Occupation: Roadside vendor
Are you at a loss about what I am selling here by the footpath? Look carefully and you will see all kinds of tools that I have arranged here. Screwdrivers, pliers, hammers, spanners....
It is not just tools. I also sell lot of other things that are useful for your homes – knives, lighters, torches, combs, nail cutters, ear buds, scissors, plugs, measuring tapes, mirrors, et al.
I have been doing this for about 17 years now. Prior to that that I was working abroad for nearly 12 years, as a labourer on construction sites. I decided to return home when the company where I was working closed its operations. I was a daily wages labourer for sometime but I had to stop when I developed health problems. I decided to start something on my own that involved less of physical activity. That’s how I started this business here on MG Road, near Pazhavangady Ganapathy Temple.
Being a roadside vendor has its advantages. I can save money on rent. But there are people who look down upon people like me who do business by the footpath. People ask me whether I get enough customers here. After all there are shops where you get the same stuff and why would somebody bother to stop by my stall and buy these items, they ask. They are wrong. I have my share of customers. I have set shop in one of the busiest areas in the city. Who would want to go to a big shop to buy safety pins or combs or even a pair of scissors? People, especially those in the low-income group, would rather buy it from me.
Didn’t you see that customer checking out a screwdriver? A woman bought a comb from me a little while ago. By the end of the day, I would have made enough to make ends meet. Of course, people do bargain. They can’t do without it!
There are days when sales are dull. But weekends are pretty busy. On Sundays a lot of non-Malayalis, especially Bengali labourers, come to my shop. Many of them buy keys, locks and tools. There is a demand for tools such as eight-in-one screwdriver, emergency lamps, blade sets, fish cutters and the like. I also stock chains to lock suitcases, helmets and cycles.
I buy my products from Chala market. Earlier, I used to get them from Madurai. But now there are wholesale dealers, those from Rajasthan, who stock them. So I replenish the stock as and when needed.
I don’t take a holiday and am here from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. After that I pack everything and keep it safely in a shop nearby before I cycle back to my home at Ambalathara. It is very hot till noon. Although I have an umbrella it is of little use and the heat becomes unbearable at times.
East Fort is getting busier day by the day and I have seen so many changes over the yeas. I am 58 now and I am not sure how far I can continue. But I was able to marry off my two daughters when I was working abroad. I am happy that this business gives me enough to take care of my wife, Sebeena, and son, Shibu, an electrician.
(A weekly column on men and women who make Thiruvananthapuram what it is)
