Mission: Restoration

Fazal Dhariwal is defiance in the face of a throwaway culture. Almost always, little things find their way back into working condition in...

Fazal Dhariwal is defiance in the face of a throwaway culture. Almost always, little things find their way back into working condition in the tiny room of his shop, Fazal8217;s, on Main Street. 8220;This is a backfire of our culture 8211; of throwing away anything and everything after a sparing use,8221; says the 63-year-old fixer with nimble hands, adding that this attitude is not far from invading our personal lives too. 8220;Ours is a consumerist society and as we consume more and more, one day we will not know what to do when we cannot get the things we are used to. Why don8217;t people just re-use items? Why spend so much money when you can repair broken things for just a few rupees?8221; he asks.

Dhariwal and his sons usually repair small items like cigarette lighters, pens, torches and calculators, items that one can well purchase again. He believes that Indians have been less influenced by this throwaway culture, unlike a lot of western countries, probably because a lot of items are old and therefore have sentiment value attached to them. 8220;I have a Parker pen that I have been using since my high school days, and now my son uses it. There are people who often come here with such antiquated items8221;.

So why does Dhariwal do what he does 8211; fixing things that can be bought easily? As he sits amidst an assortment of gadgets that are waiting to be repaired, he says, smiling, 8220;It8217;s the challenge to put things that no one else could to work again.8221; With an impressive success rate of putting almost 90 per cent of the things back to work, he claims he is no miracle man, just someone who can repair parts that have broken or cracked. He does not replace components that are not available. Miraculously, he can also make throwaway lighters, and sometimes pens, work too.

Dhariwal maintains that it is interest and the existence of an inquisitive mind that has kept him going. 8220;In my work, every item has a unique problem. So there are no rules to go by. One depends on one8217;s intelligence and experience, which, incidentally, are the best teachers.8221; He firmly believes that practical training makes one much more efficient and laments that people are becoming lazy and delegating work, thus making themselves dependent. Many a time, the problems are so simple that they can be sorted out by the person himself. 8220;And if one has a questioning mind, then there is no end to what one can do,8221; he adds as parting advice.