TRAVAILS OF SMALL TOWN STUDENTS

"Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings"

                                                                                                    - John F. Kennedy

People say that great men seldom get their views and thoughts wrong. I, however, differ with this famous quote of the former President of the United States of America. The context I have chosen today to counter the merits of this quote are nothing but the travails of small town students when they migrate to larger towns/ big cities either for higher studies/coaching for competitive exams or for jobs. 

Higher education is India is unfortunately centralized or restricted to few cities/ hubs. As such, any student from a small town/ village who (after his/her completion of basic education- generally up to Class XII) aspires to achieve something big in life has very little/limited choice but to migrate to these education hubs (My personal mentor would like to call this situation of these students as "CHOICE-LESS CHOICE"). 

Living in a small town and dreaming about coming to big cities for studies with big ambitions is undoubtedly a pleasant experience. However, dreams are far from reality and it is no different in this case as well. Harsh facts start imposing their whims and fancies on these students from the moment they leave their houses and catch the trains to their destinations. 

Things slowly begin to get worse from here on. The first problem with which these students are confronted is to find and negotiate a three-wheeler/ taxi to ferry them to their uncles'/aunties'/friends' house where they plan to stay for a week or so on. Once they reach the house and freshen up and sit down to have food with the host, they face another stark reality. Their host would invariably tell them that his/ her landlord does not like guests staying for more than 2-3 days and as such, they have to look for an accommodation the next day (Sadly enough, most of the colleges and institutes of these education hubs have limited hostel facilities)

Night passes by. Now comes the most interesting part of the story. One will go and look for houses/ hostels/ Paying Guests etc.; but will soon realise that the landlords/ owners don't agree to giving their houses for rent directly- the request has to be routed through an agent who is popularly known as "PROPERTY DEALER". You go to the Property Dealer and you will be greeted by some large-bellied uncle or a huckster. Very simple funda- pay the broker 1-2 months' rent as commission and you find yourself a place to stay. (Let me tell you that the quality of accommodation is directly proportional to the amount of money paid to the broker).

After shelter, time comes for food. One can go for food delivered at one's door-step by people commonly known as "DABBAWALAS" or go for a cook and have homely food (the second one is a relatively expensive proposition). Then comes the problem with drinking water- Go for municipality water (provided you want to be infected with JAUNNDICE within the next 8-10 months) or get that 20 litre can (Branded cans like Bisleri come for Rs.80 nowadays and those of local brands are available for Rs. 30 onwards). Now that you have stayed for one week, your clothes become dirty and here again, one can adopt two options- go for a washerman or try self-washing (the second option is little tough but not altogether unachievable)

Next, we proceed to a different set of problems-

• You fall sick quite often due to your body finding it difficult to adjust to new weather conditions
•  You can't study because your landlord's house will play the TV at loud volumes and even after repeated requests, things won't change
• Your cook/ dabbawala will disappear for 3-4 days (at times, up to 10 days)
• You don't like the taste of the food cooked by your dabbawala/ cook
• Your Dhobi will spoil the design of your favourite t-shirt/shirt. In worst cases, you might lose few of your t-shirts

I CAN THINK OF THOUSAND OTHER PROBLEMS. The intention here is not to go on bragging about these issues but rather to highlight that these innocent students are not themselves responsible for the problems they face. It is actually their bad luck. On a serious note, it is perhaps the outcome of the education policies adopted by the government at large and that of the private education space as well up to a certain extent. There is an imminent need on the part of the government and that of the private sector to move beyond their comfort zone and look at smaller towns/ cities as potential beds for higher education. In this regard, the efforts of the Central Government in opening up new IITs and IIMs in little-known places is a step forward in the positive direction. But much more needs to be done. After all, the students from small-towns/ villages can't be left to wander endlessly.

Disclaimer: This piece has been written mainly based on generalisation of individual experiences. Therefore, it is quite likely that many of its readers may not agree to certain aspects/ parts of the piece. You are welcome to differ !!!