From a shy mother to a determined leader
August 29, 2020
The road less taken
August 29, 2020
In Marwari (local language in Rajasthan) there is a saying, “Half the salary earned staying closer to home is equivalent to the whole salary earned in a far off land”.
Before I became the gatekeeper at the Kakku wool opening center, I worked as a quality supervisor in a salt factory in Rajsamand lake, a place in Rajasthan. There, I was in charge of keeping check on if right amount of iodine was added to the salt. It was an important job. But, it was also very far from my home in Kakku. My wife and children were there and I was in Rajsamand. For 18 years I was away from my family. When this center opened in Kakku, I asked the supervisor-in-charge if they had a job for me and the opening available was as a gatekeeper. Kakku is home. I grew up here and to leave it was one of the most difficult decisions I ever had to make. Thanks to a kind-hearted company, I am home again. Even though it was half the salary of what I earned earlier, I took it without second thought. This job meant I can stay with my family, play with my grandchildren and go home every day for dinner. The supervisor at the salt factory keeps calling me back to work but I don’t want to go. I am not a very educated man, but here I get the opportunity to learn so much and meet new people from all over. I enjoy talking to them and having interesting conversations with them. I realized that this job not only helps me stay close to my family, it also helps me gain a different perspective on life.