A toaster in the kitchen has broken. Should it be repaired? There is a hole on a favourite shirt. Should it be taken to a darner for mending? A knife has become blunt. Should a cutler be called to sharpen it? If the answer to each question is in the affirmative, it indicates you favour “repair and reuse”.
Western countries steeped in the throwaway culture recognise now that repairing and reusing gadgets and appliances will go a long way in saving our environment from accumulated waste. Electronic giants such as Apple too have shown interest in repair and reuse of their products.
The repair culture is not alien to Indians. In the past, we were known for improvised repair methods. One would think twice before throwing out a broken wrist watch, a wall clock or an electric iron. The joy of seeing an out-of-order watch or camera coming back to life after repair is unique.
Are we showing a similar interest now in fixing broken things? Not quite. The reason is mass manufacture of consumer goods, thanks to technological development, poor durability of products, high repair cost and consumerism. This reminds one of the dystopian society visualised by Aldous Huxley in his novel Brave New World, which thought “ending is better than mending”.
However, the current call to “repair and restore things” appears to be easier said than done. We have sophisticated gadgets which are difficult to be repaired by laymen. Once the warranty period is over, the fixing has to be got done mostly in the unorganised sector. There is paucity of reliable, efficient and cost-effective repair services for appliances and gadgets. Those who are available are not formally trained. They have picked up some skill by trial and error.
The other day, the screen of my favourite old-model colour TV went blank. I had to approach a private technician to fix it. With a self-assured hubris, he took out the motherboard saying he would set it right in his workshop. After several days, he brought it back unrepaired, saying parts were unavailable. I had no option but to sell the TV for a song to a scrap collector. In one more instance, the replaced capacitor of my microwave oven broke within a month.
To sustain the repair and reuse culture, it should be made mandatory that every manufacturer produces goods durable and viable for repair. There is a huge turnover of graduates and technicians from our colleges and technical institutions who do not find placements. They remain unemployed or take up other jobs. There is vast scope for new businesses in the repair field.
One of the few good outcomes of the pandemic is many youngsters have adopted prudent self-reliance in matters including reviving old gadgets. These measures should continue.
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