Occupation: Plastic name bracelets vendor and mehandi designer
In my village in Rajasthan, marrying young is a norm. I must have been 14 when I got married and am now in my mid-twenties. My husband, Inder, works at Pothys. I help supplement the family income by making plastic name bracelets and key chains. Customers, especially women, prefer bracelets.
I also apply mehandi designs for customers. The beads I use to make the bracelets and keychains are from Delhi. Inder travels there when we run out of beads. The mehandi moulds are also from Delhi. While the price of a bracelet starts from ₹50, the mehandi is priced by the number of mehandi prints on the palm. A full palm should come to around ₹150. It’s mostly women who pick up bracelets and keychains and of course, request for mehandi.
I haven’t been to school and can neither read or write. I get my customers to write out what word or name they want on their bracelets on a piece of paper. And yes, I have managed to pick up rudimentary Malayalam and English. Why didn’t I attend school? Well, my parents never felt there was any need to educate my siblings and me as they haven’t been to school themselves. They run a stall selling odds and ends.
Inder and I moved to Thiruvananthapuram five years ago. We came all the way down to Kerala in search of a means of livelihood as work is hard to come by in Rajasthan. We live in a lodge at Thampanoor. There are two rooms in our apartment. My husband, kids and I share the apartment with my father-in-law, and brother-in-law and family.
You can find me here at Kovalam daily. I travel by bus and start my day at 10 am and wind up by 7 pm. My son, Golu, who is five years old, accompanies me to work. I have a younger son, Rabbi, who is two years old. My niece looks after him while I am at work. My father-in-law and brother-in-law sell faux jewellery near the Museum. You should stop by their stall and pick up some lacquered wooden bangles.
I wish I had a beach umbrella over my head here. The heat is unbearable and so are the unpredictable rains. When it’s hot, I only have my ghoonghat to protect both Golu and I from the heat. During rains, we seek shelter at nearby stores. Touch wood, so far, I haven’t had any bad experiences with the customers.
No, I don’t carry lunch with me, just plenty of water. I have a heavy breakfast and then dinner. We prepare our own food as we aren’t used to the local food.
Entertainment? We have a small television to keep the children entertained. I have never stepped into a movie theatre. Whatever movies I have watched are on television. Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan are two of my favourite actors. I rarely get to watch movies though as I am either at Kovalam or busy cooking and cleaning our home. The only time I can afford to take a break and relax is when I am visiting my family back home. We usually pay them a visit during Diwali and other festive occasions. It’s nice to sit indoors, relax and be pampered by my folks. No, we don’t shop for outfits for them here as we don’t wear the kind of clothes you do. We do buy banana chips and other goodies for them.
Yes, life is hard. I am however determined to give my children a better life. I want to see them educated and lead a comfortable life and will work to achieve that.
(A weekly column on men and women who make Thiruvananthapuram what it is)
