After the lockdown came into effect, S. Madhan, an autorickshaw driver from Mehta Nagar, offered his vehicle to his neighbour A. Saravanan for a modification effort aimed at kickstarting an alternative business.
Saravanan, office assistant at a private company in Thirumangalam and now jobless, points out that when 37-year-old Madhan rendered this help, it was 100 p.c. help, and he did not have any quid pro quo arrangement in mind.
“Madhan is like my elder brother. After seeing me jobless, he readily gave his autorickshaw to me to run the mobile fruit shop, when I asked him for it. As we have known each other since childhood, he has not even asked me for a rent for using his autorickshaw,” says 26-year-old Saravanan.
Madhan’s generosity is all the more remarkable because the autorickshaw had undergone a makeover, which included new passenger seats and tyres, jazzed-up interiors, bright flash indicators and headlights. The exercise just fell short of having the vehicle painted, as it was overtaken by the lockdown.
Saravanan removed most of the fittings including the top cover of the autorickshaw so that it could be used to ferry fruits and vegetables.
Now, Saravanan and and two others from the neighbourhood — D. Mani and R. Loganathan — operate the mobile vegetable shop and supplement their family income.
While Loganathan drives the vehicle, Mani makes the announcement through an audio system and Saravanan negotiates with the buyers. Most of the commonly-sold fruits are displayed on the autorickshaw. The stock is bought from wholesale traders from Madhavaram every morning. On an average, Saravanan earns between ₹ 1,000 and ₹1,500 every day.
“As a mark of gratitude, I give a bunch of fruits to Madhan after my work every day as he has helped me during this difficult time. We will continue to sell fruits from the vehicle until normalcy returns,” says Saravanan.
