Yesterday, I got to know a few security guards at Skyline Builders and Ambedkar Stadium in Kochi. Through conversations with them, I was able to gather quiet a bit of shocking details on the life and work of a security guard here in Kochi. Like most workers in Kerala, the stereo typical Gurkha security guards of yesteryear’s, have now been replaced by security guards from states like West Bengal, Assam and Orissa.

As the monsoon rain was pouring around us, some of these men told me about their jobs, their living conditions, their plight, and their dreams.

The Job

The security guard duty is mostly a 24/7 job. There are no shifts, and a single person works round the clock. This to me was shocking, especially in a place like Kerala were the in power communist government is supposedly on the side of the workers.

The Pay

The guards I talked to make around Rs. 8000 per month. About Rs. 3000 of which is spent in expenses, and the reset they either save or send to their families back in their villages. There are no other perks, except for extra cash their employers might throw at them, or income from additional work they might perform for others.

The Accommodation

They are not given any accommodation. They usually keep their belongings somewhere in the premises they guard. Use the toilet facilities either in the premises, or outside. Some of them sleep on chairs or any place they can find within the buildings they guard. They eat out mostly, which is also one of their main expenses.

The Dream

Like all of us educated and successful people, these hardworking security guards have dreams and ambitions of their own too, and most of them are in it for a short period till they can save enough to pursue their dreams. One of them is an almond trader back in his village, and after a couple of months work as a security guard, he will go back to his village to trade almonds. Another was going to nursing school, and also learning English, so he could go work in an English speaking country as a nurse, and he spoke English very well. A third has been working as a security guard for over three years, he wants to marry a nice Malayalee girl and settle down in Kerala, but at the same time he was very curious to know if someone like him could go places and make it.

Even though life was hard, and work was tough in almost unthinkable conditions; hearing their hopes and passions was inspiring. It was an awakening for me, a shy and not very conversational person, to get to know some of these amazing citizens of our country, and hear their stories and to know who they really are. In a country of caste and class issues, we assume a lot about the people who work for us, and rarely stop and try to listen to their struggles, stories and dreams. If most of us did that, we will not only have a heightened awareness of the issues facing India, but also find solutions to some of the real problems facing us.

Even though, as a Nation, India has not done much for them, their plight, and their protection; even though most of them believe people in other countries have better lives than them; they were neither hateful nor held any grudges against the successful in India. They wanted to hear my stories, just as much as I wanted to hear theirs.

A million thoughts were going through my mind as I spoke to them. Why does this sort of stuff happen here? Builders like Skyline make billions of Rupees, yet they are incapable of considering basic workers rights and respect for a fellow human being. Simple things like max hours of legal work per day, minimum pay, break time rules, vacation requirements, have neither been thought of nor enforced. I really am not able to point out why we are the way we are yet. In the land of Karma and Dharma, why this continues to happen is baffling and disturbing to me.

To the security guards I talked to last night, you have a new friend, and thank you for teaching me a new lesson in life and pointing out that India has not really changed for those who really need the change. I don’t know where this will go, but I hope to share more stories like this about the people who really need change in India.