DailyPost 2621
THE RAT MINERS
Rat miners as professionals and rat mining as a profession gained public currency in the last three days as no other in the history of hands-on expertise in this country. It was at the center of one of the biggest, longest and most complex rescue operations this country has ever seen. That such a professional fraternity could have been used in emergencies, at a time tunneling was happening in a big way, risks known, talks of the mindset of crisis situation handling in this country. The fact of the matter is that it is banned for the nature of hazard it poses to human life. Nonetheless, they proved that a profession lives beyond it getting banned if there is need for it. The ultimate faith in the machine to deliver under any any and every cumstance got dented in a big way.
Rat miners made the tunnel rescue happen where 41 laborers were trapped for 17 days. With hiccups after hiccups and strategy changing given the exigencies of the situation and limits to which technology and available expertise could deliver, the rat miners did when and where it mattered the most. The last mile. It was a time no other tech solution was expected to give sure shot results. Manual with gadgets and tools most simple, if not crude, delivered what they did, out of human expertise, perfected over time, grit, perseverance and hardship which we find so difficult to imagine.
They never doubted the skills they possessed and what they could deliver. Now it has come to public knowledge that they have the capability to operate in even narrower spaces and deliver. They came from different geographies and were quick to seamlessly merge into a team and get going to achieve a definite goal. Given the way they have been responding to the media, they were barely looking for any remuneration leave aside glory. The media seemed to be more interested in proving their worth, through the rat miners. They had the natural sense of satisfaction of having found a purpose in life, or what the best their skills could deliver.
What the country owes to them, neither the country knows nor do they. Radically different from their superb expertise, work culture, never say never die, and finding a sense of fulfillment in life, we have different varieties of rat miners in this country. They are not known by this name and practice this art at a surreptitious level. Devious to be precise. They piggyback on the real performers and ingeniously prove their indispensible role, where nothing of that nature exists. They are able to find their way into the narrowest of tunnels of success. It is a virtual layer where they do the bidding for each other. They create the narrative and position themselves in the lead roles. There is no hands on, it is all heads on with a purpose. When will we start batting for the real rat miners? Only work should speak!
INDIA NEEDS TO PROVIDE A MUCH BIGGER SPACE TO ITS DOERS.
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.