Nikita
Age: 16

“I want to take up a job in a call centre, it seems very interesting. From what I know of the job profile is that I have to attend calls, speak to the callers in the different languages they speak to me in and try to solve their issues. My uncle works in call centre, he told me that it’s a good job to work in. It pays well, has reasonable timings and is much better than any other job. I plan to start working right after school. A call centre job would also give me the option to work at night and do a course during the day. My English will be a problem; I plan to take tuition in it and computers. My parents want me to complete my education and take up a mast si (awesome) job. They want me to be independent. Sometimes they say I should attend some painting classes. I paint well, they say. But, for me, it’s not more than a hobby. My father is factory boy and recently lost his job, my mother works as domestic help. I have two older and three younger siblings. My parents wanted a boy; he was the fourth child my mother delivered. My mother wanted him to have company of another boy, they kept trying. My second brother is the last child my parents gave birth to, he’s the youngest in the family and is studying Lower Kindergarten. My oldest sister is working and pitching in financially in the family. The next sister in queue lost her mental balance when she was very young. We pulled her out of school in Class 4.”

– As told to Tania Goklany. She met Nikita at Samiksha Shiksha Sanstha in Delhi’s Sangam Vihar.