Tapas Kumar belongs to Taraikela village in Odisha's Sonepur district. He greets us with a smile and talks to us during our visit to Pratham Institute's automotive training centre at Sonepur. The training centre targets two backward districts of Odisha - Boudh and Sonepur. Both these districts are characterised by a population that is economically very poor and less literate as compared to other districts. Pratham is the only training centre here that provides training in automotive. Pratham has collaborated with Odisha Skill Development Authority where the infrastructure is provided by the latter, and the implementation is done by the former.
Tapas's uncle works as a peon at an ITI near his village, and he recommended him Pratham's course. His uncle knew that Tapas loved cars and this course would give proper justice to his career. Since he was a child, Tapas had a keen interest in cars and watched them on television. "My favourite bike is Yamaha whereas I like BMW the most among cars.
"But I did not like the course for the first 10 to 15 days. I felt I was learning only theory. But later my interests grew", he says. However, Tapas made new friends, and he liked chatting with them for long hours. "It was for the first time that I interacted with friends from other districts", he says. Tapas further mentions that his life was restricted to his village and hence he liked spending time at the centre. Practical training started soon, and then the entire batch began working with the numerous spare parts of vehicles. "It was a different feeling", he begins. "I had never imagined that I would do this job one day. The joy of fitting a part to a car is difficult to explain."
Tapas is happy as he feels that he has developed an identity. Moreover, the work and process learned here gives him immense joy. He likes to learn from friends and loves to witness that many of them have come from different background and places. After getting placed, he wishes to work in Haryana and Rajasthan as he has seen these places quite often on television. He belongs to a family of farmers, and he lives with three sisters, one brother, his parents and his grandfather. "What will you do with your first salary?" "I want to buy a saree for my mother, and I want to go on a tour with my family. I also want to take my grandfather as he is very old", he replies with a smile.
Tapas's uncle works as a peon at an ITI near his village, and he recommended him Pratham's course. His uncle knew that Tapas loved cars and this course would give proper justice to his career. Since he was a child, Tapas had a keen interest in cars and watched them on television. "My favourite bike is Yamaha whereas I like BMW the most among cars.
"But I did not like the course for the first 10 to 15 days. I felt I was learning only theory. But later my interests grew", he says. However, Tapas made new friends, and he liked chatting with them for long hours. "It was for the first time that I interacted with friends from other districts", he says. Tapas further mentions that his life was restricted to his village and hence he liked spending time at the centre. Practical training started soon, and then the entire batch began working with the numerous spare parts of vehicles. "It was a different feeling", he begins. "I had never imagined that I would do this job one day. The joy of fitting a part to a car is difficult to explain."
Tapas is happy as he feels that he has developed an identity. Moreover, the work and process learned here gives him immense joy. He likes to learn from friends and loves to witness that many of them have come from different background and places. After getting placed, he wishes to work in Haryana and Rajasthan as he has seen these places quite often on television. He belongs to a family of farmers, and he lives with three sisters, one brother, his parents and his grandfather. "What will you do with your first salary?" "I want to buy a saree for my mother, and I want to go on a tour with my family. I also want to take my grandfather as he is very old", he replies with a smile.
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