The full and partial lockdowns over the last one year have forced most of us to stay indoors. With parents working from home, children attending online classes, the elderly to take care of, and household chores to attend to, it is one tight and demanding schedule for most families. Each family member has his/her task cut out, and any slackening on this front could lead to frayed tempers.

In such a delicately balanced scheme of things, the last thing one would want is repair work or appliances breaking down. A leaky tap, a blown fuse, a clogged kitchen sink, an AC that’s not cooling well enough, a washing machine that gets stuck, etc. With all members of the family at home all the time, the appliances too are overworked, and breakdowns are bound to happen.

In the pre-pandemic days, all one had to do was to call for the handyman — the electrician, plumber, carpenter, mason. Now with lockdown restrictions and virus fears, one can no longer bank on their services.

Abroad, especially in the West, most home-owners carry out minor repairs and maintenance work themselves. The option of calling a professional handyman is hardly there. There are agencies that will do the job, but they are expensive and there could be a delay getting their services. In India, too, app-based home service entities have sprung up, but again it may not be worthwhile in these pandemic times to call them over merely to change the tube light, top up the inverter/car battery or clean the AC filter.

One does feel hamstrung by the lack of basic do-it-yourself, or DIY, skills. No doubt that with a bit of motivation these can be picked up from any number of websites that offer tutorials and tips for free. But, looking ahead, simple vocational training courses could be offered at the high school or college level. For the younger generation, this will prove to be more handy than many of the co-curricular activities that are currently on offer.

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