All section Close
Image Credits: Satyavati
My Story: 'Selling Tender Coconuts On Footpath, Trying To Support My Family Gives Me Immense Satisfaction'
Karnataka, 12 March 2021 1:13 PM GMT
Editor : Rakshitha R |
Rakshitha an engineer turned passionate journalist with an inclination for poetry, creative writing, movies, fiction, mountains and seclusion. Not a part of the social process but existential.
Creatives : Rajath
A free spirit who find meaning in life with the virtue of creativity and doing job par its excellence, animal lover and traveller by heart.
The 33-year-old Satyavati who set up her stall to sell tender coconuts in Bengaluru’s Banashankari is a mother of two. She has been balancing her efforts to support her family financially and help her kids get a good education. But like any other businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic hit her day job badly. After one of her customers took her business online recently, it began recovering gradually.
I wear a coat over my saree to ensure it does't get stained as I cut the tender coconuts and serve them to customers. I owned a white coat before. But it wore out and was torn at certain places, hence I switched to the green one.
My husband and I run the stall. It is a great partnership. I have household chores to complete—sending my kids to school and preparing a meal for the day. By the time I finish my work and come to the stall, it is 10 in the morning. Till then, my husband is in charge.
Upon my arrival, he leaves to set up his corn-cart towards the end of the street. In the evening, he sends me home to look after the kids and their studies.
We together earn ₹15,000-₹20,000 per month. The earnings are majorly dependent on seasons. Sales are great during summer as compared to those during the winter or the monsoon. We get the entire stock from Maddur district in Karnataka and earn a margin of about ₹5 to ₹6 per coconut.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, there was no business at all. Even if we did want to sell, who was there to buy? Nor there was any supply!
We stayed at home throughout those months. We were receiving rice and pulses from the government and tried to sustain ourselves with limited means. A few of our customers also helped us with food.
It feels great when the business is running well. It is not a great feeling when business is low, since things get tough financially. I mean if a woman is out, on the footpath, selling tender coconuts, there are difficulties back at home. Right?
So, I am here for that, trying to support my family, and it gives me immense satisfaction.
Customers who come during the day are very friendly and patient. Many come with their children and I love interacting with them. Although the nature of the work is arduous, I have not faced any problem with it.
In fact, one of my customers helped me take my business online. You can leave a review of our service on Google! They printed posters talking about the health benefits of tender coconuts, registered us online to ease the transaction process and made us understand how to operate the app on phone.
Also Read: My Story: 'Never Imagined, In A New City, I Would Share A Bond With Chai Wala For Life'
If you too have a story to tell the world, send us your story at mystory@thelogicalindian.com
Must Reads
We are an independent and public-spirited digital media platform for Indian millennials. We report news and issues that matter as well as give you the opportunity to take action.
