'Bihar youth need employment. Create jobs for us. Nothing matters more.'
Aakash Kumar, 30, runs a laundry with his father and brother in Saran, Bihar. Together, they earn about Rs 60,000 a month.
Aakash has spent the best part of the last 10 years preparing and appearing for defence job examinations.
Before he got married in 2021, he used to run every morning in order to pass the physical test if he cleared the written exam, which, sadly, he never did.
Unable to secure a government job after years of trying, he found work at a petrol pump in Saudi Arabia through an agent in Patna.
He paid Rs 90,000 to the agent and spent two years in Saudi Arabia reporting to a Yemeni boss who was difficult to please.
"The agent in Patna told me I had to do a 10 hour duty, but I had to work 12-13 hours at the petrol pump without any wages for extra time," says Aakash who earned 1,500 riyals a month.
Frustrated at not getting the weekly Friday off, coupled with his boss' refusal to increase his salary, he decided to leave the job in Saudi Arabia and return home.
"When I wanted to leave they gave me a ticket and settled all my dues without any problem," says Aakash who sent money regularly to his home from his earnings in Saudi Arabia.
The funds were used to repay the family's debts and complete long pending house repairs -- and add extra rooms to the house shared by his extended family.
After his return, he resumed his family's trade of washing, ironing clothes, riding his motorbike to people's homes to collect and deliver laundry.
But he has continued his quest for the elusive government job.
At 30, there aren't many central government jobs he is eligible for, so he is attempting examinations for jobs in the Bihar police and state secretariat.
"Since my options in government job are very limited, I am also trying for private jobs," he tells Archana Masih/Rediff.
On Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's performance in the last five years, he says the CM recently has released several vacancies.
"This is good. My expectation is a job. Bihar needs jobs, we need jobs -- that is most important."
All set to vote on November 6 which he calls his "right as a citizen", he remains resigned to the fact that his chances of a government job are diminishing by the day.
Aakash Kumar: 'Paid 90,000 to work in petrol pump in Saudi Arabia, trying to go back again'
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Photograph curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
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