15 Odd Jobs That You Wouldn’T Believe Exist In India

[JANASENA]

1. Coin collector

The Kaduvayil Mosque at Kallambalam, Kerala, is located on the national highway. Devotees who pass by fling coins as offerings at the mosque and more often than not, the coins end up on the highway. So the mosque has appointed men to collect these coins. Dressed in blue, these men use metal rods tipped with magnets to collect the coins. As of right now, there are 10 such collectors who operate on 8-hour shifts. This job is more dangerous than it sounds as the collectors are often hit by vehicles.

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2. Photographer of the dead

67-year-old Bilar Nisar in Varanasi has a very morbid job. He photographs the dead. He started this odd job way back in 1961 when he was paid Rs 150 to photograph a dead neighbour. Now, more than four decades later, he is still doing the same thing. Depending on the request, he photographs just the deceased person or includes the grieving family in the frame. The fact that many Hindus believe they attain salvation if they die in Varanasi has worked wonders for his business.

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3. Railway pointsman

While most railway stations in India have switched to electronic systems, this mechanical technique from the 19th century has still continued in certain stations like in Roukdi, Maharasthra. The pointsman is part of an old signalling system that requires him to hand over a token to the train driver to signal that it is safe to continue the journey . For this, he has to stand at the edge of the railway platform with his arm stretched out holding a cane ring with a metal ball attached to it. He has to make a split-second connection with a man on the train, which could be travelling at 100 kmph. These pointsmen are often hit with tokens that slip.

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4. Tram track changer

There are 170 tramcars in Kolkata, and there are 119 points across the city where the tracks have to be changed. The tram track changer's job is to push the track with a steel rod to ensure that the tram goes on the right track. Many of these changers have been struck by trams and suffered major injuries in the process.

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5. Ball inspector

Nobody realizes this but every cricket ball ever made has to be inspected or a defected one could make it to an international match. 64-year-old Wasi Khan is the chief ball inspector at the Sanspareils Greenlands (SG) factory in Meerut and has been scrutinising cricket balls for over 30 years.  He checks approximately 425 balls over two-and-a-half hours every day and studies for blemishes in the stitching. Khan says he is getting really bored with the job and wants someone else to take over.

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6. Breakup helpline

Ankit Anubhav, a 26-year-old from Cuttack, Orissa realized that there was potential in the pain of heartbroken individuals. So he quit his job at Star TV and launched Breakuphelpline.com where he and 6 others respond to desperate calls and e-mails from people who have lost in love. His clientèle ranges from school children to people over 70. On an average,Breakuphelpline.com gets 60 to 70 mails and 30 calls everyday.

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7. Birds deterrent

Some hotels in Jaipur, Rajasthan, employ men as flag wavers to keep the pigeons away from the hotel's courtyard fountain. It is amusing to note that the flags carry the image of a crossed-out bird.

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8. Langur man

Nizam Bhai is a langur man employed by an expensive public school in New Delhi. His duty is to take his langur to the school and tether her to a fence during school hours. This keeps the children safe from the monkeys and macaques. Nizam Bhai is paid Rs 6,500 per month.

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9. Pre-matrimonial surveillance

These private detectives are employed to do a background check on a prospective groom or bride. Veteran Investigators, a Mumbai-based company with branches across India, gets 650 pre-marriage check assignments every month.

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10. Personal shopper

28-year-old Jignasa Parikh is a personal shopper. She accompanies people on shopping trips and advices them on what kind of clothes look best on them. She starts right from the basics and even gives advice on what kind of lingerie to wear. Most of her clientele are socialites, businessmen and people who want to look sharp.

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11. Gold dust collector

KT Street in Mysore is also called Goldsmiths Street because of all the gold shops there. When the goldsmiths file the gold for making ornaments, tiny particles of the metal fly and settle on their clothes. Before getting out of the shop, the goldsmiths carefully dust off the clothes to collect the particles but even then, a lot of particles fall outside the shops. Gold dust hunters capitalise on this and sweep the street using large brushes. They collect the dust in gunny bags and patiently filter it. It is a long, tedious process which employs the use of mercury to separate the gold particles. After a hard day's work, a gold dust collector earns around 200 mg of gold a day which equates to Rs 200.

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12. Professional mourner

In certain areas of Rajasthan, lower caste women are hired as professional mourners upon the death of upper-caste males. These women - referred to as 'Rudaalis' which literally means female weepers -  are paid to publicly express grief of family members who are not permitted to display emotions due to social status.

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13. Rodent killer

About 44 rat killers are employed by the pest control department of the Bombay Municipal Corporation to kill the rodents in the city. Employees get a salary of Rs 15,000 while contract labourers are paid Rs 5 for every rat they kill.

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14. Ear cleaner

In Delhi, you can find these guys who sit on the roadside and clear your ears. Traditionally called 'kaan maeliye', their ancestors have been doing this from medieval times in the courts of the Mughals. They use a series of tools to remove the wax from your ears and clean them. They are a vanishing lot and can only be found in a few pockets of Delhi and some small towns like Ambala and Meerut.

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15. Community genealogist

In Rajasthan, the Bhat clan maintains records of over 2,000 families, tracing their ancestral roots to some 300 years. The Bhat records births, marriages, stories and memories, helping generation of families maintain a sense of identity. In a place like Rajasthan where few things are as important as exclusivity of caste and community, these records are very precious. If anyone marries outside the community, he/she will be disinherited. So, every time a marriage proposal is mooted, the families consult their Bhat, who traces the bride or groom's ancestors.

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[funny_guy]

gp

[MeetFriendz]

good

[karthikrepala]

good info 

[Captain_nd_Coke]

Good post

[dappusubhani]

aa 12th di PROFESSIONAL MOUNERS anta.. really odd ...  :3D_Smiles:

[vadapav]

()>>

[JANASENA]

Thanks all

[SilentRaaga]

good post