Nearly, a month ago, Dipak Swain, an electrical engineer from Paradip, was asked by his company to tender his resignation. His services were no longer required, he was told. It came as a rude shock to Dipak who was hired less than two years ago.
Dipak, 25-year-old software engineer, was one of the several thousand jobless whose dreams have already been shattered while many still face layoffs due to the outbreak of coronavirus. As many as 21 million salaried jobs have been lost between April and August, according to a recent report by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).Job loss and pay cuts have become an order of the day since the imposition of lockdown leaving many youngsters in a state of depression.
However, there are some youths who were not bogged down by the situation. Moreover, they used it as an opportunity and explored other avenues. Sunday POST talks to some of them who came out stronger after their job loss.
Sushant Sahoo of Bhubaneswar was working in an NGO as a state youth coordinator and living comfortably till the outbreak of the pandemic. Becoming jobless overnight was beyond his imagination.
“I was asked to go on leave in April during the lockdown and not to be called back again. Then, I tried to find jobs in other sectors, but in vain. I also had no savings for such a lean phase. Earlier, my wife used to run a beauty parlour and take art classes. So, life was easy. But exhaustion of all sources of earning after the lockdown left us in dire straits. I had other financial obligations too. The condition was such that we couldn’t pay the house rent,” he said.
But Sushant didn’t slip into depression and decided to fight back. His wife was a good cook and the couple decided to prepare snacks and sell them going from door to door.
“Initially, we distributed snacks among our friends and relatives who later recommended our products to their connections. Gradually the business picked up pace and we could create a space for ourselves in the market.”
Sushant and his wife have been delivering snacks to as many as 100 families apart from other interested customers. The business is growing steadily and the entrepreneurial couple is enjoying their new profession.
“My income got doubled after I got into this new business. We are selling eatables worth Rs 50,000 every month. Now we are all set to venture into grocery business. Apart from snacks, we are also selling various types of badi, papad, turmeric powder and different types of oil.”
His wife says “Nothing is impossible in this world if you have the will to get success. We used to earn Rs 9,000 per month from art class and Rs 20,000 from my beauty parlour. After the government declared the lockdown, I had to down the shutters of my parlour and art class while my husband was asked to go on a leave. We were hit with a double whammy. But he didn’t lose heart and took it as an opportunity to do something different and prosper.”
Multitalented Kasturi Patnaik is another case in point. She was working as a special educator in a Bhubaneswar-based hearing therapy clinic. After the lockdown, she became jobless as people stopped coming to the clinic. Being a professional, Kasturi couldn’t sit idle for too long. It was then she decided to showcase her culinary skill by launching her start-up Petafull, a door-to-door food delivery service. Today Kasturi has succeeded in creating a space for herself among the food lovers of Bhubaneswar.
“After I stopped going to the clinic, I was almost in depression. As I was idling at home, I thought of cooking food and delivering them at people’s door steps to make some money. To my surprise, I not only became popular among the foodies and it gave me a new identity,” said Kasturi.
Initially Kasturi provided food to her close friends including a few food bloggers and lovers. They supported Katuri and helped her reach out to several groups of avid food lovers. “I started getting orders from all parts of the city and my friends made it possible for me. They helped in launching my start-up and developing the contacts. During the lockdown period, my father used to pay rent for me. Now I am happy that I am in a position to pay the house rent. I am no more depending on my father for anything. Now I am earning Rs 50,000 a month from my start-up. I have employed two persons to assist me. I would like to attribute my success to my friends who believed in me and supported me like anything.”
Cuttack-based graphic designer Ishwar Sahoo was working with a software farm as a graphic designer and was happy in his life. The farm faced closure soon after the government declared lockdown. Needless to say, he too was in a state of panic like many other job losers. At this hour of crisis, Ishwar explored his other skills to eke out a living. He was popular in his locality for making posters of cinemas, TV serials, and advertisements. So, he thought of opening a shop to cash in on his skill. Keeping in view the enormity of the pandemic, he first prepared 3-D masks having images of the face of the user. Then he came up with rakhi packages which were sold like hotcakes with customers from across the state and other states like Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Delhi and Bangalore placing orders. With a growth in business, he has now employed a few other people who earn a living from this project.
About his journey from an employee to an employer, Ishwar says, “When I was working with a private firm, my monthly salary was only Rs 20,000. So, I would say the pandemic situation has been a blessing in disguise. Now I am earning more than Rs 50,000 a month. Earlier, I was a mere employee but now I am happy that I have managed to create earning opportunities for a few others. I would like to owe my success to my friends Mukesh and Sesadeva for being with me in my bad time and boosting my morale when I was feeling low.”
He continues: “The outbreak of coronavirus has taught me a lesson. I have learnt to accept the harsh reality. The job loss didn’t affect my morale as I got the unflinching support from my friends. After getting fired, I embarked on a new journey. I became quite popular for selling 3D masks and special rakhi kits online during the time of crisis. I did not charge extra for home delivery.”
Recently, the company sent a request letter to Ishwar asking him to rejoin but he humbly refused the offer.
Rashmi Rekha Das, OP