'Google my name, you will find my research paper': PhD Scholar from Tamil Nadu selling street food shocks foreign tourist

In a 2018 interview, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that street food vendors selling pakoda should also be considered in employment statistics, stating that the real unemployment rate in the country is much lower than what was being reported. While this was aimed at highlighting the role of self-employment, the comment was widely criticised as an admission of the government's failure to create jobs, with many calling it ¡®Pakodanomics¡¯.

CREDIT: BCCL

Pakodanomics in real life

While the merits and demerits of ¡®Pakodanomics¡¯ are up for debate, there is no doubt that India has a problem of underemployment and a lack of resources for many students to pursue their academic dreams.

Also read: With PhD, 4 Master's Degrees, Punjab Man Sells Vegetables To Make Ends Meet

A video by a foreign tourist visiting India has reignited this conversation after he posted about meeting a PhD scholar who was selling street food.

In the video, the foreigner can be seen at a street food stall in Tamil Nadu, where he asks the seller how much one plate of chicken 65 costs. When the seller says it is Rs 50 for 100 grams, the foreigner asks for a plate of chicken 65.

CREDIT: BCCL

As he waits for his plate of snacks, the foreign tourist tells the street food seller that he found his stall on Google Maps.

The casual conversation then takes an unexpected turn when the street food seller tells the foreign tourist that he is also studying while running the food stall.

To the utter surprise of the foreign tourist, the street food seller revealed that he was doing his PhD in Biotechnology.

Also read: Street Food Vendor Who Made Crores, Now Rides BMW To Work

'Google my name'

"Google my name, you will find¡­," he tells the foreign tourist, who interrupts asking, "Your shop?"

"No, not my shop, my research articles," the street food seller, who identified himself as Darul Raiyaan, a research scholar at SRM University, said.

Tamil PhD research scholar works in a fried rice stall
byu/LordofReddit11 inTamilNadu

How social media reacted

The video has since gone viral on social media, with polarising opinions.

While some said that Rayan deserves respect for what he is doing, others pointed out that it was the failure of the education system and lack of support for research that forced him to sell snacks on the street to pursue his education.

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