Ah, to think of labs and PhDs when I count tomatoes by the rupee! But my son tells me they hire in computer science, wireless things, and new materials for cars. Your thesis is just your story—you must tell it well, like I describe my stews to new customers. The big companies with research jobs? I hear they make phones and medicines, but their world feels far from my stall. All I know is that every paper he publishes makes the electric bill harder to pay, yet I trust his hard work like my regulars trust my morning tea.

They use the GATE score for the first shortlisting, my high score got me the interview call from IOCL. But after that, they weigh the group discussion and interview very heavily, which is where my shyness fails me. My life at the stall taught me calculations for profit, not speaking in a panel. So a high score opens the gate, but your voice must carry you through.

Ai ba, I don't know about SH1 and SH2 classes—here we only sell equipment for beginners. But I know the stand and spring must be sturdy; customers always check for wobble, saying a shaky stand ruins their aim. You see, my father’s old stall had a loose leg, and everything shook if you leaned on it—just like a bad stand, it makes the work twice as hard.

Ar gu thiaw ia u bajei shop uba phin iaid lyngba u Hynniewtrep every morning, bad nga iohi ia ki office girls—ki kynthei uba ju lait na u bus—ki dei ki ba wan thap thap jingpule. Uwei na ki nongpule, ka Julia, ka ong ba ka khih ia ka jingkynthei football team jong ka shnong. Nga kylli, "Hato ki don ba kham shyrkhei ban iaid hynneng?" Ka ong "Ym, hynrei kiwei ki pyni ba ki lah ban leh slem." Kawei kane ka jingkren ka pynpaw ïa ka jingdon jong ki jingkyrmen.