Occupation: Selling lottery tickets
“Selling lotteries have been my livelihood for the past 18 years. I was a weaver before that and worked at a centre in Kannur.
Then about 20 years ago, I suffered a cardiac ailment and was told to keep away from weaving. I turned to lottery tickets. I started by selling near the Second Gate and slowly moved to this spot between the two bus stops near S. M. Street. This has been my work place for the past 12 years and I am here from 5.30 a.m. to 3.55 p.m. I cycle from home at 4.45 a.m., arrange my wares on the bicycle and begin the day’s work. I have a cup of tea and snacks at 8 and lunch at noon, the rest of the time, I am here.
I have followed a principle ever since I started this job. Unlike others who use speakers or call out for possible customers, alluring them to the luck that possibly awaits them, I stand quiet. I know lotteries can be an addiction, like playing cards. I have seen many ruining their families by buying lottery tickets for huge amounts. So, I stand here quiet and give tickets to those who come to me.
Over the years, I have seen people buying lotteries for Rs. 50 to Rs. 3,000 a day. There are those who are obsessed with lottery tickets, those who are regulars and then the rest who buy a ticket once in a while. I think the idea of big money without hard work appeals to us. But instances when people hit jackpot are few and far between. The customer who won the biggest prize from a ticket I sold took home Rs. 25 lakh and 25 sovereigns. He is a regular here and an ordinary hotel worker. Since he won once, he has doubled the money he spends on lotteries.
There have been instances when I have warned people against too many tickets and they have got angry with me. I distinctly remember an instance when a man came here with the money his mother-in-law had given to buy rice. It was the hard-earned money her son had sent in from the Middle East and here was her son-in-law who had spent almost all of it on buying tickets from different vendors. Finally, when he was left with a balance of less than Rs. 100, he decided tp buy rice with it. I did ask him ‘How can you go home after blowing up the sweat and blood of a boy in the Middle East on tickets?’
I get my lottery tickets from a wholesaler. I get tickets for Rs. 23,410 every week and after the week’s sale deposit the money to the wholesaler. On a Rs. 30 ticket, I get a commission of Rs. 7 and on a Rs. 50 ticket, I earn Rs. 14. Mostly, I am able to sell the tickets I take.
I sell tickets from the Kerala government. On Mondays, it is Win-Win, on Tuesdays it is Dhanashree, on Wednesdays Akshaya, Thursdays and Saturdays Karunya and Bhagyanidhi on Fridays. If a ticket I sell, wins a prize, I get 10 per cent commission on it. I am 69 now and stay near Palazhi with my wife. My daughters are married and I will keep working as long as I can as this is my livelihood.”
( A column on men and women who make Kozhikode what it is.)
