BENGALURU: Life has just gotten better for 23-year-old M Rajashekar Reddy, who has finally landed himself a job in the city, after searching for five long years. He had been visiting Bengaluru from Anantapur since 2014 but every employer he approached rejected him due to his height and hearing impairment. “Back home, I used to do farming and earned only a meagre `6,000 a month. My new job now has given me hope for a better future,” said the 3’9’’ footed man, who lives with dwarfism, a genetic condition that results in shortness in height.
Reddy isn’t the only one feeling relieved these days. Like him, six others with dwarfism have been hired by The Hobbit, a recently-opened cafe in Koramangala. Karthik Raj, the co-owner of the café, said giving back to society was always part of the plan during the cafe’s conceptualisation. “Growing up, I had a neighbour who was a dwarf and I saw how people would tease him by calling him names such as ‘chottu’. Often, people with this condition find it difficult to get a job,” explained Raj.
Agreed Prakash M, a badminton, shot put and discus plater, who will be joining the cafe in a week’s time. Despite being a sportsperson, Prakash struggled for years due to no adequate support from the government to compete in sporting tournaments. He had been applying for a job for a year but even a recent win of `75,000 in the Special Olympics held at Abu Dhabi last month wasn’t enough to lessen his worry since most of the money would be used in paying off his loans. Now, with a job at the cafe in hand, the 4’4’’ footed-man is ‘more than willing to work’ and is looking forward to settling down with a steady source of income.
Chamundeshwari, a 3’7” footed 28-year-old, who works as a cashier at the cafe added that the inclusive work environment motivates him greatly to learn new things.It took Raj a year to find his seven employees, for six of whom, this will be their first job. He also added that they intend to start an organisation just for people living with the condition.