Aspirations of an all-rounder

When I first met Anil, I asked what his occupation was. He said he was an all-rounder, and that he can do any work. I wanted to learn more, but he was in a hurry, and told me he could come to his house the following morning.

Anil lives in a 100-square foot room on the terrace of a building in Chennai. There are no windows, and the roof is made of a metal sheet that lets the summer heat in. He lives with his wife, his cousin and two small children. It is 9 am on a Sunday morning, and the children are restless in the heat.

Anil is from Nepal, and he has been in Chennai for over six years.

Anil's cousin, Go Bahadur sits next to him. When asked about their experience working in Chennai Go Bahadur says, “the only problem is that we get paid less than local workers, and we are made to work more than them.”

Anil says, “my experience has been different. wherever I work, I have been paid more than what I expected. I go to work at a place only if the employer respects me.”

Settling down

Anil continues, “It wasn't always like this. For the first four years, I was working in people’s houses, doing housekeeping work. I worked from 6 am in the morning to 8 or 9 pm. I also lived in the employer's house, with my wife and a child. So I couldn't just leave the job.”

“At that time, I didn't know the language. I couldn't understand when they talked about me. What to say of those times.. I won't talk about it now, I can't talk badly of the place where I am living.”

Anil is now fluent in Tamil.

“I used an app which teaches Tamil vocabulary. I learnt 15 words every day. When I was working in the house, there was a driver there who did not know Hindi -- I taught him Hindi and he taught me Tamil.”

“For Nepalis who don't know Tamil, being here is a death sentence. Wherever one is, one has to struggle and establish oneself, only then one can survive. Now see, my child was born after I came here, and we got money from the government in Chennai (under a scheme for pregnant and lactating mothers). Very few Nepalis would have managed to get that money. I never give up. If there is a challenge, I accept it and apply my mind to it.”

The all-rounder

Anil continues, “In the last two years, I have started working independently. I have clients who call me when there is work. I can do any kind of work -- gardening, cleaning, painting. I am an all-rounder. I don't say ‘no’ to any work. If I don't know how to do a job, I look it up on YouTube and learn how to do it. I can also arrange people to do work --I know whom to call and arrange workers. I also own a two-wheeler. If I drive that for 8 hours (for Uber), I can earn thousand rupees. Another work I do is I help people apply for and get their Aadhaar cards and drivers license. In my early days in Chennai, I worked in restaurants. I learned how to cook.”

“Now, I am treated with respect in whichever house I work. I work at Pepsi Uma's (a well-known Tamil actor) house. Whenever she needs something done, she calls me. She does not treat me like a servant, more like an equal, because both of us need each other.”

Trajectory

“I started college but didn't finish. I came to Chennai thinking, I would go back in five months and take the college exams. But now it as been six years. In the first four years of doing house-work, I forgot everything. My knowledge of English, and everything else I learned in school and college -- I think I forgot about 50 % of it.”

“Now my life is gone. I can't study more, I can't go and work in a different country. Now I am going to sit next to my kids and make something of their life. Because the time given by parents to children is very crucial.”

“Family ko saath mein leke chalna hai.”

“One has to take care of one's family. My mother is not well. One's relationship with family is so important -- if in the morning, we get out with a fresh mind, one can do any work. And on the other hand, if one gets out of the house with tension, that will keep playing in the head.”

Aspirations

I ask Anil if I can take a photo of him. He refuses, saying “if you take a photo of me like this, people will say I look like a gunda.” Anil is wearing a sleeveless shirt and has a neat ponytail. “I am dressed in a natural way now. When the children grow up and go to college, I will have to dress up like their parent. For now, when they are small, it is okay for me to be like this and fulfill my wishes. But later, if I appear like this, I will not be respected at all.”

“For these 1-2 years, I can also continue working here and there. In this kind of work (that he currently does), one is not fully respected. As the children grow up, I will start a proper business. Then, I will also worry about how to dress, talk and conduct myself.”

Anil asks me unprompted, “are you Hindu?” to which I say yes. “Which is your favorite God,” to which I have no answer. He goes on to say “Shiva is my favorite God. I have a lot of faith in God. Whatever I wish for, I feel I get full support from God. Of course, I only wish for things which are within my reach, but I feel I get full support. My wife lights the lamp everyday, unless she is sick. He shows me the pooja shelf mounted on a wall. In our house in Nepal, we have a pooja room, like how people have here in their houses. We can also live the way they do. But we are here to earn. If we start doing all that, the children's studies will be affected. So we just adjust and live like this, and save money towards their education.”

I ask Anil if he considers Chennai his home. “Yes, now it feels like my own village. My daughter speaks both Nepali and Tamil. I came to Chennai with nothing. Now I have a bank balance. I can do stuff for my children. I hope to stay here at least till my children finish their education.”

Sunday is Anil's day off when he cleans the house and spends time with the children. As we were talking the children had taken off their clothes. They are waiting to be bathed, which will give them a respite from the heat. We finish talking, and Anil goes off to give them a bath.