Slice of life: ‘I want my kids to study well and not have greasy hands like me’

I moved to Chennai from a village in Uttar Pradesh four years ago. My father taught me the art of trading, I moved to Tamil Nadu for better opportunities. The opportunities in UP are scarce and the pay is less compared to Chennai. I love working on bullets. It is really a fine piece of machinery. I get a few regular customers who own bullets. I always try to make sure that I take care of the customers and their needs. Chennai is a different city. It took some time to get used to food in Chennai. I struggled for nearly a month but then it was okay. I miss the UP food – roti, dal, and the like. I have not found any place here that sells authentic UP food, but it is fine. More than that, I miss my family, especially my children. People here send their children to study when they are only three years old. It is strange. In UP, my eldest child, who is five, just started school. He is interested in studies and I am happy about that. I hope he goes into a profession related to computers or engineering after education. After all, that is where the world is moving towards. I try to buy them some trinkets and toys from here when I go to visit, but I guess it is not enough. I call them every day and check up on their studies, but I also wish I could be there. I do not want them to enter my profession. They should not have blackened hands like me, from all the grease from work.