The Elephant Man
On our way to Vidyaranyapura it struck us that we can visit the temple elephant & her Mahut. This is the elephant which is provided for by the Durga Parmeshwari temple trust. As we approached the shed we were greeted by three men, one of whom, Keshwan, was the Mahut. He introduced us to his elephant Sri Durga.
Keshwan was a middle aged man. He walks Sri Durga to the temple 3 mornings of a week. He is in the business of raising elephants for 7 years. This man originally from Tamil Nadu claims 3 generations of his family have been in this trade. He wouldn’t reveal his exact income to us but said he earned about 5000 rupees per month & also bonuses during temple festivals.
Sri Durga is 9 years old & very young in elephant terms. Keshwan claims a well looked after elephant can live up to 120 years. She consumes 200kgs of food every day & 80 litres of water. I observed the elephant to be fit & happy. The temple is also helped in caring for the elephant by one Mrs.Ganguly from CUPA.
The Fruit King
Later in the day we walked into the chikoo plantation hoping to find a person employed to maintain the fields & how they earn their living. When we walked up to a make-shift shop in the plantation to find such a person we ran into one, Mr. Vinay. He wasn’t a person we were looking for, he was much better, for Mr. Vinay happened to be the owner of the plantation.
Though the land belongs to the government it is leased out to individuals for plantation. Mr.Vinay has owned the plantation for about 6 years. He owns about 500acres of land in GKVK. His business is mainly of exporting fruits. Different fruits are exported depending on the season. The fruits grown include Chikoo, Mango (Malika, Arampali), Guava & Papaya. The fruit trees are mostly of a wild variety & thus require no watering. All plants grown are done so through organic means. No chemical fertilizers are required due to the fertility of the soil.
Before taking up this business Mr.Vinay , who has a degree, was into the chemical & networking business. He refused to reveal his profit to us but mentioned he was happy with the way things were going. He told us how a change in business is always a risk but one which payed off in his case. Before bidding him farewell be bought a kilogram of Malika Mangoes from his shop for Rs.30. Trust me they were fantastic.
The Pool Player
The next destination on our list was a swimming pool where the waste water is released into agricultural land. It is innovative, it is a business, but as we discovered it isn’t exactly a livelihood. The pool belongs to P.K Rajgopal who is the BJP MLA of the area. We met the pool manager Mr Ravi on our arrival. He enlightened us about the history of the pool. The pool was started 5 years ago. It was then meant for personal use but later converted to a public pool. The pool has a maximum depth of 6ft & can accommodate maximum 50 people at a time. It is open only on weekdays from 7am to 4pm. It is closed during the rains. A dip will cost you Rs.25 an hour. Summer is when the business is at its peak.
The waste water from the pool is drained into the adjacent plot. Here we observed maize was being grown. Seasonally raggi is also grown. These crops are used for fodder for livestock. It thus supplements the income of the workers.
The Chat Master
This I assume was our most successful meeting of the day. Every evening at about 4, near the public ground at Vidyaranyapura you will find the man fondly known as Motawala due to his girth. The man I’m talking about, real name Mr Sanath Kumar & his assistant are some of the most innovative chat makers I’ve come across. Mr Sanath’s claim to fame is his invention of 480 varieties of new chat dishes. When I asked him to tell me his favourite he refused to, saying that each one was like his child so how could he show favouritism.
He has been in the business of chat making for thirteen years. He started out as a wholesaler of bhel & other ‘mixture’. Due to mismanagement he had to abandon it & find a new avenue. He did so by making & selling chat on a handcart. As business progressed he added a couple of carts to his fleet. He soon sold the carts & got a Fiat Premier for business. Today he does business from a Piagio truck.
His day starts with the preparations of food items. When the items are ready he sets off in his truck. Vidyaranyapura is his favoured location as he enjoys a loyal fan following. He also caters for parties & prepares parcels. He wouldn’t reveal his exact income but said it was around Rs.20000 a month.
Astro Boy : The Fortune Teller
The astrologer we met was a fascinating character. Who wouldn’t be attracted to a man in a bright orange lungi & a parrot with a bunch of tarot cards. We didn’t actually speak to this man but observed him closely for an hour or so. He sits outside the Durga Parmeshwari temple from 10am to 6pm on Tuesdays, Fridays & Sundays.
A session cost Rs.10. The customer is told to ask a question of his choice, then as an answer the parrot in the cage picks a card & the astrologer defines it. For an additional Rs.10 he also reads palms. From our estimation he earns about Rs.200 a day. I couldn’t see much logic in his answers but they were creative none the less. His deck comprised of 12cards each symbolizing a different fate based on the question asked.
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