PEOPLE & PRACTICE - I

Early to Bed and Early to Rise

Nature resides in the minds and bodies of the Congolese. People here get up early, with sunrise, complete their daily household chores, and are off to work by 7:30 a.m. Shops open, schools and offices begin, and business is on full swing by 8:00 a.m. By 12 noon, people are agitated – it’s time for lunch. Most local office-goers and businessmen either carry lunch to their workplace or hang out in front of the office, waiting for vendors carrying long, tough sandwiched bread, waffles, or seasonal fruits in baskets on their heads.

Conversely, the Indian workers and businessmen prefer an elaborate home lunch. Bachelors adhere to the “monthly Tiffin system,” wherein Indian Gujarati ladies supply 4-tier lunch packs to offices and other places of business. A functional canteen within the office is a rarity in this country.

By 4:30/5:00 p.m. the businessmen call it a day, and begin closing shops. Offices continue for another hour or so, and by 6:00 p.m. the only people left in the offices would be the Asians – Indians, Pakistanis, and Chinese! The average Congolese can’t be expected to work beyond his natural working hours; if one has to, he’s found miserably failing the task – the chauffeur gets irritated with every car ahead of him, and drives speedier than necessary; the housemaid lets out noisy yawns and then excuses herself; the office peon confirms a task three times over before not doing it right; and the sentinelle’s (door keeper’s) tilted form jeopardizes not just the chair on which he’s propped, but also the establishment he’s entrusted to safeguard. Such is the sleeping syndrome that grips the city with sunset!

Thus primitive lifestyle doesn’t go well with the Indian community – especially the Delhiites and Mumbaikars – who are prone to late nights for working and partying alike. [I’ve deliberately omitted the Gujarati segment here – the majority in Kinshasa – as they have a way with odds, and can accept depravities without complaint.] Husbands return early from work and wonder what to do… helping the wife in the kitchen would mean an added daily responsibility that’s best avoided. Family outing is restricted to a few malls and departmental stores, which becomes boring after a point. Workaholism doesn’t pay off well either. The risk of working late is high in Congo; it tempts the opportunist locals to shoplift, burgle money at gunpoint, and proceed in turn to convict the worker. The sentinelle, police, lawyers are all local Congolese, so an ètranger has little hope for justice. Needless to say, the only savior in such case is money.

Restaurants, some Lebanese shopping malls and departmental stores continue business till late night, and it’ll be unjust to ignore the workers associated with them. These seem to be a different set of Congolese altogether; even at the end of the day their mood as well as their (the ladies’) makeup remains intact!