December 1, 2009
634 words
“In Kerala, we would rent out equipment to college kids who are studying Television. For a small price we assist them in polishing up their work, which always gets them perfect marks. “ He says. With ten years of experience behind him, Nixon has made contacts in high end places. “Biju and I studied together”, he says. The Biju that Nixon casually refers to is Biju Scaria of the Asianet network, the number one among Malayalam channels. Biju Scaria, with his humble beginnings is one of the most powerful men in Malayalam Television. “If he can make it big, so can I” says Nixon confidently. Commenting on the loss of his job, Nixon looks at this event as a blessing in disguise. “This is God’s way of telling me to go back behind the camera, where I truly belong”. He says, his veined sunburnt hand tightening over the cross dangling from a rosary across his neck. “I thought about this for many days, I know this field involves a lot of hard work that doesn’t necessary result in heavy pay. I have a family to support as well. But I truly enjoy and love my work as a videpgrapher”
634 words
The Man Who Dared to Dream
Flipping through the classified section of the newspaper, Nixon John sits in his Qusais flat that he shares with two others. Nixon came to Dubai in 2007. After a long waiting period where he anxiously ran from one interview to another, Nixon landed a job as a documentation assistant at an Italian Construction company here in Dubai. For the past two years, Nixon’s company had been assigned the project of improving the Al Ra’a Street, near the Burj Dubai. Funded by the RTA, the company felt the strong tremors of the recession as the project was abandoned halfway through. Nixon and his other colleagues have been given a 20 day time period to leave the country. In spite of all these problems drifting above his head, Nixon looks surprisingly cheery.
Before coming to Dubai, 37 year old Nixon, was a videographer in Kerala. The camera is Nixon’s first love.He started out with a photo studio of his own in Kerala. With steady requests to cover weddings and other occasions, he began to form his own dreams of becoming a big shot cinematographer. He has done various jobs for movie sets and soap operas who shot around his hometown. In the field of video production, he started out as a spot boy to gradually grab the position of cameraman for the videos of two music albums. “Both the albums are huge hits in Kerala” he says, brimming with pride. “I looked for a job in Production here” he says. “But I knew, with my lack of knowledge and education, finding a job like that is almost impossible. A friend of mine got me into this company. Work was hard, but the pay was good”. He has a wife back in Kerala and flies back to meet her once a year. “A steady job like this one allowed me to keep my family in India happy. They were never too happy about my videography.” He says with guilty pleasure.
“In Kerala, we would rent out equipment to college kids who are studying Television. For a small price we assist them in polishing up their work, which always gets them perfect marks. “ He says. With ten years of experience behind him, Nixon has made contacts in high end places. “Biju and I studied together”, he says. The Biju that Nixon casually refers to is Biju Scaria of the Asianet network, the number one among Malayalam channels. Biju Scaria, with his humble beginnings is one of the most powerful men in Malayalam Television. “If he can make it big, so can I” says Nixon confidently. Commenting on the loss of his job, Nixon looks at this event as a blessing in disguise. “This is God’s way of telling me to go back behind the camera, where I truly belong”. He says, his veined sunburnt hand tightening over the cross dangling from a rosary across his neck. “I thought about this for many days, I know this field involves a lot of hard work that doesn’t necessary result in heavy pay. I have a family to support as well. But I truly enjoy and love my work as a videpgrapher”
His graying temples tell of a hard life, one potholed with struggles. With an overwhelmingly cheery spirit, he spreads a certain warmth around him, wherever he goes. His brown eyes tell the story of a boy trapped inside the confines of a man burdened with responsibilities. A boy who dares to dream big. “I will make it big one day”, he repeats. And with that we leave him, flipping through the classifieds hunting for jobs. It is not everyday that one witnesses men like him who chooses to be a ray of hope splicing through every cloud of gloomy doubt that the path of life is pockmarked with.
