Despite a meagre monthly salary, Susheela, a security guard at the O.P. Jindal Global University, manages to live a content life. The hardships of her life not withstanding, she maintains a smile with no complaints about the job or the working conditions.
Sipping on the tea she prepared for herself and her fellow workers, she said , “All of us here at the university work together in harmony. The employers and students both treat me well. It makes me happy whenever the children talk to me every now and then. They remind me of my own kids.”
In what is traditionally considered a male-dominated field, Susheela has been at the job for nearly a decade and has seen the security landscape evolve over the years. “When I first started working, there were fewer students. We used to check the bags manually. At that time, there were no female security officers and even the gate was much smaller. There were no scanning machines either, so we used to make entries in the register and leave. But, now scanning machines have replaced all manual work. Today, our salary has also increased.”
What does she like and dislike about her work?
“We like it when the kids are there on the campus. When they leave (for vacations), we don't like it because the campus becomes desolate. Work also increases when the campus is full and we like it when there is more work to do.”
Ananya Kashyap is a second-year journalism student at JSJC