Repair Culture vs Throwaway Culture: Two Small Men Who Taught Me a BIG Lesson in Surat, India

 Repair Culture vs Throwaway Culture: Two Small Men Who Taught Me a BIG Lesson in Surat, India

By Dr. Sajad Hussein Kamarally

In Malaysia, we throw things away. In India, they repair them and live happily doing it! During my recent stay in Surat, India, I met two ordinary men who taught me an extraordinary lesson. Their lives were simple, their needs were modest, and their attitude towards work was inspiring.

Let me share their stories.

1. The Watch Repairman: A Small Space, A Good Living

This man works in a tiny 10-square-foot cubicle in town. His daily rent? Just Rs 75! He brings his own lunch from home and cycles 5 km to work and another 5 km back. He works alone, from 9 am until 8 pm or even later. No air-conditioning. No assistant. No fancy shop.

Yet, he told me he earns between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000 a day — approximately RM100 to RM150.In Surat, that is considered a good income, especially with so little overhead.

He has a wife and a son, both self-supporting. The family lives in a modest two-room apartment with a kitchen and bathroom. Sunday is his day off. He may take his family to a movie or simply relax at home.

Is he happy? Yes, he says he is comfortable and happy.His daily prayer is simple: that he will be blessed with good health. What a beautiful lesson in knowing what is enough!

2. The Young Cobbler: A Box of Tools and a Big Dream

Then I met a young cobbler in his late 20s.His workplace? The five-foot way outside a shop. No rental. No shop. No expensive equipment. Just a small wooden box containing his tools — a hammer, needle, glue and polish.

Like the watch repairman, he brings his own lunch and cycles to work. He told me he earns about Rs 1,500 a day, or approximately RM75. With virtually no overheads, most of that is his to keep.

But what impressed me most was not his income. It was his attitude. He is contented, hardworking and saving for his future. At such a young age, he is already thinking ahead.

I could not help asking myself: How many of our young Malaysians in their 20s would be willing to sit on a five-foot way and mend shoes for a living? Many of us dream of comfortable offices, easy jobs and becoming influencers. There is nothing wrong with ambition. But somewhere along the way, have we forgotten the dignity of honest work? This young man has not., and I salute him for that!

. What Is Wrong With Us?

These two men got me thinking. Have we become too comfortable? Have we lost the habit of making do, finding solutions and using our hands and skills? Look at our throwaway habits.

o   Phone spoilt? Buy a new one.

o   Handbag zip broken? Throw it away.

o   Shoe sole coming off? Throw the shoes away.

Our favourite excuse? “Not worth repairing!” But is that really true? Or have we lost the skills to repair things? Have we become too impatient to mend them? Or do we look down on the people who do this work? In Surat, I saw a different attitude.

Repairing is not a last resort. It is a way of life — and a livelihood. Things are given a second chance. Skills are put to good use. Small businesses thrive by solving everyday problems.  Here is a personal example. My own handbag needed repairing. The cost? Just Rs 100 — approximately RM5! In Malaysia, we might have been tempted to buy a new one. In Surat, a simple repair did the job. Why replace something when it can still serve us?

 What Can Malaysia Learn?

I believe we have something important to teach our students — and perhaps remind ourselves of, too.

a) The dignity of all work : No honest job is too small. We must stop measuring people by their job titles, the size of their offices or the brands they wear. A man who repairs watches or mends shoes deserves our respect too..

b) Low-cost entrepreneurship: You do not always need RM50,000, a fancy office or a huge loan to start a business. With the right skills, a small box of tools and the willingness to work, you can start small and build your future.

c) Sustainability begins with repair: Repairing is good for the pocket and good for the planet. It reduces waste, saves resources and gives useful things a second life. We talk so much about sustainability. May be we should begin with something simple: repair before you replace.

d) Contentment is also a form of wealth: These two men work hard. They earn, save and support their families. They do not seem obsessed with showing off what they own. They cycle to work. They bring their own lunch. They keep their expenses low., and they are happy. Their greatest daily prayer is for good health. Think about that for a moment.

 Surat Taught Me a Lesson I Will Not Forget

These two men may have small workplaces, but they have given me a big lesson. They taught me that you do not need a big shop to earn an honest living. You do not need expensive possessions to be happy. And you do not need to throw something away simply because it is broken.

We Malaysians have so much more at our disposal, yet we often find so much to complain about. We need to pause and ask ourselves: Have we confused having more with being happier?

Surat reminded me that happiness is not always about buying something new. Sometimes, it is about repairing what is broken. Sometimes, it is about finding dignity in a simple job, and sometimes, it is about being grateful for what we already have.

We have become so obsessed with buying new things that we are forgetting the value of preserving what we already own.

It is time we changed that because a society that knows how to buy is a consumer society, but a society that knows how to repair is a society that knows the value of things — and the value of human beings!.

 

Comments

  1. AmewOctober 11, 2026 at 10:29 PM

    Such a beautiful reminder.
    What we can repair must be done so.
    Yet, our cosmpolitan andd metropolitan cities who thrive on depleting our generations ability to be themselves.
    They template a pictur of what youth should look like and be doing.
    And, somewhere we as parents, also lack in instillingg true hard work in our kids.
    We want them to work hard at their lessons, their sports, their social skills, etc.
    We forget tto let them toil some with their body's fatigue too.
    Mind and body both need to go through a level of unease and diacomot to learn true values of repair vs replace.

    ReplyDelete

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