Amit stepped off the bus, his backpack slung over one shoulder, the weight of his dreams heavier than his luggage. Kota—India’s coaching capital—was a city buzzing with ambition, where students from across the country came to prepare for engineering and medical entrance exams. But Amit wasn’t here for coaching; he was here for a job.
Back in his village, everyone talked about Kota as the city of opportunities. Not just for students but for people like him—young, hardworking, and eager to build a future. His cousin, Rohit, had found work in a coaching institute’s library. "There are plenty of jobs here," Rohit had told him over the phone. "Hostels, cafes, printing shops, even in coaching centers. You just need to be quick."
Amit walked down the crowded streets, past hostels with names like "IIT Dreams" and "AIIMS Achievers." The air smelled of samosas and damp notebooks. Students hurried past him, their eyes glued to books, their minds occupied with equations and deadlines.
His first stop was a small cafe near a coaching center. The owner, a middle-aged man with thick glasses, looked him up and down. "Can you make coffee?"
"I can learn," Amit replied.
The man sighed. "I need someone experienced. Try the next street—there’s another cafe hiring."
And so he walked on. He inquired at a hostel for a warden’s assistant position, at a printing shop for a helper’s job, at a stationery store. Each place had the same response: either they had filled the position or they wanted experience.
By evening, Amit sat on a bench near the Chambal River, exhaustion sinking in. Maybe Kota wasn’t the land of easy jobs after all. But then his phone buzzed. It was Rohit.