Pole Power Blessing !

Rural India is littered with sights that get me open mouthed. Well, if you are a regular reader here, i can almost hear you say that i get open mouthed at the drop of a hat. Or at a buzz of a fly or whatever ! Sure. And yes !

Take a loot at this, for instance.


Seen somewhere in rural India. A common sight in urban India too. Power ! I quake in my boots to think of the chap who would climb the pole to fix a electrical problem. (Problems which must be as common place as a puny Tamil film hero fighting of ten people twenty times his size ! On screen of course !)

Here i sit. Not knowing which socket will hold which plug on my computer ! Heck, i cant tell between the printer cable and the phone cable ! Of course i fret and make the odd murmur of how complicated life has become and how powerless i feel !

To think that the chap who climbs the pole, figures out the problem amidst that maze of wires, unplugging the exact wire and replugging after ‘some’ work, is mind numbing to say the least ! Phew !

A chap like me will think that he deserves a ‘life time achievement award’ for just climbing that pole with a combination of ropes, bare hands and some degree of energy .

Oh yes, the other chap does it with no fuss. No noise. Only the odd instruction to his partner on the ground ! Often times, i wonder if i know how blessed i am. On the same keel i wonder if he knows how blessed he is.

On another note, the missus wonders if i chose this post because i relate to the tube light well.

Well. Well.. Blessings. You see !

26 thoughts on “Pole Power Blessing !

  1. Guria says:

    This is one thing that I have wondered about as well. I travel a lot by road in India, and this is a common factor I have observed all over. Though I have not thought about the chap who climbs up the ladder as imaginatively as you have, I have thought of the funnier and baffling aspects of it. 😛 🙂

  2. Insignia says:

    Lol!! at your line relating yourself to tube light.

    I must say, you are a person who pauses for a while, give importance to simple things in life and carry on in this fast-forward world. Kudos to you!!

    I have always wondered about this maze of wires on an electric pole. One wrong touch and the guy who is fixing it might see end. These guys play hide-n-seek with death and life.

    And I also think if it is too much while fixing them, why cant they organize these wired mess in a neat way so that maintenance is easier.

    Indians!!!! they would never plan.

    Nice one again!

  3. aativas says:

    Very true.. I mean so many of such common people need ‘Life time achievement awards’ for doing the impossible regularly. Well observed and expressed.

  4. I'm Nu says:

    Good observation and a funny end to the post Kavi 🙂

    You are right..I can never imagine myself do this high risk job..practice it is but in this case the practice itself is too risky,eh !

  5. Neha says:

    you get to see the same pole and the same maze of wires lying flat on ground during monsoon leaving so many homes power-less..but as you often mention – that’s another story..

    confused between printer and phone cable? hmmm, a common problem I guess..

    I like the way your missus connects certain things/people – pine-pain; you-tube light etc…anything else am I missing on?

  6. And that’s a very NEAT power pole….Kavi, you KNOW they can look a thousand times more complex!!

  7. Absolutely right. Lifetime achievement awards for all involved. Ever seen it it he urban India. The haphazardly builde 3 or 4 storeyed building will be too close to such a cluster and some have balconies too. In jaipur, you can add the monkeys too. It’s really a wonder how it works.

  8. asha says:

    Yes, I too think these unsung heroes need an award. May be our govt can think of instituting some awards for tertiary workers.

    BTW good observation skills.

  9. This year, climbing pole with the most mazed wires goes to……:D

  10. At the top
    of it all
    is the
    Unequal Sign….

    Two parallel
    horizontals,
    minding their own
    connections
    and a huge pillar
    shoots up

    Wires,
    Reaching out to
    brother pillars,
    sister connections
    to virtual houses ,
    Power ,
    stolen,
    from those
    perceived to have
    too much of it.

    But as in politics,
    those
    who actually
    use the network,
    succeed;
    while those used
    when it was being
    fixed,
    always end up
    being shocked in the end.

  11. bodaat says:

    There are some jobs envy. That is not one of them!

  12. radha says:

    I also pity the guy who tinkers with the telephone junction box. The maze of wires. Also worry whether I would find my net working when I get back home ( what if he unplugged my phone connection by mistake?)

  13. sujata says:

    that picture made me miss those skewed poles a lot. messy, bent by weight of wires and birds.You are not alone in your quest to finding the difference between various computer wires, I am blind in such matters too and always at my wits end!

  14. Aparna says:

    I have also seen sparrows make their nests amidst all those wires,it is a very common sight in Calcutta.

