Graduation

M. Jai Durga Prasad is the one who runs this place called Graduation. We are situated at the B. T. Center in Pedapadu. That’s out in the West Godavari District. My father is Simhachalam, and he’s pretty well known around these parts by most people. We’ve been here in Pedapadu for quite a long time. The center itself is a simple building. It’s not one of those glass-fronted offices you see in the big cities like Hyderabad. We handle things in a very local, straightforward way. Most of the people who come here are from the nearby villages. It’s a practical setup for the community. We have a few desks and some chairs for people to sit. It gets a bit dusty because of the traffic on the road, but we try to clean it every morning before we start. Being in West Godavari is good for us. The community is tight-knit and people talk. We don't do a lot of advertising or marketing. People just find out about us by talking to their friends or neighbors. I spend most of my day at the center. Sometimes it's very quiet, and other times it's quite busy with people coming in and out for different things. We don't use any big words to describe what we do here. It’s just Graduation. We focus on the daily tasks and helping people. It’s an honest way to make a living. The B. T. Center has been a landmark for us.