Describe the most ambitious DIY project you’ve ever taken on.
A young man in his mid-twenties reflects on DIY projects while contemplating nature by a stream. He compares his doctoral research on silkworms to the DIY concept, recognizing that humans traditionally performed tasks independently. Nostalgic memories of his childhood, where family members created handmade items, surface, contrasting with the current trend of hiring services. He believes that life itself is the ultimate DIY project, emphasizing the importance of individual dignity, respect, and values. Ultimately, he concludes that improving one’s own life is the most significant DIY endeavor.
The morning was pleasant. The lull was broken by occasional flying, hopping and chirping birds. Their play added a lively dimension to the ambience. Amidst it all, a lone person, deeply engrossed in his thoughts was seen sitting on a boulder facing the flowing stream.
Lost in his thoughts, he reared his head from time to time, casting a cursory glance around. He used to admire nature and natural drama but today he seemed oblivious.
He was a young man who was in his mid-twenties. After clearing his post-graduation, had enrolled himself in the doctoral assignment. He was to work on the nature and activity of the silk gland of the silkworm exposed to radiation.
After spending significant time in the library, searching for references, he came out and sat on the boulder to relax. Mild rippling sound blended with occasional birds’ chirp was a symphony of natural orchestra. It relaxed him helping to break the monotony.
His mind was seemingly blank but it was not so. Ideally, there is no vacuum. A seemingly empty space is always filled with things predominantly gases. So is the case of mind which is no exception. Varied thoughts from different directions are bound to flood the mind. It happens when the mind is not involved in any task. It is rightly said that an empty mind is the devil’s workshop. The empty tumbler attracts things like liquid or solid to fill it; if it is empty, air fills it.
While sitting there and watching the ripples in the flowing stream, a thought struck his mind. A picture of a cocoon-weaving larva of the silkmoth came to his mind. It was the animal he was working on. It does its work by itself without taking the help of anyone else. Is it doing DIY? He thought. Yes, it was like doing it yourself, the reply came bang after it.
Humans also do many works that come under the heading of the “Do It Yourself” (DIY) category. Basically, humans used to do every work by themselves. Only, a few of them needed the help of others to do the required work for them. Those who work for others charge money in cash or kind to do the work for others. In other words, they are being paid adequately for their labour and time, for the work they are doing for others.
A few decades ago, every member of a family used to do work that was beyond the comprehension of today’s humans. From making their home to farming, from babysitting to household chores and from cleaning home to cooking, every work was done by the family members on a do-it-yourself basis. In a changed scenario and with the increasing growth of serving people, it is becoming an essential thing to get their work done by others on a payment basis has gained grounds. With time it has become a fashion to talk about doing in this manner.
As he was thinking about it, images of his childhood days emerged. He used to make artefacts of various kinds by origami or cutting and pasting various colourful papers. He would do it for pleasure and to relax his mind. Later, he used them to decorate the house. As the vogue of giving a fashionable name to any activity, product or service to attract attention gained ground, it was also termed appropriately. Smallest things appeared big and a whole lot of environment was created to show it larger than life.
He recalled his childhood days when sitting beside his maternal grandmother talking, he used to watch her craftily weaving colourful baskets, fans, and plates using agri-wastes like hay or Moonj. These baskets and plates served the basic purpose according to their utilities. It did not get any “fashionable” tag. Later, he found that the objects created by rustic women were displayed in fairs or exhibitions. He was happy that these art forms and the products were getting noticed. He, nevertheless, did not align with the overhyping of the DIY concept.
He grew up watching people making their own houses in villages. They would fetch mud from the pond and mix it with hay and some cow dung. They would make them lumps of medium size and place them one above the other to make a thick wall. After finishing a part, it was levelled and smoothed using clay paste. All of it was done by themselves without hiring the services of others. As the necessities increased, there was a division of labour and things started segregating. Dependency progressively grew.
Bricks emerged as building blocks. The tall chimneys belching smoke amidst fields became a usual sight. The use of bricks was becoming frequent. The brick klin used to be in large space and the work was labour intensive. Labourers from far and wide used to come to take up the job and earn money. The masonry, albeit prevalent, was not within the reach of common folks who used to build their mud houses themselves.
In the Western world, making log houses or houses built using locally available materials is frequent. They have given it the name DIY, nowadays a symbol of status. Self-working gives pleasure and satisfaction besides giving a sense of belonging. Home decoration and daily household tasks offer self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement. A self-cleaned and maintained house not only soothes the soul but by keeping engaged in constructive work, it keeps negativity at bay.
An individual’s life is a DIY project. The individual is the owner of one’s life. As an individual, everyone wants to live the way he likes and loves to. Individual freedom is necessary, and everyone wants to enjoy privacy and freedom. They want to have full control and say in what they do a thing either by themselves or get it done by others. The wealthy have the resources to express their desires in a project. Their life though is influenced by someone but does not solely depend on others.
Despite having more than enough, people are dependent on almost everything. From cooking to small petty things, they enjoy this dependency. They look at it as their privilege and feel much more elevated when the submissive army of people working for them stands before them with folded hands.
Those who want to be grounded do not inculcate fictitious and superficial habits in their siblings. Such siblings, when they grow old, have a sense of respect for labour and the personal dignity of their subordinates and workers who work for them. Talking about the most ambitious DIY project, one must remember that it is all about inculcating decency in an individual. Dignity, respect, compassion, humanity and human values are the things which make a human into a decent human. Doing work towards achieving them is the greatest individual work done by a person.
Sitting on the bolder, beholding the waves and lost in his thoughts, he couldn’t realise that the sun had gone down. It was evening and the library was about to close. He rose and, taking long strides, went to the library where his materials were laid open. He collected and placed them in the assigned cupboard, locked it and came out.
While returning, the thoughts were still hovering in his mind. He believed that no work is small. Tagging a work as DIY categorizes it, which he thought was an unimportant thing. He also thought that shaping his life and working to improve it was the biggest of all DIY projects. One has to take it up earnestly and with sincerity.
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