In the list of aspirational careers for most Indian youths; doctor, engineer, civil servant, guy who works in fintech for a year and starts a podcast; "security guard at Vishal Mega Mart" has typically ranked pretty low on the list. But in May 2025, the job suddenly became the Indian internet's most coveted position.

Across Instagram, posts began cropping up that treated the humble supermarket security gig as the final boss of a Gen Z Indian male's ambition. But how did the kids go from dreaming about IIT to dreaming about guarding aisle 5? Here's a recap of all the memes about becoming a Vishal Mega Mart Security Guard.

What Is Vishal Mega Mart, and Where Did Memes About Applying to Be a Security Guard There Originate?

Vishal Mega Mart is a retail chain founded in 2001 in Kolkata, India. The chain sells clothing, groceries, and household items to India's middle and lower-middle classes. In December 2024, it launched a ₹8,000 crore IPO, finally entering international business headlines, but that had little to do with the memes.

The memes began on May 5th, 2025, with Instagram user @vibhutihoodirony's post featuring meme mainstay Brandon Curington and a caption that translates to, "Just one dream, Vishal mega mart guard 2025." It got 50,000 likes in two weeks.

The timing isn't entirely random. May is peak exam result season in India, and the Vishal Mega Mart meme quickly became a wry commentary on the nation's obsession with milestones: exam scores, admissions, and job offers. And so, people soon began sharing tongue-in-cheek memes that glorified the low-paying, unglamorous role of working as a security guard in a tier 2 city.

How Did Memes About Being a Vishal Mega Mart Security Guard Spread?

By mid-May, the joke was everywhere on the Indian internet. On May 14th, the satire page @aaandtv posted a fake government announcement declaring "1.2 crore vacancies for Security Guard Jobs at Vishal Mega Mart across India," an absurd number that spoofed the kind of inflated employment schemes occasionally floated by Indian politicians.

On May 15th, @mishrasays_ uploaded a meme that read, "Vishal Mega Mart Security guard prilims fourth attempt clear," parodying the notoriously stressful prelims phase of India's national competitive exams. The joke imagined a world where getting into Vishal Mega Mart required multiple failed attempts, and gathered over 150,000 likes in four days.

That same day, @icecold.xd posted a meme that took the bit to its logical conclusion, "When you're at 'Vishal Mega Mart Security Guard Interview' venue and see your friend from the same batch who used to talk about working at Google in First Year."

What Are Some More Memes About The Vishal Mega Mart Security Guard Selection Process?

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For the full history of Vishal Mega Mart Security Guard memes, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.