What if you are spared the morning agony of rushing to the market? What if you can get the best pick of vegetables and fruits on your doorstep and that too at a reasonable price? Vendors on wheels are always at your service.
A vendor selling vegetables and fruits in a car is not an uncommon sight in the city. They visit localities where there are no markets nearby. Though there is little difference in price from the market, these vendors do brisk business because they sell farm fresh vegetables and the produce is organic. Most of these vendors, who come from the outskirts of the city, prefer to do business from their cars because they do not have to huddle for space in markets or face the steep competition.
For 22-year-old Badahun L Nongbrih, it is the most convenient way. Nongbrih sells vegetables at Pdengshnong in Madanrting. She brings fresh vegetables from Laitkor.
“I buy these everyday and most of the days they are all sold out. Sometimes I break even but often there is profit,” says the young vendor who drives everyday from Laitkor and reaches her destination in the afternoon. She spends around Rs 1,000-2,000 on vegetables as she does not have her own farm.
Nongbrih, who was initially sceptical to give details about her business, opens up after coaxing. The shy young woman says she does not intend to go to college because she has a family to support. Also, the business gives her independence and she does not mind managing it alone.
“I collect the vegetables in the morning and then drive to Madanrting. Being a girl, I have to be on my guard but so far there is no problem.”
The grey Maruti van has potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkins and beans, among other vegetables.
Kong Jyrwa, who was adamant not to give her name, is another gritty lady who runs her business alone. She drives her own car from Upper Shillong to Bishnupur to sell fruits and sometimes vegetables.
“I sell all seasonal fruits which I get from Nongpoh. No the price is not less than the market but you will find good produce here,” says the middle-aged vendor as she reluctantly points at the fruits stacked at the back of her Maruti van.
Jyrwa, who started her business in 2000, leaves home everyday around 2.30 in the morning and goes to Nongpoh to collect fruits. Then she drives to the city. Though Bishnupur is her preferred place she also drives around other localities. This way, says the vendor, most of her produce are sold.
Without any help it becomes a strenuous task for her to look after the whole affair but “I have children to look after”, Jyrwa says as she looks up for the first time to check whether she is missing on customers while talking to a stranger. Her discomfort to reveal too much to an unknown person shows in her body language and is an indication to leave.
Not far from Jyrwa’s car is J Kharnaior’s business at Oxford point. Kharnaior too sells vegetables and fruits which she gets from Byrnihat once a week. “The rest of the days I get the stuff from Bara Bazar,” she says from inside her car. Her son-in-law, who works nearby, drives the car.
Unlike Jyrwa, Kharnaior prefers a fixed place and have some regular customers.
FrankyMalniang, another vendor on wheels in Madanrting, explains why he prefers to come to the same spot everyday. “Though we need not have to take permission from authorities concerned to run our business but Dorbar Shnongs in many localities do not allow us to park our car and sell vegetables. But here there is no problem. I have been selling vegetables here for the last two years,” says Malniang who stays in Mawlai.
The 25-year-old vendor buys vegetables from Nongpoh. “We come in the afternoon and stay till six. Sometimes I sell everything but on days when business is not good, I take back the vegetables,” he says.
But most of these vendors do not have a fixed place and often change localities. Patrick Jyrwa of Laitumkhrah says he would love to have a vendor on wheels in his locality as this saves time and hassle of going all the way to the market. “Most of these vendors sell organic fruits and vegetables and they are fresh. So why do you need to go to the market,” says Patrick but at the same time rues that he hardly sees any vendor in the locality.
Lhakpa Lama, who stays in Polo, is a regular buyer from vendor on wheels. She says though there is no difference in price, she prefers the vendor as the stuff is fresh.
Bah Brick, another vendor who is a regular in Rilbong, brings vegetables from his farm in Mylliem. He runs the business with his brother and does not like to entertain strangers during rush hour. As his Maruti van stops in the locality, eager customers surround him enquiring about prices and directing him how much to weigh for them.
As Brick caters to the customers, whose number keeps increasing, he says both he and his brother work in the field and so cannot come regularly. They have a variety of produce which is a delight for buyers. From radish, cauliflowers, beans, carrots to ginger, everything looks luring.
Andriat Sing Kharkongar is another vendor who shuttles between Rilbong and Bishnupur. Carrots, tomatoes, peas, ladies finger, cauliflowers and beans are stacked in his red Maruti car that Kharkongar drives. He brings the vegetables from Upper Shillong and most of them are sold in a day. A buyer waiting eagerly near the vendor’s car parked in Rilbong, says vegetables sold by both Kharkongar and Brick are of good quality.
Aphinda Sohphoh of Umbir and her husband say they are happy doing their fruit business at Dhankheti. “Earlier we would park our car at Polo but the competition is too high there because of the presence of a stable market. So we decided to come to Dhankheti as there was no one,” says Sohphoh who brings her fruits from Nongpoh.
The couple reaches Dhankheti by 9.30am and stays till 10pm. “We wait for all the fruits to get sold and then we go back. Otherwise it will be difficult to profit,” says the vendor who sells bananas, oranges, papaya and star fruits, among other seasonal varieties. They spend Rs 9,000-12,000 everyday on buying the fruits. Sohphoh says she also gets vegetables if a regular customer orders. Even after spending on food and fuel, the duo manages to make profit but there are bad days too, says the middle-aged woman.
Despite the competition at Polo, many vendors like Phrang Donbok Sohtun and P Mawlong prefer the buzzing locality because “cars passing by often stop to buy fruits and vegetables”. Sohtun, who lives in Pynthor and gets his vegetables from Smit, says he does not make profit everyday but “this place is a comfort zone and business is not that bad either”.
For many Shillongites, vendors on wheels are godsend as they also deliver on the doorstep if the household is among regulars. “My job schedule is hectic and I have no time to go around the market hunting for vegetables and fruits. There are some vendors who come in my locality and they know me. They do not come regularly so I stock up for a couple of days. With the time constraint in today’s world, I think more such vendors should go around the city,” says R Mawlong of Lumparing.
~ Jasmine Laldinpuii and
Nabamita Mitra