What is your religion and your caste?
I'm a Hindu and I'm a Rajput.
Are you married? Do you have children?
No, I'm not married and of course I don't have children.
Where are you from and how long have you been in Delhi?
I'm from Varanasi basically, but my village is in Jaunpur. And, I came to Delhi in 2002, almost 17 years back.
And where do you live in Delhi, with whom?
There's a place named -----. I have a government quarter there. I live with my sister and brother.
Why did you come to Delhi?
I'm a professional basketball player. I was offered a job in MT, which is a telecom company. So I came here with my sister and she was also offered. We both came to play for Delhi, and then we played for India, too.
Did you have any friends or family before you came here?
Not many, but a few friends definitely because we played basketball and it’s a team game and you meet different people from different states.
And what kind of work do you do?
I work in a government organization. I used to work as a professional player so my job was to play for the organization. Then state and then India. Now I work in a government organization where I take care of the sports.
How did you become a basketball player?
I have many sisters and we are all basketball players and we all played for the Indian team, and we played together on many teams. Since we were very small, my elder sister used to play because we had a great basketball team in our school. We used to go and see her and she was a great player... so we used to follow. So we got better, with the coaches teaching us. And then I played nationals and then internationals and I got an offer, because I was good at studies also. So my father was not willing to [let me] go but I wanted to play so I just, you know, decided to come.
How much is the salary? Is this salary enough to cover your needs?
I don't think money is, any [amount] is enough for any woman, but yeah, I get a decent salary. And since I'm a single person, it's more than enough for me. But yeah, I take care of many things in my home also.
Do you ever send money to your family in Banaras?
Always, you know, when there's a construction we contribute, when there's a marriage we contribute.
You've described that you were coaching and teaching, before that you were a basketball player. Have you ever had any other sort of work? Have you ever done any other sort of job?
No, I was just studying at that time. You know, I was in college and we never got any chance to work anywhere else. We just got an offer, we came.
Can you describe your work day?
I'm a coach here. But I am working in the office. Coaches can work in the office, if required. I came here to work in the office set-up because I have been coaching for 6, 7 years and I really wanted to do administrative work where there is a lot of planning. I get up at 7:30, do my daily routine and then come to the office at 9:30 or 9:45. There are some meetings. Then we focus on the agenda first and then we do a lot of planning. Then, lunch time. Then, because it is a government office we drink a lot of tea in between intervals. And, then [by] 5:30, mostly our work is done. Until 6:00 we are in the office. At 6:00 we again have tea. And then we go back home.
Can you describe [the sports quota system in Indian government] to me?
If you are a good player, you have to have gold medal national medals, or you have to be a good international player to get a good, decent job. So, [Indian]Railways, Indian Oil Companies, then banking sectors, then telephone, VSNL, MTL, everybody offers you a job – if you're a good player. So when you get an offer, you join. I've been to the University of Denver for two years. I studied sports management there and I used to talk to my professors. They used to say that NBA players go bankrupt. I said, “How”? Because that is like a two-season year play. You get the money and you just spend it. But we have a job for 60 years, until we retire. So we can sustain our family like that. It's very good.
What do you think of the lifestyle in Delhi?
Delhi's a very modern place, you know. You get different kinds of people, different kinds of cultures, it's a very mixed-up place, you know. And, you can live your life like you want. There's no restriction. And being a female, I can say that it's not as unsafe as the TV shows it to be. Because I go alone everywhere, sometimes at night, 11 o’clock, 12 o’clock, 1 o’clock, I don't feel that it's very unsafe.
What about [your hometown] Do you feel you have the same ability to do what you want?
See, my family is a very liberal family. So, to be very frank, I, I was doing the same thing here what I am doing in Delhi, there also you know. I wore the same clothes. So, it's not a problem for me. Because maybe my family is like that.
Will you ever go back to your hometown? Do you ever think that you will stay in Delhi for the rest of your life?
No, I'm so confused right now. For two, three months I'm just thinking, what am I doing in Delhi? I should be going back. So, I have to decide because when I talk to my parents and my family they say “What will you do [here] now?” So maybe I, I'll save money or something. I'll be better off, then I can think of going, but yeah definitely, I will go.
Why do you feel that way?
Because, I feel I should spend time with my parents.