Use the reset button

Dr Dhananjay (Jay) Datar

I own a villa in Dubai which I would rent out to temporary visitors. Once, a foreign lady came to reside there with her infant. The lady was a political leader in her country. I was surprised to know that they were living alone without any relatives. The lady hadn’t mentioned anything about her husband or kin. Later, I heard that her husband was also living in Dubai and the couple had some marital discord. But I kept silent as I felt that it would be wrong to pry into her private affairs.

After some days the lady complained that the villa’s water supply system was faulty. She said that the electric motor would fail frequently hence it should be either repaired or replaced. So I sent an electrician and a plumber to resolve the problem. They inspected the system and found no fault. But still, the complaints from the lady persisted. I thought it better to hand over the maintenance of the property to a professional agency. I thought that everything was smooth, but after a month when the agency billed me for four visits, I was shocked. If the electrician and plumber declared that there was no problem, why was the motor continuously failing? Moreover, how could the agency technician repair it instantly?

I decided to investigate and started an enquiry personally. Since the motor was brand new, I first called the company service engineer. We both visited the villa. The engineer thoroughly inspected the motor and assured me that there was no problem. Suddenly I saw a red button at the bottom and asked him its function. He casually answered, “Sir, it is a resetting facility provided by the company. If the motor fails we just have to press the reset button and it automatically adjusts to the normal setting.” I couldn’t stop myself from laughing at my stupidity. I thanked the engineer and informed my tenant.

The lady then apologised for making me visit for such a trivial thing. I smiled and said, “Madam, I have learned a simple lesson. Of our problems, only 10 per cent get automatically solved but the rest 90 per cent have to be tackled on our own. Sometimes the problem is very simple but instead of facing it head-on we unnecessarily involve many people.”

A fortnight later the lady came to my office. This time her husband was with her and she had decided to shift to his residence. I was happy to see the family together. Before leaving, she again thanked me and said, “Sir, what you said at your last visit was right. We have to face our problems head-on. I had been thinking of approaching a lawyer and moving the court against my husband. Fortunately, your words inspired me. We have now settled our differences and reunited.”

I congratulated the couple and thought to myself, “God also has given a reset button to all of us. We need to remember it and use it in challenges.”