Kadhar Mohideen, Computer centre-owner



Every Sunday, I used to play football with my friends.



Then I got married, the games stopped.



Now most of the times, I am worrying about interest mounting on my mortgaged jewels, customers not paying on time and escalating prices.



I am yet to come across a month when I can manage within my budget.

I have a computer centre in Kurumbur, Tuticorin.

One can browse, scan and print at my computer centre.

I also repair computers within a radius of 15 km.

There is no other computer mechanic in this area.

I am very much in demand but not rich.

I lost my father at a young age and my elder brother took over our father’s beedi agency. I started the computer centre with only Rs 50000.

Today, I earn about Rs 15,000 a month.

Three years back, I he married Afifa from far off Mumbai.

She is a commerce graduate.



We have a 2-year-old child.



Once the child goes to school, she runs the centre while concentrate on servicing computers.

I pay Rs 2000 as rent for my shop, Rs 4500 as salary to two employees.

The telephone line for broadband and power cost another Rs 2000 a month.

This leaves me with only Rs 6500 to meet my household expenses.

We have to pay a house rent of Rs 700 and a power bill worth Rs 200.

“I buy provisions once a month for around Rs 2000 rupees.

For meat, chicken and vegetable, I set aside Rs 1000 a month.

This is never enough.

The price of mutton is Rs 450 a kilo and prices of vegetables are up every day.



My bike needs petrol and price of that is always skyrocketting.

My medical budget is Rs 300 a month.



I take my wife and baby on my bike to the beach on Sunday evenings.

The petrol costs me Rs 100 and I spend another Rs 100 on snacks.

Once in two months we visit a relative in Tirunelveli 50 km away which adds Rs 500 to our monthly budget.

Once in 6 months, we visit my wife’s home in Mumbai.

It is Rs 12,000 a trip.

The Railway tickets are cheap, but everything is so costly in Mumbai.

Every month, we face a shortage of money and I have been forced to mortgage my jewels worth Rs 70,000 in the bank.

I will get them back when I get an order to service a batch of computers in a bank or a school.

Every year I get the jewellery back all back and then they go back to the bank again.



It’s a vicious cycle.

I will have to increase my income when my child goes to school.



More computer servicing is what I can do.

We cannot afford to have another child for next five years.

As told to A Ganesh Nadar in Tuticorin



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