"Want to do some work that will bring me respect": Sales assistant Swati

SWATI SEN, Sales assistant, MP

When we met Swati Sen, she was walking. Every day, Swati, 24, walks around 7km each way to and from work. However, she does not fret about this. Actually, she smiles a lot. And it is this quick smile that is the reason for her success as a sales assistant at a supermarket in one of the biggest malls in Bhopal.

Every day, Swati, who handles the fruit and vegetables section at the supermarket, has to bear with the unpredictable moods of her customers, but she manages well. “Normally, people like me,” she says. “I think this is because I am respectful and affable. If someone comes to the store in a bad mood and snaps at me for no reason, I have to understand that.”

But for all her geniality, customers hardly notice her. She is just a fly on the wall. She has no complaints about this, too. “Regulars do look for me when they come to the store, though they do not engage in conversation,” she says. “That is fine with me. I just want them to be happy with their shopping experience as that is what I am supposed to ensure. Also, my seniors at work are helpful and my co-workers are non-interfering. I mainly focus on my work.”

But does she want to continue with the current job profile? The answer is an emphatic no. She would actually like to get a job with the Indian Railways, which has been a childhood dream. “If not with the Railways, I want to at least do some work that will bring me respect and my family recognition,” she says. “But I don’t see how that is possible.” Her face falls at this. The smile, it is soon apparent, is only a front to hide her troubles.

Slowly, she opens up about her life. It takes her over two hours to walk to and from work daily, thus lengthening her nine-hour work day to almost 12 hours. She cannot afford to purchase a two-wheeler or even take public transport. She needs to utilise every rupee of her modest salary (about Rs8,500 per month) to take care of her parents, and for the medical expense of her paralysed father.

Youngest among the three children of Ramdas Sen, Swati decided to shoulder the responsibility of caring for her parents, even as her two elder brothers shifted back to their ancestral village in the neighbouring Sehore district, along with their respective families.

Ramdas, who used to run a barber’s shop in Bhopal, became immobile about seven years ago when he fell off a moving train. An expensive surgery in 2020 did not help. Swati, who was in class 12 at the time of the accident, started working immediately after her exams. She has been working since then, first with a tele-communication firm, then with a bakery and for the past few months, as sales assistant with the supermarket.

She, however, did not give up studies and completed her BA in 2018, with the support of her teachers at her government college. That year, she cleared a written examination for a clerical job with the Railways. However, soon after, her father’s medical condition worsened, and she could not appear for the interview. She still wants to do an MBA and try for a better job, but has no time or money to pursue her dreams. Swati leaves home by 8am, returns by around 7.30pm, and then cooks the evening meal so that her mother Usha can rest. She says her mother gets tired of the household chores and taking care of her father when she is not there.

“But it is not that I am frustrated with my situation,” she is quick to clarify. “I feel that it is my responsibility to take care of my parents as they took care of me when I was young, and raised me well enough for me to be able to help them now. Whenever I think of them, I forget my own dreams and just want to keep working so that they are happy. That is the ultimate satisfaction for me.”