A case of "Poojan Painter"

I have written this blog after a period of two-three months. An incident on Saturday triggered my thought process and in turn inspired me to write this blog "A Case of Poojan Painter".

At present, we are in process of getting our house done. Most of the things are done, however some painting and beautification is left out. It might get over soon. The story of Poojan Painter is linked with my house's interiors. The story goes like this..... On May the 18th, when I came back from my holidays, I went to have a look at my new house. Unfortunately a lot of work was pending. Hence, I called up our interior designers and they pushed the painters to the hilt to get the house spic, span and ready for the Pooja that was to be conducted on 23rd May 2010.
Our hero of the story "Poojan Painter" was shouted at by Interior Designers and that made him efficient and also inspired him to complete majority of the work in a nice way and within the given timeframe.

Post 23rd May...
After the Pooja was over and after the people appreciated Poojan's work, he urgently wanted to leave. The pressure created by the interior designers to finish the work before the pooja was not there and it was assumed by him that it was fine to do all hankypanky. One of the interior designer happened to go to the house a day after the pooja and pointed out some mistakes in "Poojan's" work. This created a big scene between Poojan and the Interior Designer. Hence, intentionally, Poojan spoilt the excellent work done by him earlier. He repainted some parts of the house so badly that the faults, that were once visible only to an expert eye of an interior designer started being visible to a layman like me. Poojan was very happy that he "got back" with vengence and had spoilt the party.
When I saw the outcome of the repainted house, I was extremely unhappy. I lost my cool and gave a negative feedback about Poojan, the same person whom I had admired a few days ago. I was not sure as to what made Poojan undo what he had done. After an hour of unhappiness, I went back home and enjoyed my life with my children.
In the evening I got my answer. I went to a spiritual gathering near my house. A swami delivered a lecture on " How to restructure life and create value".
In his lecture he mentioned" Everyone knows that German engineers are the best, but inspite of knowing that , few can replicate them. Do you know, Why?. " The reason is, German's, besides being precise and skilled are also taught from their early childhood to create a brand value. They are taught that whatever services or products they deliver are a reflection of their own self, and that, their work is an ambassador of their skill, commitment and ability as workers. More importantly it reflects collective quality and brand of their Nation. So nothing other than the very best can do for Germany and Germans. That is, German's deliver the best quality for thier own satisfaction (And Brand Name) and not to receive appreciation from others. So, a question came to my mind" Would Poojan have done this mischief if he were to use the same house. Perhaps not. Had he done it if he cared for his own brand value and that of the interior designer that he works for. Perhaps not.

That is what we need to learn from the Germans. We just cannot deliver inferior stuff citing reasons of unhappiness, grudge, lack of clarity, paucity of time, ego, lack of pressure from supervising authority etc. We have to deliver the best, because we wish to do it, not because someone else might reprimand us or appreciate us. Poojan is just a case in point, we all need to change. Unfortunately we are not taught to be proud of our own brand and the brand of our nation. Hence, internally and externally, "Made in India" is not same as "Made in Germany". We love our "Chalta Hai" attitude. We forget that whatever we do individually also gets magnified as a national behaviour and reflects our collective psyche....

The day we deliver the best goods and services for our own satisfaction, "Made in India" will also be same as "Made in Germany". We have to teach ourselves and our children that what we do individually, collectively translates into what we do as a nation. If we give our best, the country also does the best....
Hence, we need to restructure ourselves and start valuing our brand both individually and as a nation.....