Tourist guides have changed their profession and become marketing executives in the city.
Their previous job didn’t earn them a fixed salary. Nor did they have fixed timings. In fact their job, though thought to be enjoyable, most often landed them with no income for days together.
But with new offices, timings and set-up, they have stepped into a different world altogether. We are talking about tourist guides who have changed their profession and become marketing executives in the city.
“Being a tourist guide is no cake walk,” said Digvijay Singh Chauhan, who currently works with a BPO as marketing research executive. Chauhan was a tourist guide at Udaipur and knows German and French besides Hindi, English and Rajasthani.
Surendra Singh Rathore from Ajmer, Mahendra Vikram Singh, from Ajmer, Palkesh Sharma from Dungarpur, Rajasthan-Gujarat border and Rishikesh Kashyap from Devghar, Jharkhand were also guides in their previous avatars.
Chauhan said, “We had to study about monuments, heritage structures, and their history. To give tourists the best service possible, we had to be well-informed about the city and state we worked in.”
Kashyap added in Hindi, “Exam dena padta hai tourist guide ke licence ke liye (We have to take an exam for the job of a tourist guide). Ek all India licence behtar hai kyunki alag shehron mein jakar kaam kar sakte hain (An All India licence is the best option as it gives us an opportunity to work anywhere in India).”
While his English may not be fluent, Kashyap is well-versed in Japanese, Hindi and Bhojpuri.
Youngest of the lot is Rathore, 20, and he is well-versed in French, English, Rajasthani and Hindi and like Chauhan, he has worked in the tourism industry. “It is only every five to six years that we are in a position to receive a licence.
“Until then we have to work without a licence. The Rajasthan police are very strict about licences. Which is why we were asked to leave a particular tourist destination or even had to pass our clients to the local guides at times,” he said.
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