(Article by *Divansha Mehta)
Coconuts are the best fruits, seeds or you can even call it as a nut, which is very beneficial for your health. It makes your skin glow, improve brain function, improve dental health, increase metabolism and there are many more advantages of coconut.
Coconut seed provides oil for frying, cooking, and making margarine. The white, fleshy part of the seed, the coconut meat, is used fresh or dried in cooking, especially in confections and desserts such as macaroons. Desiccated coconut or coconut milk made from it is frequently added to curries and other savory dishes.
Have you ever thought of those people who sell these coconuts in bright day light or in cold winters, on the roadside or roam around on the streets, calling out customers?
So today, I will tell you a story of a coconut seller.
Mohammad Azzam belongs from a poor family who was born in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh but moved to Delhi 9 years ago in search of work. Mohammad got married at a very young age and currently has 3 children. When asked about his family he said that they live in Bareilly and he lives in Dashrathpuri, New Delhi, alone but once in a month, he does visit his family. Azzam sells coconuts in Mahavir Enclave, Dashrapthpuri and Vijay Enclave, areas of south-west district. It has been 2 years he is doing this work.
Mohammad gets up at 4 a.m., washes his hawker, gets himself ready, makes and eats his breakfast and around 8 a.m. he starts selling the coconuts till 2 p.m. He further added that he brings coconuts from Azadpur Mandi Market, but visits there once or twice in a week.
“I sell 40 to 50 coconuts every day and the cost of one coconut is Rs. 30”, he said. “I chose to sell coconut because they do not get rotten easily but fruits get rot the very next day if not sold, he added.
In the interview with Dwarka Parichay when asked why he moved to Delhi and not sold the coconuts in UP, he said, “In UP, vendors do not earn much as compared to Delhi. The thing which is sold in Rs. 10 in UP is sold at the rate of Rs. 20 or 30 in Delhi and in fact, people buy them. When I used to sell coconuts in UP, I was able to sell only 10 to 15 coconuts and that too very cheap.” Later he added that Delhi being the capital of India, it is developed and people here are more health conscious but UP is not much developed so they do not get any profit there.
He also shared about his rough days in life and told that every day is challenging for him and there are days when he buys coconut very costly but sometimes they get rot from inside and customers even take their money back.
Like Azzam, there are many coconut sellers in Delhi and even all over India who face daily challenges and work hard to earn money to fulfill their basic needs.
(*Divansha Mehta is Student of BJMC-TIPS, I.P. University,Dwarka, Delhi & intern with Dwarka Parichay (June-July,2019)
