By Lissy Kurian
Panaji, Aug 23, 2023: For Jetish Shivdas, being a college professor and working as a barber are of equal status. “What supported me in life is the salon,” he says with a twinkle in his eyes.
Since 2012, Shivdas, who has a doctorate, works as assistant Malayalam professor at St Kuriakose College, at Kuruppampady, Kerala.
What makes him stand out is that after college hours he is at his “Modern Gents Beauty Parlour.” He says that it is the place where he did most his studies – between cutting the hair of different people.
His family is originally from Manikandam Chal in Ernakulam district and made a living by weaving mats of bamboo. He went to school with his brother and friends braving several hurdles, such as crossing a river and walking about 10 km as the place had poor bus service in those days.
As a child, he suffered from respiratory illness and had to stop schooling in the ninth grade. The family migrated to Kuruppampady, another village in Ernakulam district, to attend to his medical needs and help him continue schooling. He completed his tenth grade at the new place. He then left studies to help the family and learned hair cutting at his uncle’s shop and started his own shop later,
“My father also did the same job for a long time. While I was at the barber’s shop, I still had a burning desire to study. I used to read books that inspired me to do something better in life. So I joined a course in electronics and telecommunications and passed with good marks.”
He then worked in an electronic shop as a TV mechanic for two years before starting his own shop. “I studied for plus two sitting in the shop. I realized that in the barber shop I would get more time for studies. So, I gave up the electronic shop and started the salon. For me my work and study were not two separate programs.”
He completed his twelfth grade working in the salon and joined a Bachelor of Arts course in history. He passed the course with good marks from Calicut University through distance learning.
“This gave me the confidence that I can do well in studies. Then there was no turning back. I also did my post graduation in Malayalam. I had a desire to be a college professor.”
Among his customers were teachers too. They suggested writing the NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) Which would help him get a job in a college. He wrote and passed the test.
For a year he taught in Baharat Mata College at Trikkakara, near Kochi. In 2012, I joined St Kuriakose College of Management and Science, Kuruppampady.
His friends in the college encouraged him to apply for a doctorate and he applied for the course in Mahatma Gandhi University.
In 2015, he received a junior research fellowship which helped him financially.
He says he is happy with any work. “In my childhood after school hours I and my friends helped our parents in weaving bamboo mats. My father used to go to the jungle with others to collect bamboo and send them through the river. They would return after five or six days,” he recalled.
“When people ask me why I do jobs side by side I tell them I know several jobs like mechanic, barber, weaver. All jobs are equal,” he asserted.
He regrets that people tend to consider some jobs as inferior and keep away from those involved in it. “When we sideline a job, we are sidelining human beings too. We live in a culture where we say people are equal, then how we can differentiate the jobs,” he asks.
“This is the reason why I can go to work in the salon in the evening without any hesitation,“ says Shivdas, who also writes songs for films.
The younger generation must draw inspiration from the life of Shivdas. Here is a person who respects the DIGNITY of WORK. May God bless him and his family!