[Reader-list] Notes on plumbing individual identities- 208

[Taha Mehmood]

Dear All

One has often observed while constructing a modern house, that after
cement is mixed with water and gravel and a structure subsequently
created, a plumber moves in with his hole saws and measuring tapes,
his pilers and spanners, his tap re-seaters and pipe cutters.

A plumber's job is simple. To regulate the flow of water.

 For this purpose a web of pipes are embedded along the boundaries of
the floor, by the sides of a wall and on the roof where a tank is
placed to store water. Unlike the job of a painter, a mason or an
architect a plumbers job is appreciated by its invisibility. A
plumbers job is akin to that of a magician. As if like magic water
must appear when a hand turns to open the tap.

 Water, which is such an essential element for human living is
rendered invisible in our homes, so much so that people often remember
fondly the walls of their rooms, their courtyards and spaces where
they interacted with other human beings but never ever in their
memories will you ever find a mention of water.

Yet without water we cannot exist. And if the water flowing in our
pipes happens to be poisonous then no matter how good the plumbing is,
no matter how aesthetically designed the house is and no matter who
lives in that place, it will simply be of no use. For a good plumber
to prevail and showcase his work to more customers and to keep on
tuning his craft to perfection, portable water is a must.

Can anyone think of a master plumber in the middle of a desert?

It was quite amusing to watch an interview given by Mr. Nandan
Nilekani to NDTV recently, where he describes his job as that of a
-plumber-.

I think this a very serious remark made by Mr.Nilekani because by
describing his role as plumber, aren't we led to assume that the
question of water or the question pertaining to the individual
identity of a billion people which will flow through a presumably
large network of government databases around the country is already
settled.

If the Chief of Unique Identification Database Authority of India
publicly chooses to distance himself from identifying Indians as
Indians in the first place, then I wonder why should we invest so much
amount of time and money in this initiative?

Do we really need a plumber at this stage or we need a person to test
portable water?

Please watch this NDTV interview for more-

http://www.ndtv.com/news/videos/video_player.php?id=1149445

Warm regards

Taha