- Young Northeasterners are hugely in demand in the metros, in retail jobs, call centres, nursing, beauty parlours and spas, fashion, event management and trendy restaurants
- Employers are all praise for their sincerity, commitment, social skills
- Proficiency in English and a cosmopolitan awareness set them apart from the rest of the workforce
- Their sense of style gives them an edge in jobs where looks matter
- The women are particularly confident and competent, thanks to the success of widespread female education in Northeastern states
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Underlying their flair for presentation is a confidence that comes from growing up in a tolerant culture. "I could leave my house wearing shorts, no one would look at me," says Poornima Devi, a nurse from Imphal, who will soon be relocating to Arizona. Angeline agrees: "I would be safe going to the local market in a skirt anywhere in the Northeast." It is a confidence that affects much more than how these young people dress. "I hire girls from all the Seven Sisters," says Tarsilio Nataloni, owner of Flavours restaurant in Delhi, referring to the Northeastern states. "They have no questions about whether they should work, whether they can be out at night—none of this baloney in their brains."
This independence of spirit is also a reminder of the success of female education in the Northeast. "There is a very strong tradition of gender equality both in the plains and in the hills," points out Hazarika. "Both education and tradition have had a role in building the capacity of women." The Seven Sisters rank high on statistics relating to women's educational attainment, literacy and participation in the labour force. Along with Kerala, they have the lowest levels of gender disparity in rural education in the country.
While the confidence of Northeastern women is clearly more than skin-deep, they also have advantages on the surface. To foreign visitors and clueless Indians, their faces have the allure of the international—Singapore or Hong Kong, rather than Kohima or Aizawl. "They have a sort of Thai-Chinese look, which is in vogue now," laughs Hazarika. A sprinkling of Northeastern faces around the place helps to create a cosmopolitan ambience—a tactic no employer will confess to using, but some do admit to seeing it at work. "With event management companies, the new trend is to have Northeastern women as hostesses, for that subliminal effect," says Grover. "Even if there's no work, they receive guests at the door and lead them to a table."
Anima, a nurse with Apollo, Delhi
Young Northeasterners are happy to laugh off all of these characterisations. "Yes, you can say we're all extroverts, we love fashion, and we've got good education," says Shamolie Bohra from Shillong, who works at Delhi's Maurya Sheraton. "But there's so much diversity, between states, between Christians and non-Christians the outside world doesn't differentiate. We all have small eyes so we're all 'the Northeast'." She's not offended. There is reality behind the employers' rapturous generalisations, and young Northeasterners acknowledge it matter-of-factly. "Anyone who takes their jobs seriously has to work late and be flexible," shrugs Helen.
In the long run, her can-do attitude and job experience in the metros could help create growth in the home states. Nagarajan suggests that entrepreneurship will eventually flow back from the metros to the Northeast, similar to the way it flowed back to India from Silicon Valley after 1992. "When one or two states develop a conducive atmosphere for business, the talent pool that's circulating here will be a good base for start-ups," he says. "Then, instead of coming all the way to Bangalore, these young people could go and work in a neighbouring state." So maybe Angeline won't have to wait till retirement to return to the wonderful weather and the peaceful life amidst the hills and rivers of her home state. But, for now, concrete jungles are her greener pastures.