    When it comes to anything electrical, I am a complete dud. I barely manage to change a fused bulb. I wouldn’t know a printer cable if it came and struck me, rather shocking I think…

  15. Kavi

    part of the problem is that half of those wires are “illegal wire taps” and have no official trace.

    when I was in Varanasi, every street vendor would take a connection from the street lamp.. be it a bangle seller or a mango shake dude. The street lamp rigging was more reliable for his little blender than the official power connection to the stores behind the mango shake wala!

    It must be a real challenge for the guy to go up and fix things and they do deserve an award for keeping things going.

  16. Jeevan says:

    Like vadivelu says taking risk is like eating rusk, and even we say it from safe zone. But those guys climb over deserves risk, thus to eat rusk at home.

    kudos and well wishes to those.

  17. Kavi says:

    Guria : I wonder what the funnier more baffling aspects can be ! it sure must be something. Perhaps you should share ! 🙂

    Insignia : yes. Go on ! Laugh ! 🙂 And BTW, Thanks ! 😉

    Well, well, i guess we revel in ambiguity ! Just look at the way we drive. You never know which side teh chap ahead is going to turn ! Life goes on well , though ! 🙂

    Aativas : You bet !! Life time achievement award indeed !

    Nu : It does carry some risk ! SOME risk ! 🙂

    Neha : It sends a shiver down my spine whenever i see the open wires and the rail water mixing freely !

    Now now…you seem to be enjoying the way the missus thinks. Well, ofcourse, there are quite a few connections that she thinks of ! Only some make it here ! 🙂

    Braja : Yes ! They can be far more complex ! Very very complex ! 🙂

    The Holy Lama : yes ! Its very much visible in Indian urban cities as well !

    Life sees so many other monkey business too !

    Asha : Awards ! Well, they could. And there would be some power connections to swing them ! 😉

    Chandrika : Goes to… ?!? Well ! 😀

    Ugich Konitari : 😀 Ofcourse, those who use the connections survive and thrive ! Ofcourse !

    Lovely ! As usual !

    Bodaat : 🙂

    Radha : yes..same here. Somehow they know how to plug and unplug the right wire and socket ! Somehow they have that knack ! 🙂

    Sujata : One of the greatest revelations of this post is this… I am not alone ! I have company ! In wire blindness !

    Aparna : Sparrows make their nests ? Phew ! That is new indeed !

    Well, i can change the fused bulb. Yes. Barely ! But then, i dont have much power at home either ! 🙂

    Sundar : Oh yes ! the illegal taps ! the next political leaders birthday will see a sea of tube lights. Ofcourse all sucking electricity from the pole nearby !

    🙂

    Jeevan : Vadivelu and his comedy ! 😀

  18. nsiyer says:

    Hmm… pole vaulted, Kavi.

  19. this gives a new dimension and meaning to pole dance! 😛

  20. PNA says:

    Just can’t help laughing 🙂
    UK, u know I growing more jealous of u day by day because of ur versification… awesome:)

    God bless u and god bless that man to gets to the top of that pole…

    good daya

  21. Inder says:

    hmmm… and some people even take the job of diffusing landmines…

  22. I just keep imagining the mess if that pole came down. It’s much better if it stays there up in the air where we don’t notice it so much. Just keep the power coming. Of course, only until Kavi comes along 😉

    Blessings to you too.

  23. Guria says:

    Well, one funny thing was we had seen two men in Orissa, one holding up a ladder and issuing fast instructions to the man atop the ladder. Our limited experience in the language was enough to understand that they were trying to unravel a few wires from that complicated mesh, God knows why… The man was busy unraveling and putting each unraveled bit around his left shoulder, one long his right arm, one around his neck and so on… We passed them thinking when the wires will get completely free, he’ll be completely tangled, and he’ll have to stand next to electrical post as the new post! 😀
    It was actually very funny! 😛
    Another time we had been sure the person climbing up will be either electrocuted or pecked to death by the crows!! 😛
    Crazy me!

  24. Aleta says:

    I remember someone sending me an email about power lines in India, with wires in all sorts of directions. Scary thoughts!

  25. SSQuo says:

    I prefer the tubelight only for studying (at least I used to), but otherwise its always yellow light that i prefer…its just the perfect ambience

    Hope you have been well!

  26. Ravi says:

    i’ve been reading all your post …so do this pole power blessing ..

    i wudn’t be commenting if havent read this
    //i relate to the tube light well// perhaps .. i relate well ..

    i may seem anonymous ..
    … am a blogger .. who pen down my typical day .. that pissed me and excited me..

    … with a stream of bloggers with that pattern .. i really found .. this post .. just a sense .. that stopped every other thinking .. yet providing a saturday morning .. window look .. feel ..

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