Hello! We will see how Ruchi changes her profession in the twenty fourth video on ‘Spinning into a Career.
Ruchi tenders her resignation. She hopes to get admitted for Bachelor of Education. A trustee member of the National College of Education promises Ruchi’s dad a seat for Ruchi. Ruchi visits his house to ascertain whether she has been allotted a seat in the college. The trustee, Mr. Bangera, regrets to inform her that there is no vacant seat in the college. Ruchi feels cheated. A gnawing frustration descends on Ruchi. She thinks her education is insufficient. She resigned from a good government job, and her health is no good. She has reached her lowest point. Her graph of decline cannot descend further. She prefers to continue with her studies instead of wasting her time. She joins an MA course in English Literature offered by the Bhilai university. She manages her expenses with income from tuitions. The provident fund money she gets from NARC is invested in savings in the post office.
Mother keeps on nagging Ruchi to get her money that she has loaned to her guru’s wife. Ruchi visits her guru’s house several times to recover the loan. It takes a lot of time for Ruchi to realize the hard reality that people take loans easily but do not return it promptly. Ruchi’s mother refuses to give a hundred rupees to pay fees for the MA exam. She compels the guru’s wife to return the money. Ruchi gets an important lesson of a lifetime. Ruchi’s mother is interested in classical music and Marathi abhangs. Many times Ruchi and her mother listen to ‘abangawani’ and sing them together. Her mother resents that her voice cannot reach a high tone like Ruchi’s. She relishes Ruchi’s singing. Her favorite Marathi abhang by saint Tukaram is ” Bheti laage jeeva lagali se aas……..”
Ruchi wants to find out if her poems are of any worth. She brings her copy of poems to Professor James Ezekiel for evaluation. She leaves her book of poems with her professor. After some days she goes to the professor’s cabin to collect it. The professor points out many grammatical errors, particularly prepositional errors. He tells her that she is an amateur and does not know the tricks of trade. She relates the incident to her dad. Her dad is annoyed and tells her firmly not to give her book to anyone. She shows her book of poems to the principal of Tarabai college. This time she does not leave the book with him. He reads some of her poems. He is of the opinion that people who lead good lives can contribute something good to the world. He blesses her and wishes her success.
Ruchi joins as a tutor in Balaji Coaching classes to the west of Ballard. As she walks, she comes across pavement vendors. They sell colorful earrings, necklaces, bracelets, bangles and the like. The class pays her a monthly income of five hundred rupees. On her way back home, she purchases artificial colorful bangles, earrings and necklaces to match her saris. She goes to St. John’s school at Khimpoli for a job. A Goan couple manages the school. She applies for the job. She gets hired for a salary of six hundred rupees. She is on the job for a month. After completing her master’s degree in English Literature and the Teachers’ Training course, she gets a letter for an interview from a school attached Junior college. She is interviewed, selected and appointed for the job. Ruchi belongs to a creed, For her time is the seed.
Now we will move on to the sixth chapter: Ruchi’s Neighbor Ruchi is friendly with a North Indian girl, Nimmi. She is tall and hefty. Her father works for the Railways. He has shift duties. Her mother is busy with household chores. Nimmi’s father battles against the grueling poverty induced by Railway strike and rising prices. Loans cause economic pressure on him.
Thanks for listening. We shall continue with Ruchi’s neighbor in the next video. Till then, goodbye!
Video can be viewed on You Tube by typing, ‘ Spinning into a Career’ by Usha Raman.
