I would have served you a glass of sugar cane juice but unfortunately there is no cane left to grind. Today is a good day as I am winding up early. On most days, I am here till 6 p.m. I shifted to the Chakka bypass nine months ago. Sales, so far, has been good, but I predict it will better next year as more and more people realise the health benefits in drinking fresh cane juice. Many fear that regular consumption of cane juice will give them health problems like diabetes but the variety of cane I use does not.
I have been selling cane juice for the past nine years and drink at least three to four glasses of juice a day; I haven’t been diagnosed with diabetes as yet.
I am from Changanaserry and started my career selling cane juice in Kottayam as I was determined to be self-employed. I chose cane juice as there were no other vendors selling cane juice then. I then shifted to Mavelikara and now Thiruvananthapuram. I have people manning the stalls in Kottayam and Mavelikara.
The canes come in a lorry from Coimbatore, Palakkad and Mysore. I place an order when I need them and it arrives a day later. The canes are cleaned before they are used. I usually reach my stall by the Chakka bypass by 9.30 a.m. to set things up; I clean the machine, slice the ingredients for the drink…I charge Rs. 20 per glass of juice and usually sell around a hundred glasses of juice a day.
In the juice I add mint, lime, green chilli, ginger and garlic. Some ask for cane juice with only a touch of lime and ginger and I oblige. I make my own ice at home and those who want their drink chilled help themselves to the ice which I store in an ice box. People prefer buying cane juice from road side stalls to other juices as we do not add any water or preservatives in the drink.
Once I start my day, I am usually busy, pausing only to have lunch, which I pack from home. My clientele is varied. I have those who are in the city on holiday stopping by for a drink on their way back from the beach, those who work in nearby offices, those who are visiting relatives in the hospital…
I am off for the next one week due to the forecasted rains; people don’t seem to want to buy cane juice when it’s raining. I intend to relax a bit during this break and spend time with my parents, wife, Simla, and children, Altaf and Azia. As my kids are both school going, I need to get their school stuff organised too. Once the rains are over I will resume business.
(A weekly column on men and women who make Thiruvananthapuram what it is)
