The daily grind of a vegetable street vendor

Vasudha Zora | NT

Bengaluru: For Kaakali, a street vendor of green leafy vegetables, it has been an uphill battle to eke out a living. “My day starts at sharp 3 am with cooking a meal for my family with my daughter in law. My husband died several years ago and I am the head of my family.

Both my children live with me, I have a son and a daughter who are married with one child each and attend school. My family helps me out with our street side shop at the Banashankari market.” How does she procure the vegetables?

“We start by collecting produce from our garden where we grow varieties of spinach. We grow Basale soppu , Dantu soppu, Palak, Rajagiri, Nugge soppu and Sambar soppu. On the days we lack enough produce for the market, we borrow some from our friends selling at Krishna Rajendra market, early in the morning.

“Soppu tends to rot early so we try to keep only what we can sell. Any soppu can be purchased for Rs 20 a bundle, we also give our customers coriander on the days we have an extra produce, I charge Rs10 for a bundle. We set out shop at the Banashankari market on a designated spot. We quickly lay out the shop before the customers walk in. Most of our customers are restaurant chefs, mothers, diet conscious people and house helps.

“Next to us my friend Shilpa sells betel leaves and next to her sits Srivatsa who sells onions, potatoes and garlic. I sit by the shop and sort out the freshest soppu and collect the frail ones aside, I later feed them to a cow.”

How much she earns and what are her major expenses? “I earn close to Rs 1,000 on a dry day, rainy days are difficult as not many consumers like eating spinach due to insect growth, on those days we barely earn Rs 400.

“We usually spend more on the farming materials than how much we earn on some days. My son and daughter in law look after the farming of soppu. During evening rush hour, when the market competition is at its peak, we must sell the soppu for an even lesser amount to reduce wastage. By night, 9.30pm, my son and daughter help me pack up and go home, which is a quick walk through Saraki junction.”

“We wash ourselves and the whole family eats together, we lay out our beds on the floor, open the windows, feed our dog, Chinnu and sleep next to each other until the next day.”