No one knows the value of education better than 25-year-old Sheikh Chand, a hawker who sells kitchenware on a small bandi at General Bazaar.
“If I had attended school and studied well, I would have been doing some job,” he rues.
The bandi is owned by his aunt’s son but Chand takes care of the business everyday. The bandi is one stop-shop for all your kitchen needs. From spatulas of different kinds to plastic and steel ware, one finds different kitchen items available at affordable prices here.
Sheikh has been working ever since he was 15.
“Earlier I would source plastic items from Begum Bazaar and sell it on a mobile cart and go around Raj Bhavan, Banjara Hills, AC Guards and Zehra Nagar,” he says. This constant travel took a toll on his feet. “I got severe leg pain so now I am sitting at one place and selling the items,” he says.
Every day it is a different kind of experience at General Bazaar says Sheikh.
“Most customers want to bargain. I try to give a discount but sometimes they bargain for very little and it becomes difficult to agree with their price,” he says with a smile.
The market area is crowded on most of the days and with Diwali coming up, the place is thronged by shoppers. One can see Sheikh dealing calmly with haggling customers. Sheikh is married and has two children – a girl of three years and a boy who is just one-and-half. He wants to provide good education to his children.
(A weekly feature on the men and women who make Hyderabad what it is)
