It is the life story of someone I know. Kakshi holds several degrees like Mohanlal in ‘University’. Passion is teaching to people. There is a reason for that. Two generations of Pulli’s family are full-time teachers. No wonder he wanted to be a teacher when he saw the respect and financial security they were getting from the community. Point wants to earn a living, look after his family and live happily ever after. Exiled work and life are not even in the distant dreams of the spot.
He has been working as a guest teacher in a local college for some time. Teachers working in the unorganized sector in the country get very little money. Many of those who studied with him in school and college, who were far behind in his studies, went all over the Gulf and improved their finances, bought new houses and cars and settled down financially, but he remained a guest teacher. Some relatives said, ‘Let’s get a job in the Gulf and go up.’ But he lovingly rejected all of that.
A permanent appointment in the college will come soon. Then he stays there in the hope that he will get the job for himself with academic merit and experience. His wife is a nurse at a local private hospital. There are only so-called ‘angels on earth’. Salary is miserable. Although not financially settled, he and his wife and two grandchildren live with their parents, who have retired as head teachers, dreaming of a better future.
About an inch earlier he had started planning his future. In the country, the family has less space near the house. Once you get a job in college and settle down, you have to move to a house there. Both children need to be brought up with an understanding of the value of family relationships. He started making moves for it.
Finally came the interview for permanent appointment in college. He attended the interview well. But from that day on, his dreams began to crumble like a lottery. The job was carved out by his not-so-qualified ‘geniuses’ from a family with a thick pocket and a lot of influence. All his hopes were dashed. No more permanent appointments coming soon. Even if he comes, he will be over age by then. With the heartache and tears of losing his ‘Last Bus’, the man who had worked tirelessly for years stepped down from that institution.
***
Years passed. Today he is in the UK with his family. His wife works in a hospital there. So the family migrated. He works as a manager in some store there. After a few years, everyone got citizenship. Like any ordinary Malayalee, his biggest dream was to have a home in the country. The place where the housework was supposed to be set in the country is now lying in the woods. There are sheep and cows grazing. What is the significance of home in a life without a permanent return to another country? The parents are getting older. Only for himself and the pillar of the barn. The house that was once full of reunions and children’s toys is now a place of mourning. When he was in the country, he would take good care of the house. The house, which was repainted on time, is now in a state of disrepair. The whole garden was ruined without looking. The house that used to house chickens, fish farms and farms is now empty.
He was a man who had to mold a talented future generation to be a good teacher in the country, to look after his family, to invest his income in this country, to have a good house, to make a living for many, to consume locally, to pay taxes, and to return to the land where he could no longer be a driving force behind the homeless economy.
I once called and asked him: Are you happy? He said: The financial situation is better because the wife has the necessary salary. But not far from home, not to work in a grocery store in a country where I had studied and worked all my good life … his throat throbbed. So I changed the subject.
Not only is it a voluntary journey in search of green pastures, but there are also those who are thrown into unwanted exile like this. If young people are migrating to hate our country like this, it is also due to the corrupt system in this country. This country, with its doors open only to those with money and influence, is sure to create a lot of ‘unwanted expatriates’ like him …
Caption- Immigration to the West is not like the Gulf exile which is the economic backbone of Kerala. Many Gulf Malayalees are now migrating to the UK and Canada. Non-return migration has begun to adversely affect the local construction and real estate sectors. There is already no demand for land in rural areas. In the future, the construction of new houses in Kerala may decrease. Add to this the fact that a designer who used to build and run huge expatriate homes called me directly and complained that ‘new projects are down and in trouble’. Homes and lands in the homeland became the responsibility of the new generation abroad. Many people in foreign countries have now started the trend of selling their houses and land at home and buying houses abroad.
The government, which now owns the cat, played a key role in filling the coffers as Gulf money was spent on construction, real estate and consumption. This was further exacerbated by the return of many Gulf expatriates who lost their jobs during the Kovid period. In the future, it will not be a surprise if Kerala goes to the economic status of our neighbors …
English Summary- Migration of Malayali Youths New Trend in Kerala; Reason; Social Impact of Migration in Kerala