From his home in K.K. Nagar, Ganesh (born as L. Somasundaram), pedals his much-mended Hercules bicycle approximately 40 to 50 kilometers a day in Tiruchi’s neighbourhoods. Is he training for the Rio Olympics? Not really. After all, Ganesh, 56, has been on his rounds since 1977, when he was still in school.
“It just started off as a lark, something I thought I could do to help my family’s finances,” says Ganesh.
“Comic books like Irumbu Kai Mayavi (a licensed Tamil version of the British superhero series The Steel Claw ) used to be very popular. I used to lend them out to friends for a small fee, and collect them a day or two later. The books used to cost around 8 annas , which made them very affordable for me.”
Thirty-nine years later, Ganesh’s business idea has flourished, possibly due to its simplicity and his single-mindedness.
Today, Ganesh has over 1,700 residents on his roster of magazine subscribers who pay him a monthly fee in return for deliveries of journals every day.
Each magazine has a 3- or 6-day return deadline, depending on the frequency of its publication.
“Earlier, there were just six Tamil magazines – Dinamani Kathir, Ananda Vikatan, Kumudam, Maalai Mathi, Rani and Rani Muthu . I used to circulate these and the day would be over. Now, I buy 100-150 copies each of at least 75 Tamil and English publications,” says Ganesh, who operates a lending library for books as well from a small store in Palayam Bazaar, Woraiyur.
“People say the reading habit is going down. But I feel it’s just changing formats. Beyond helping us to gain knowledge, reading is like therapy for many people,” he says.
Ganesh started scouting out customers from cinema theatres. “There was no advance booking in those days, so movie buffs used to wait outside the theatre for a show to end. I’d offer free reading material to these people, helping them to while away the time until the doors opened. Similarly I used to go in during movie intervals and hand around the magazines for instant reading-and-return. My cycle used to have a board with the legend ‘Ganesh Nadamaadum Noolagam’ (Ganesh Mobile Library) with my phone number on it.”
His earliest customers were among those who had seen him in the theatres and taken his phone number down. “After this, people started recommending me to their friends and relatives. I have subscribers from several generations within a family,” says Ganesh.
These days, Ganesh has employed a nephew to assist him in distributing the magazines. Even so, his own daily round, which starts at 6 a.m. from the Junction area, where he collects his copies from the newsagents, takes him to at least 400 customers by cycle. His nephew visits around 250 customers in a day.
“I’ve got my own filing system in my canvas bags,” he says. The cycle round ends at around 6.30 p.m., in Palayam Bazaar, where Ganesh checks on his library and pawn-broking business that he started with the proceeds of his magazine circulation trade.
The next day would be a different set of nearly 400 customers, he informs cheerfully. “My wife Rajeshwari packs my lunch for me in the morning. I have the food whenever it is convenient, on the road.”
One wonders why he hasn’t moved on to a more sophisticated vehicle for his business. “A bicycle has the right height for people like me, who have to hand out goods without getting off the vehicle,” explains Ganesh, who has just recently bought a scooter for his personal use.
“The rear rack can take a 20 kg bag of magazines. The smaller, 7-8 kg bags, I hang on both sides. So it’s easy for me to transport and monitor at least 30-40 kg of magazines while I’m on my rounds. But I have broken at least 6 cycle frames in all these years. I know mechanics who will set right any problem overnight, because I cannot afford to take a break from work.”
It’s important to be passionate about what you do for a living, says Ganesh, who in his youth pedalled longer distances between Srirangam, Airport area and the busy downtown markets for a smaller group of customers.
“I wouldn’t have carried on for so long if I didn’t love it. My earnings have helped me to educate and marry off my three children, and also set aside enough savings. It’s difficult to understand when youngsters complain about unemployment. There’s opportunity everywhere, if you are willing to work hard,” he concludes, as he waits to get back to his interrupted round for the day.
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Points to ponder
- Ganesh collects around 1 tonne of magazines every six months that are sold to scrap dealers.
- “Magazines used to be collectible items in those days,” says Ganesh. “The typical Tamil journal would have plenty of short stories and thought-provoking material that readers could read at leisure. Now, despite the boom in vernacular publishing, the focus is solely on cinema and politics. So they get outdated very soon.”
- There were at least three other mobile libraries in Tiruchi when Ganesh started out. “But most of them stopped after a year or two, because you lose your independence in this business. After we close for the day, my wife and I spend at least an hour sorting out the stock for the next circulation round. I cannot take holidays like others,” he says.
