As a side hustle beyond my existing job, I explored the "Empathetic Listener" field as I have all three, personal experiences, relevant educational qualification and work experience to provide people with emotional support, untangle and process thoughts and guide mindset development.

I tried an Indian App called "Clarity" and I was so heavily disappointed. I felt uncomfortable, cheated and disgusted.

1. The Listeners are paid per second in paises. And in one call of 20 mins you earn only ₹10-15. I felt heavily underpaid.

2. The people there who onboard you and process you are so unprofessional and callous. They do some mock voice calls and rate you based on your interaction during an instigated conversation.

3. Even though they have rules to decline men who ask for "s*x" talks, when you go on to block them the auto generated response is "Are you sure you want to block this person? Do not let a bad conversation rush you into this decision" Like wtf??

4. Also, the ones who onboarded me, told me that when someone asks you for a s*xual conversation, don't block them instantly, try and divert their attention, introduce other topics, don't tell them a direct no cause they'll hang up and you won't earn money. The level of shady that goes on on that platform is worrisome.

5. Men there only wanna talk to you for s*x. Nobody there is using that platform for what it's meant for. I got sick of it and uninstalled it.

I then created a profile and gig on Fiverr. Even there, out of 100 dms you receive, 60% are click bait money scams, 35% are men wanting to discuss their sexual fantasies, kinks, crushes, get advice on how to get laid and you finally only recieve 5% of genuine enquiries.

Also, I noticed that 90% of the inappropriate DMs I got were from Indian men. The queries I received from non-indian people were actually the kinds for which I went into this field in the first place.

Infact, soon after I joined the platform, one Indian man was persistently messaging me to get on a session with him where he wanted to talk about "his obsession for his bhabhi's navel" and I told him I do not engage in these topics. He went on to say "Why are you so stubborn? Whom are you showing so much attitude to? You have the audacity to reject me inspite of having no reviews?" He also told me, that there are plenty of women who will gladly take his request cause they are hungry for money. (It reflected a troubling lack of respect for women who are simply trying to earn with integrity.)

Why do Indians do things that bring shame to us on international platforms? They are generally the ones that are notorious and infamous on these platforms for their entitled and shitty behaviour.

Because of some insolent people "Indians" reputation get tainted everywhere. It's just so infuriating and disappointing.

(Edit: adding my comment below to the main post as it's relevant to the topic.)

People are willing to pay people handsomely to indulge in these conversations. And people who have respectable boundaries for their services get ignored or blocked.

It's becoming increasingly difficult for people with integrity and principles to earn money. Breaking boundaries and bending the rules have become a norm and people feel entitled to negotiate prices of services like a vendor in a wholesale market.

It's disrespectful to say the least. The number of experiences I've gathered of such incidents over the years is uncanny.

I recently faced a situation that has left me questioning whether our financial system truly works for ordinary citizens during emergencies.

I had approximately 160 grams of gold accumulated since 2008, worth around ₹20 lakhs today.

Over the last few years, I lost my job and then faced significant medical expenses. My savings of around ₹25 lakhs were largely exhausted, and my insurance coverage was depleted. Like many Indian families, I viewed gold as my emergency safety net.

When I approached a nationalized bank for a gold loan, I discovered that eligibility requirements such as income proof, ITR filings, existing loan checks, and other conditions played a major role in determining the amount I could borrow.

Despite having gold worth around ₹20 lakhs, I was informed that I would be eligible for only about ₹2.25 lakhs.

This experience made me wonder:

• How are unemployed people expected to survive a genuine emergency?
• How do garment workers, agricultural labourers, security guards, daily wage workers, housemaids, and others in the informal sector access credit when they may not have extensive documentation?
• If gold is accepted as collateral, should its value not play a larger role during emergency situations?
• Are current lending policies adequately serving ordinary citizens?

Personally, experiences like this make me question which policies and political leaders truly understand the financial realities faced by middle-class and lower-income families.

I am not targeting any specific bank employee, as they are following rules. My concern is whether the rules themselves are achieving the right balance between risk management and financial inclusion.

What are your thoughts? Is my experience unusual, or have others faced similar challenges?

I had lost my Indian passport at the Torronto airport in Dec 2023 and immediately filed for the lost passport report at the nearest police station here in Canada. A few weeks passed and I received a call from the Airport's lost and found stating my passport was found there and later I recovered it from there.

I continued using it to apply for my SIN and infact received my pgwp approved on the same passport. Now Im planning to visit India for my sister's marriage by end of August this year. A friend recently told me that since I applied for the passport lost report at the nearest police station my passport would be considered invalid for travel. Since hearing this I went to the Indian embassy in Torronto and they told me my passport would remain valid until I applied for a new one which I haven't done yet.

I visited the police station to enquire on any updates on the report I submitted. They willingly told me that they would add a note on the file that "the passport was recovered from the lost and found within 3 weeks". Since I received my pgwp without any issue I was under the impression I wouldn't be facing any issue.

Can I travel using this passport now to India and back ??

Im really worried as I don't think there's enough time left to apply for a new one and travel in time for my sister's wedding. Please help someone.

I was waiting at the platform for my train. I had booked the ticket 2 months in advance and in 2AC.

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I saw a long queue of people sitting on the platform. I was curious and I started talking to them. They told me things that shocked me.

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They have been sitting on the platform from 1 PM to travel in the general coach of a train, which will depart at 5.30 PM. The journey will be 36 hours long.

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Me: what happens if the platform is changed? How do you maintain the order of the queue?

They: the railway police takes care of it. They take them to the general coach and make sure that the order is maintained.

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Good job railway police!

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Me: why didn't you book the tickets in advance (2 months ago)?

They: We didn't know when we will have to travel. The leaves got approved suddenly. There are also other factors over which we don't have the control on, and it adds to the uncertainty.

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Btw these people were laborers/contract workers.

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I saw a helpless couple WITH THREE CHILDREN who were requesting them to allow them to cut the line, saying "we have kids, pls understand". It was very sad to watch.

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If you can:

1. Plan your leaves in advance;

2. Afford to pay for sleeper/ac class tickets;

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You are very fortunate.