The sweet deed of sweet shop owner

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic outbreak, this year the Ganesh festival was celebrated in a low-key manner. Though the usual grandeur and enthusiasm was missing, there were no elaborate pandals but many people celebrated the occasion at their homes with fervour.

One of our neighbours had welcomed Lord Ganesha in their home and invited us for darshan. I went to the famous sweet mart in our vicinity to purchase Bappa's all time favourite modaks.

To my surprise I was warmly welcomed in the shop by Bhola chacha.

Prior to Covid-19 lockdown he used to run a well known chaat counter outside this shop. People would wait in long queues especially during weekends to tantalize their taste buds with his delectable chaats.
I was seeing him nearly after five months. With a sparkle in his eyes he informs and shows me his recently launched range of packaged products. It includes ready-to-eat chaat mix boxes and pouches of a variety of ready-to-use vacuum sealed chutneys. He reveals that the homemade green mint chutney,garlic chutney and tamarind chutney are all the essence and secret of his flavourful chaats. Curiously I asked him about his new business venture. He narrates the ordeal he, his wife and two children had to go through as he was compelled to wrap up his booming stall overnight amid the unprecedented health crisis. He started looking out for other sources of livelihood generation. He tried to hire a rickshaw since he had a license but unfortunately rickshaws too had stopped plying during nation-wide lockdown. Everything had come to a grinding halt.
His wife, a house cook too became jobless because societies had barred entry for domestic helpers. Making their ends meet seemed very challenging. They would stand in long queues under scorching sun to purchase subsidised ration. Consumption of milk was cut down and it was only used for preparing tea only once daily. They stopped eating vegetables and fruits. Their savings were depleting and on the verge of getting exhausted because a major chunk was used up to settle the rent of their small room and bills of basic utility services.
They had no audacity left to hope for normalcy looking at the surging coronavirus cases across India and were contemplating returning to their native place. Suddenly one day chacha received a call from the owner of the sweet mart.
The tender hearted owner suggested him to start selling his famous chaat ingredients in packaged form at sweet mart's counter. He explained chacha that though food vendors will soon be permitted to set up their stalls once again, but customers are likely to avoid roadside food and thus the future of street food business appears bleak.
In the owner's opinion, customers will definitely demand the hygienically packed takeaways to satiate their chaat cravings. Initially chacha was very reluctant but the owner assured to guide and support him through all paperwork and packaging activities.
Within sixty days, everything was set up and on the auspicious day of Ganesh chaturti chacha embarked his endeavor. Chacha considers the owner to be a saviour in disguise who pulled them out from the dark tunnel of uncertain future.
He shares that the owner is taking help from owners of other shops and exploring means for generating employment for chacha's relatives too ,most of whom were daily wage earners and have returned to their villages.

Owner was engrossed in attending to customers. Feeling deeply moved by his compassion,I approach him and start lauding him for his generosity. He humbly responds that chacha is like a younger brother to him and this is the least that he could do. He politely requested me and other customers to purchase something from Chacha's counter as well.

That evening I felt I had visited a real sweet shop. Whenever I pass through that lane, it is heartwarming to see chacha happily catering to his customers. Infact chacha's two cousin brothers have also joined him and his sister sells handicrafts in an adjacent novelty shop.

The sweet shop owner has indeed set an example through his altruistic behaviour and by putting sincere efforts to create income generating opportunities for these hard hit daily wage earners.

- By Kiran Vanvari

Source: indiatimes.com