During any recession, unemployment figures take center stage while the
families dealing with the recession suffer, often quietly. While many
families like mine do their best to carry on as if nothing is wrong with
the world, still recessions can have a profound effect on their
day-to-day interactions and the way they live.
It all started in the year 2008 when the global economic scenario took a plunge. Though India wasn’t hit that severely by this global economic crunch as compared to the western countries; still the inception days certainly were clear indications of a darker outcome as the current situation is. Indian economy has taken a toll and the price of Dollar has gone very high against Rupees.
In 2008, I was in the final year of my Management Program at a B-School. The placements were around the corner and the biggest worries for us graduates were to find a job and start earning for ourselves and our families. A graduation from a B-school certainly means investing hugely on the education and my family had taken a loan for the same. So the pressure to get in a job and start earning was great. I was interested getting into the advertising industry which happened to be one of the most severely affected industries due to the recession. Since the companies were low on budgets the best way to stop spending was cutting off on all sorts of communications drastically.
I wanted to follow my passion and was waiting for the situation to get better. My family supported me throughout. Still there were instances when the patience was lost on both sides. My younger brother too was in a B-school and his educational expenses were also met on loans just like mine. The pressure on my parents was tremendous. There were times when we were discussing as to how we cut on the homely and individual expenses. Sending money for me and my brother’s monthly personal expenses and managing their own along with accumulating the money for payback was certainly not easy for my Dad who was the lone earning member of the family. I am sure there might have been dialogues between my parents that both of us brother’s don’t even know.
We were talking less on the phone. I personally was avoiding going out with friends. We never planned a trip. My parents were not visiting us that often. And there might be many other things about my parents that we brothers can't even assume. All of it just to save money.
It took 6 months for me to get into a job. It wasn’t what I was looking for, but relatively close. Also the paycheck wasn’t what I was expecting but I had to succumb to situations that the recession brought with it. During these 6 months there were instances when my parents would question my initiatives and my intentions. They felt I was irresponsible towards the family and many a times we had heated arguments. I understand now that it must have been quite difficult for them as they generally are the coolest people I have ever met.
After I got into the job and started supporting the family things started getting better. Eventually my younger brother got into a job as well and now we could afford to loosen up a bit. We cleared all our debts gradually and things returned to normal. I eventually got myself into advertising and am earning a decent amount every month just like my brother does. Things are in a much better shape.
But we still remember the times when my parents and we brothers compromised on our very basic requirements. We compromised on our eating habits, our clothes and times when I and my brother even lived with our relatives to avoid expenditures. The frustration in me of not being an earning member in the family, the psychological ups and downs that my father had to go through to meet the family needs, the struggles that my mother took as the binding factor amongst the family members and the helplessness that my brother might have felt being the youngest in the family taught all of us one very important thing. Sticking together always! Whatever the conditions were we took decisions that might not be likable but were good in the family’s interest.
The recession effects are still on. India is on an all-time low of its economic status. Things are costly and jobs are limited. Yet after clearing off all our debts and gaining stability on our professional fronts due to the education that came to us at huge costs (money wise and mentally), ours is a family that is doing good in the given situations.
It all started in the year 2008 when the global economic scenario took a plunge. Though India wasn’t hit that severely by this global economic crunch as compared to the western countries; still the inception days certainly were clear indications of a darker outcome as the current situation is. Indian economy has taken a toll and the price of Dollar has gone very high against Rupees.
In 2008, I was in the final year of my Management Program at a B-School. The placements were around the corner and the biggest worries for us graduates were to find a job and start earning for ourselves and our families. A graduation from a B-school certainly means investing hugely on the education and my family had taken a loan for the same. So the pressure to get in a job and start earning was great. I was interested getting into the advertising industry which happened to be one of the most severely affected industries due to the recession. Since the companies were low on budgets the best way to stop spending was cutting off on all sorts of communications drastically.
I wanted to follow my passion and was waiting for the situation to get better. My family supported me throughout. Still there were instances when the patience was lost on both sides. My younger brother too was in a B-school and his educational expenses were also met on loans just like mine. The pressure on my parents was tremendous. There were times when we were discussing as to how we cut on the homely and individual expenses. Sending money for me and my brother’s monthly personal expenses and managing their own along with accumulating the money for payback was certainly not easy for my Dad who was the lone earning member of the family. I am sure there might have been dialogues between my parents that both of us brother’s don’t even know.
We were talking less on the phone. I personally was avoiding going out with friends. We never planned a trip. My parents were not visiting us that often. And there might be many other things about my parents that we brothers can't even assume. All of it just to save money.
It took 6 months for me to get into a job. It wasn’t what I was looking for, but relatively close. Also the paycheck wasn’t what I was expecting but I had to succumb to situations that the recession brought with it. During these 6 months there were instances when my parents would question my initiatives and my intentions. They felt I was irresponsible towards the family and many a times we had heated arguments. I understand now that it must have been quite difficult for them as they generally are the coolest people I have ever met.
After I got into the job and started supporting the family things started getting better. Eventually my younger brother got into a job as well and now we could afford to loosen up a bit. We cleared all our debts gradually and things returned to normal. I eventually got myself into advertising and am earning a decent amount every month just like my brother does. Things are in a much better shape.
But we still remember the times when my parents and we brothers compromised on our very basic requirements. We compromised on our eating habits, our clothes and times when I and my brother even lived with our relatives to avoid expenditures. The frustration in me of not being an earning member in the family, the psychological ups and downs that my father had to go through to meet the family needs, the struggles that my mother took as the binding factor amongst the family members and the helplessness that my brother might have felt being the youngest in the family taught all of us one very important thing. Sticking together always! Whatever the conditions were we took decisions that might not be likable but were good in the family’s interest.
The recession effects are still on. India is on an all-time low of its economic status. Things are costly and jobs are limited. Yet after clearing off all our debts and gaining stability on our professional fronts due to the education that came to us at huge costs (money wise and mentally), ours is a family that is doing good in the given situations.
