container within their premises and not on the roadside. Only recently I started using gloves. Most of the residents are educated, but they do not care about us or about how they dispose of their garbage.”
He says, sadly, that most of the residents do not even give him a cursory glance or say a word of thanks.
Das belongs to the Pentecostal Church. He studied up to class V and did odd jobs as a boy before taking up his present work. His wife works as a casual labourer. He has three sons, two of whom are married.
The dignity, sincerity and dedication with which Mr Prabhu Das does his hard and essential work—which many see as low and menial—truly inspires me. Living in houses or flats, or driving down our roads, we hardly give a thought to the people who keep our homes, roads and cities clean, do we?
Dr. Ms. Ordetta Mendoza, former Head, Post Graduate Department of Bioinformatics, Stella Maris College, (Autonomous), Chennai, is an Associate of the Congregation of the Franciscan Servants of Mary (FSM). She conducts workshops on College Autonomy, Assessment and Accreditation, Online and e-learning, as well as Mentoring Students. She is involved in her parish and in reaching out to the needy.
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