Elegant, graceful and humorous essays that defined our schooldays
ThreeGreat Essays ‘On Other People’s Jobs’, ‘On Seeing People Off’, and ‘On Forgetting’ authored by Alfred George (AG) Gardiner, Max Beerbohm, and Robert Lynd respectively, were widely included in the eleventh class textbooks at the Higher Secondary School Level, when I was a HSC student in 1961. I remember that these essays were featured in the ‘English Prose for Class XI Anthology’ which was part of our curriculum. Gardiner dealt on all these subjects in his own inimitable style in different contexts, including his own essay ‘On Other People’s Jobs’.
This anthology with the inclusion of these and other interesting essays in our curriculum, reflected the educational standards and literary preferences of our time, emphasizing the development of critical thinking and language proficiency among students. We were introduced to Classic English Prose, fostering an appreciation for literary style and enhancing language skills.
Captivatingly, English Teacher D Venkateshwarlu Sir, in addition to teaching the text book content, introduced us to ‘Conjugation of Verb’ and made us to practice at least a hundred verbs.
Gardiner, who needs to be expressly mentioned, is often remembered by his pseudonym ‘Alpha of the Plough’ and all his essays were familiar as uniformly elegant, graceful, humorous, light, conversational, and reflective. He normally took everyday situations, such as a railway journey, a chance encounter, a habit, or a social quirk, and expanded them into thoughtful commentary. His language was simple, lucid, and hence his works became popular in schools.
The witty essay ‘On Seeing People Off’ is not written by Gardiner. It was authored by Max Beerbohm. Gardiner many times, commented on human behaviour in social contexts, like farewells, manners, or everyday rituals. Like Max, Gardiner humorously criticized the practice of friends and relatives going to railway stations to ‘see people off’ which was a rather pointless, meaningless, and inconvenient social ritual, creating fuss and awkwardness instead of adding value to travel.
He pointed out that being ‘seen off’ only distracts the traveller. Instead of calmly finding his seat and arranging luggage, he has to endure handshakes, shouted reminders, and sentimental farewells. When the train whistles, the relatives cling till the last second, running along the platform and waving dramatically like a whole theatrical performance that seems absurd. According to Gardiner ‘True Friendship’ does not require public display at a railway station or airport, instead, staying at home and saying goodbye with dignity was more sensible.
Gardiner examined human curiosity about the work of others in the essay ‘On Other People’s Jobs’ and suggested that people often assume that other people’s jobs are easier or more interesting, without realizing the difficulties involved. It was a gentle commentary on envy, ignorance, and misplaced assumptions. The curious human tendency to be fascinated by the work of others was aptly reflected by Gardiner in this essay. He cited instances of people stopping to watch a road repair worker, a blacksmith, or a painter at work even if they themselves were busy. They usually think other people’s jobs are easier than theirs. He gently mocked the habit of romanticizing others’ occupation.
Among the three, the most interesting was the essay ‘On Forgetting’, a reflective piece about the curious ways in which memory works, authored by Robert Lynd by this title. Despite Gardiner himself not writing the essay ‘On Forgetting’ he discussed memory, habits, and human weaknesses in several essays such as ‘On Being Absent-Minded, On Habits’ etc. His essays reflected similar observations. With humour, he discussed forgetfulness in everyday life and what it reveals about human nature.
He proceeded with reflecting on the nature of memory. Most people, he stated, can recall faces, dates, words, and incidents from years ago. For him, the true wonder lies not in what memory remembers, but in what it forgets. He was fascinated by the strange ‘inefficiency and unreliability’ of memory. I still remember Gardiner’s words, often quoted by my English Teacher that, ‘it is the inefficiency rather than the efficiency of human memory that compels his wonder.’
Gardiner opined that selective forgetfulness was not a curse but a strange blessing. If every single trivial detail is remembered, then every individual’s lives and minds would be cluttered beyond endurance. Eventually in a ‘Philosophical Reflection’ Gardiner admitted that ‘Forgetfulness is Part of Human Limitation’ and perhaps even of human charm. Memory, he wrote, was not built for efficiency like a machine, but for the ‘Mystery and Wonder of Life.’ Very enthrallingly Gardiner portrayed ‘Forgetting as the one that teaches humility, makes life interesting, humorous, and shows that the mind works in ways beyond rational control.’
He concluded that, it was not memory’s great powers that amazed him, but its little inefficiencies, its quirks, its failures at the most ordinary tasks that truly compelled his wonder. Gardiner celebrated forgetfulness not as a defect, but as a deeply human trait, a comic, puzzling, and oddly delightful.’
When we read ‘On Seeing People Off and On Other People’s Jobs’ together with ‘On Forgetting’ during high school days, the general feeling we had, as imparted by Venkateshwarlu Sir that they share hallmarks of keen observation of ordinary life, witty, conversational humour, and a deeper philosophical point hidden behind lighthearted narration. They read like simple everyday sketches but leave behind enduring insights into human behavior. That is why they made such a lasting impression on our school classmates, and some of us when we meet still discuss them.
Forgetfulness maybe a weakness of memory but in rare cases, forgetting may not be accidental. It is convenient, deliberate, or selective. For reasons of comfort, pride, or self-interest, people ‘forget’ in ways that reveal more about social relations than about memory itself.
For instance, people conveniently forget favours received, because gratitude places them in a position of obligation they would rather avoid.
Pretending to forget is a form of manipulation. Many act forgetful either out of weakness of memory or out of strength of calculation. Forgetting becomes a shield to gain sympathy, to avoid conflict, and to escape responsibility without open admission. Gardiner only authored ‘On Other People’s Jobs’ formally, yet the themes of forgetfulness and farewells surface indirectly across his essays, creating thematic resemblance.
As the ‘Philosopher of the Commonplace’, he revealed humour, wisdom, and wonder within the smallest details of everyday life.
