KOLKATA: Shubhali Sadhukhan, a 22-year-old animation graduate, lost her job amid the pandemic last year. Ever since, the Nagerbazar resident has been running the family’s grocery shop. Initially, it was a small tea shop that Shubhali expanded within a matter of months.
But she does not want to limit her professional life to this. Refusing to accept her “pandemic fate” and job loss, she again applied for job and is now, waiting for a confirmation from a private firm. But her aim is quite clear: this is just a stop-gap on her way back to a job in her chosen field, animation and graphic designing. She has her fingers crossed, now that offices are opening and projects are being resumed.
Shubhali tells TOI her journey last year and the future she wants:
On losing my job, I slipped into depression as I failed to find any other work. My parents never pressured me, but I knew I had to find one to sustain the family. But when I failed, I thought of helping my father in expanding our business. Despite being poor, my father spent Rs 3.5 lakh to fund my graduation in animation at a private university. After graduating, I landed a job of an animator at a studio but lost it during the second wave.
This tea shop on our ground floor was started by my father in 2020 after he stopped driving auto when the pandemic struck. When I lost mine, I helped him expand it. But I never stopped applying for jobs. After scores of “no-hiring” mails, I have finally bagged one in a private firm. Although I am yet to get an appointment letter, they have assured me of the job and I will take it up. But my heart lies in the world of animation. I still doodle on the papers kept for calculations and hope to get an animation job soon, especially since offices are reopening. I am also in touch with my former classmates and old employers. Covid pulled curtains on my career but I am optimistic about a fresh start again.
