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TRADING
ON THE STREETS OF PATNA
Interview
with Prabhawati Devi by
Arbind Singh - NASVI Co-ordinator
At
the busy road crossing near the Secretariat of Bihar Government building
in Patna, Prabhawati Devi sells vegetables.
She was the first to sell vegetables here.
Now at least a hundred other vendors sit alongside with her. This
is how she describes her daily routine :
“I
get up at 5.00 a..m., clean my house and utensils by 7.00 a.m and then set
up my vegetable shop on the roadside.
I sell vegetables till 10.00 a.m. Thereafter,
I return home with the unsold vegetables. After brushing my teeth and
taking a bath, I prepare and have my first meal for the day lunch. At 2.00 p.m. I
go to the wholesale market to replenish my stocks for the day and try to
return by 4.00 p.m. I set up my
shop once again and continue selling till about 9.30 to 10.00 p.m. I then return home and prepare dinner. It is about midnight when I go to bed.”
Prabhawati’s
earnings are modest, hard-earned and support people other than herself.
She says :
“If
I work hard, I am able to earn between Rs 70-80 (rupees) a day.
However, there are many problems.
For example, since November, the police have been causing so much
trouble that my earnings have been cut down to only Rs
800-900 a month. I
spend about ten rupees on myself, another Rs 5 on my grandchildren, and a
further Rs 5-10 if I have guests. Some expenses are also incurred when I
visit my daughters.”
Prabhawati
has three daughters and a
son. She came to Patna in
1962 “the year of Nehrus
death”. Her husband never supported her and later died.
On her own, she has managed to marry all her children off.
Her son has settled in Orissa, and one or other of her daughters is
always visiting her. She
continues to support them even in her old age. Despite this, she
“manages to save Rs 300 a month.” She says, “ I am not indebted to
anyone except Nidan. have a working capital of Rs 1000 on which my
business runs.”
Her
complaints are few. What does
bother her is the bargaining and haggling that her customers insist on.
Further, setting up shop twice a day and carrying her commodities to and
fro for this, is time
consuming and problematic, particularly when it rains.
How
did she become a member of Nidan, an organization which has been
established to organize vendors and hawkers?
Prabhawati says:
“One
day, when you were taking photographs of vendors, I asked you what you
were up to. After you
explained about Nidan, I invited you to my place.
Thereafter, a small group was
organized. Today most
of us have obtained a loan from Nidan!”
When
asked what more she wants in life, she ponders
seriously. Her eyes light up as she says :
“A
place where I can sell my vegetables without