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Being a nikamma
It's true, it's gruesome. As a young boy I had always looked at
older people looking out for jobs with a disregard. It was something
that did not bother me. It was a stage that would come, if ever, at a
very late stage in my academic career, and I need not be immediately
concerned about it. But that stage has come when I can call myself a
pure and unmixed nikamma. With a relief I completed the last paper
of my MA finals this July. Great accomplishment given that I had to give the
exams under demanding circumstances- I got about 40 whole days to prepare
for eight papers from scratch. Heaved a sigh of relief, now that the
tiresome routine was behind me. Went and watched Terminator III with friends
with the HeMan bashing up things, and a lovely lady to boot! Even before
coming back home our status dawned on us. For the first time in our lives,
all of us were at a dead end. None of us knew for sure what each would do,
although all had a few plans and dreams. None showed too great an interest
in higher studies, and even if one were to do an MPhil, one had to wait for
quite a few months before sitting for the screening tests. Nikamma
nonetheless in the meantime. A few days back an auntie called up and asked
what I was doing- Nothing, actually. I have had to repeat the same word
again and again. Incidentally I re-established contact with a few old
acquaintances in the recent past, and I had to divulge my status with open
embarrassment. Having an Arts or even a Science degree in India isn't
enough. Abroad even an matriculate can happily live his life with a cosy
employment. Not here, baby. Welcome to India. Someone does a BTech,
and he becomes an engineer. Someone else with a BA doesn't become an artist.
Nor does someone with a BSc does become a scientist. He joins the long line
outside employment exchange. Bloody unfair. More the reason why I am an
agnostic. There are a few advantages in being nikamma as well. For
example, you can meet your friends a lot more. You can play, read novels,
gossip and come back home and go to sleep, eat and watch TV and do whatever
you like. It's an enjoyable life for the women who plan to get married I
guess. But for the accursed progeny of Adam- thou shalt earn thy bread with
the sweat of thy brow. So be it! Dated: 4 November, 2003. |
