Occupation: Flute seller
I lost my father when I was 10 years old. I started earning from then on. Four years ago I took the train to Madurai, leaving behind my mother and younger brother at our village in Chhapra district in Bihar. A relative, who works here, brought me along with him. I pay Rs.100 per month to stay in a lodge on Town Hall Road with 30 other men from Bihar. I joined a small trader for work and ever since I have been selling cheap plastic toys and bamboo-made flutes to attract children. My work starts at 9 a.m. I carry the stand laden with toys and walk about 10 kilometres daily around the town area, calling out to people. I sell the big flutes for Rs.50 and the smaller ones for Rs.20. Everyday, I make business for Rs.400 or 500, which I give entirely to my malik (owner). He pays me a monthly salary of Rs.4,000, of which I send home Rs.3,000. I am 15 now and have never been to school. But I am happy that back home, my younger brother is getting education. In these four years, I have not gone back home even once. I am saving to visit my mother next year. I have managed to pick up little Tamil. Selling toys to children makes me experience the joy of a childhood that I never had. Seeing that I am just a young lad, some people are kind enough to give me few extra rupees. But some others bargain a lot. However, I sell for whatever minimum profit that can fetch me two meals a day.
(A fortnightly column on men and women who make Madurai what it is)
