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A continual effort



It was 7am and Tanu was all ready for the day. Bathed and dressed in her crisp salwar kameez, she picked up her file and started off on the routine she had created for herself over the past few months. She waved to her roommates, who wished her luck whole-heartedly as always, and walked the lane that led to the main road. The ultra-narrow lane had rooms on both sides, most of them housing atleast 5 like her. The roofs leaked during mild rains and the rooms got flooded during heavy ones. They were together working on repairing it before the next rainy season, but that'll have to wait for the weekend, for her weekdays were full.

She reached the end of the narrow lane and as if a new world opened up in front of her, she stood facing a vast frontal area of an expansive tech park. The road she had to cross to get there was extremely wide and difficult, both really and figuratively. She stood there, staring at the building for the 8th continuous week. She stood there as all those 8 weeks before that came back to her in minute details - all the faces and grimaces and laughs she'd faced. They were pulling her down. Not letting her cross that road. Not letting her get to the other side. From a 5-member room in a narrow lane to a shiny cabin in a high rise building. She thought about those 8 weeks again. But she looked at herself in them now. Her persistence, her grit and determination, her belief on herself and her capabilities.
She took a deep breath. The security personnel was friendly. He'd seen her everyday for the past 8 weeks, fighting the ridicule and being persistent. He admired her for the no-give-up attitude, but wouldn't say it. He did let her in though. This tech park wasn't as security driven as most other places and people could still make an entry and go in till the reception of any company inside. What happened after that was no business of this man. So he would let her in anyways. She went in, for the 4th time to the 6th company's reception counter.

The receptionist could not believe it! "How many times have I told you! There's no vacancy for you!" Just then another lady walked in. Her face became a frown as soon as she saw Tanu. "What are you doing?? What does she want? Send her out right now! "
That's when Tanu pulled out her file and showed the lady her certificates and accolades and what was the kind of job she was looking for and why.
The lady first lost her grimace and then her expression changed to one of surprise! Tanu wasn't sure what the surprise was about though - whether about her credentials or about how SHE of all people had achieved them. The former she hoped, but it was the latter she knew.After looking through the entire file, the lady spoke much more softly now. She said, "We do have vacancies for the job you are asking for. Though you do seem qualified for  it, I'm sorry, we cannot offer YOU that job. I'm sure you understand."

Oh yes! She couldn't tick one of two check boxes in their gender column.
Did I tell you that earlier? Would you have read what you read the same way if I had?

"We do have some jobs in the house keeping division if you may be interested", she continued. "I have a post graduate degree ma'm and I intend to live my life by that. Would you, after completing your post graduation in sales, want to work in house-keeping?"
Her voice flared now. "How dare you compare you and me? No one would even look at anything folks like you show! I stopped and wasted time on you! Despite everything, understanding your situation, I take pity and offer you a Job, and you have the audacity to question me? To equate me and you? This! This is the sole reason you folks don't get employed anywhere! Someone takes pity and you want to sit on their head! GET OUT OF HERE!!"

Tanu walked out quietly. This wasn't the first time she faced a get out, but it hurt no less anyways. She went out, drank from the bottle she'd brought with herself, looked at a swaying coconut tree in the distance, took a deep breath, and walked on towards company number 7 for the 3rd time.

Art Credit: Street Art by Poornima Sukumar (Aravani Art Project)
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