Just as we were returning home from our regular outing on the weekend, our vehicle has come to a sudden halt. The vehicular traffic has come to a standstill as red light was signalled. Within few seconds, there was a swarm of ambitious street hawkers on prowl for enthusiastic consumers. Hawkers were of different age groups and it is common sight to watch children of 8-12 in majority and their stiffest business rivals are the teenagers who tend to outsmart the younger members of their club. All these people are forced to sell glitzy goods to make a living. The hawkers and their range products always draw my attention. As we regularly pass the same road, we realised that the spectrum of products sold were never the same. They sell different products depending upon the season, timing of the year and festivals. Though the quality of the goods is not guaranteed they definitely have a wide variety of products to offer.
I
began to recollect all the different goods they were vending. In peak summer
they sell black net shields for car windows, hats and goggles in the
morning and strings of fresh jasmine at night. They are ready with stock
of cheap umbrellas in rainy season, for winter season they gear up with
woollen’s ranging from socks, gloves, monkey cap’s, scarves and mufflers. Don’t
be surprised if they remind you of the Valentine Day on the busiest roads by
selling fresh roses and bouquets of Germaniums and orchids; Indian flags and
badges ahead of Republic Day and Independence Day. They cater to choices of wide
variety of people as well. It is not an exaggeration, but they are indeed a
mobile market as such. They merchandise cheap toys, balloons, and stuffed toys
of popular cartoon characters; bubble blowers. More recently they ventured into
the trade of selling the pirated books of the most famous authors;
encyclopaedias’ and dictionaries. More often they sell some of
the rarest traditional stuff. Some of their fancy collections like hand
fan made weaved from peacock feathers etc. are a big hit with foreigners
as well. They are truly the epitomes of the entrepreneurial skills in their microcosm.
Suddenly
I was distracted from my thoughts when my husband intervened to say-watch out
for them, they are truly innovative. You can never find them trading the same
products every day. They are up- to- date with the current trends in vogue. They
try to make big gains in the transaction from the tiniest interval of time
available. Their transactions are done in few seconds on the busiest
streets and hence the real knack lies in attracting the attention of
customers in that short span of time. But alas!!! Practically they are doing
the toughest job and end up having meagre returns for the day’s work. In spite
of the tough and trying situations, these people eke out a living by selling
goods instead of begging or prying for easy money.
A
wave of optimism engulfs when we analyse the rustic intelligence of these
masses. If provided with enough impetus and encouragement, these ordinary men
and women can change the face of the nation. An average Indian has
extraordinary potential. Thus a nation endowed with these potential minds
should be a wonderful land making rapid strides. Indians are acknowledged world
over for their intuitive thinking and hard work, hence receive highest acclaim.
But the nation is unable to progress in spite of its prized human resources.
Indians have great entrepreneurial skills but unfortunately, of late they are
obsessed with the new fad of trading the country’s interests too. The affects
are showing up in the form of steady decline of nation. People started trading
votes as well under the guise of caste, creed, region and money. Though
individuals are making remarkable progress the country as a unit is failing to
operate and deliver.
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