Occupation: Safeguards footwear at Sreekanteswaram temple
Forgive me if I have to attend to my customers in between our conversation. You caught me on the wrong day. It’s Monday today and I am a bit rushed off my feet – Monday is a sacred day for devotees of Lord Shiva and there is usually a heavy rush at Sreekanteswaram temple.
On top of that an annual yajna and music fete is currently underway at the temple and that means all the more footfall. It also means more number of people who entrust me with their belongings – footwear, bags, umbrellas and even helmets, before they enter the temple.
I safeguard their belongings for a small price – Rs. 2 if it’s only footwear and umbrellas or Rs. 5 if they also have bags or helmets too. I give each customer a numbered tag corresponding to the number of the cubby hole in which their belongings are kept. They simply have to return the tag and they’ll get their stuff back.
We have 80 such cubby holes. Some customers are regulars so they just walk in and place their belongings in a corner and pay when they come to pick it up. It’s a largely foolproof system and in the one–and–half years that I have been employed here, there has never been a mix-up. Very rarely does anyone forget to take back their belongings. After all, they are not likely to walk back from the temple barefoot, are they? Even if they do forget we keep it here until they come looking for it.
The business is actually owned by Sateesh on contract from the temple authorities. He lives nearby. I can’t say that business is booming but we do steady business, especially in the morning and in the evenings when the temple is open. For example, in the space of 10 minutes that I have been talking to you, I attended to at least 20 customers. As the evening deeparadhana approaches their numbers will only increase.
I am glad I even have this job, given that I am a chronic heart patient and can’t do much physical labour. I used to be a daily wage labourer and then when I became unwell, I worked in a teashop nearby. I like to think that my boss gave me this job because he finds me trustworthy. This is a kind of business where owners can’t keep track of the money coming in as there are no receipts. It depends on the honesty of the employee to hand in all the money earned. I work for a monthly salary. Everyday, someone from the temple brings me food so that’s taken care of.
My home is in Vattiyoorkavu, where my wife, Jaya, and my sons Anil, an auto driver, and Akhil, a polytechnic student, live. Sorry, I get a bit teary when I think of my family; I can go home only a couple of times a month as I can’t afford to travel everyday. I sleep here in a corner of this shack. My only wish is that my family be safe and well for all time. Now, let me get back to my customers…
As told to Nita Sathyendran
(A weekly column on the men and women who make Thiruvananthapuram what it is)
