Yesterday morning I received a rather urgent phone call.
“Bob,” said a voice on the line, “the engineers have come to check the beams and pillars of my flat.”
The caller was a visually impaired gentleman who lives in a building not far from my house. In Mumbai these days, structural audits are mandatory. They are the difference between sleeping peacefully and sleeping under a ceiling that may suddenly decide to join you on the bed.
So I rushed.
Five minutes later I reached his building, slightly out of breath and already imagining the engineers tapping walls, measuring cracks, peering thoughtfully at concrete, like serious doctors examining a patient. Instead, I met a gentleman, Mr Sutar, from the structural firm who looked extremely relaxed.
“Done,” he said cheerfully.
Done?
A two-bedroom flat inspected in five minutes. If doctors worked at this speed the waiting rooms of hospitals would be empty and half the city would be buried.
I asked him politely whether he had done the hammer test on the beams and columns.
He waved his hand casually. “Visual test is enough.” Visual test. How do you know what crumbling rot hides behind a deceptive looking wall unless you tap it with a hammer?
I insisted that the hammer test be done. The engineer was very offended, and yelled, possibly he felt I was interfering with the great scientific method known as “quick look and leave.”
But I insisted. I even got on a stool and tapped myself. As I stood there listening to the hollow sounds which came from weak concrete, a thought struck me. It is remarkably easy to cheat the blind. All you need is confidence and a few false and reassuring words.
Fortunately, my friend had something far more powerful than eyesight. He had good sense. He picked up the phone and called someone to double check.
And that is when my mind wandered, as it often does, to our beloved nation.
Every day we hear of new laws being passed, we are told they are meant to improve our lives, strengthen our nation, and guide society toward a better future. The announcements sound impressive. The speeches sound confident. The promises sound noble.
Visually they look good, but do we ever do the hammer test on them? Do we ask whether they quietly chip away at the freedom of women? Do we question whether they slowly tighten the reins on the youth of this country? Or do we simply accept them believing Mr Sutar’s visual test which he calls a complete inspection.
There are activists, independent reporters, stubborn YouTube journalists who continue asking inconvenient questions. They are the hammer test of democracy.
They may appear annoying. Noisy. But are absolutely necessary.
Because a nation that only believes what it is shown is like a building inspected in five minutes.
So, remove your blindfolds. Ask questions. Tap the beams. And if the sound is hollow, do not quietly walk away.
Instead, shout loud enough for the whole nation to hear…!
