VEGETABLE VENDORS

Paanch rupaye me teen le lo seth…

Tazaa tamaate laal tamaate…

Bhendi tazaa hai kya? Ye dekho saab abhich khet se utha ke laaya potha..

Poora phreshh adaa ree, togoree maalakre..

I was walking through the crowded vegetable market of my town amazed by the typical tone of these canvassing of their vegetables and the price negotiations which felt like music to my ears. Suddenly a known voice from the other direction interrupted my thought process – Arey chhote maalik! Kaise ho aap? Kab aaye banglaur se? The voice was one of the hundreds of vegetable vendors over there and he was one of many vendors from whom we regularly buy vegetables. And by regularly I mean for the last 20-25 years. These vendors have become a part of our lives. We have met and talked to them more than some of our close relatives. I was elated standing there among them when I was home during the year end vacations.

It was a welcome change from the air conditioned, neatly stacked, one stop ‘fresh’ grocery stores in the city of Bangalore. I had missed the crowded and never silent market of my hometown where every vendor would greet you heartily and return back a precious smile. Here a relation is built on the grounds of friendliness and affection which both the parties – the vendor and the consumer – would carry till the end of their lives. Relationships, here, are not based on the hypocritical expectation of favors/returns. A smile is what one needs to invest. The relationship once built would then make their way to next generation as well. Way back when I was a child, one of the vendors used to take just Rs.10 for whatever we bought and every time we used to buy vegetables worth more than that. Then my dad would forcefully place extra money in his hands. He would give me and my sister some vegetable to keep munching. He would also put in couple of vegetables more into our basket. The vendor never asked any favor in return for his affection. Today I don’t see him in the market. His son takes care of his stall as he is not keeping well. The same values are instilled in his son as well. His son is of my age and we have been friends since our childhood. It was this friendship which made him to wave me the other day and call me to his stall. He expected to share few words and was never to make me buy at his stall. All these years of association with some of the vendors have made us know each other’s family to an extent. When they spot me alone, they’d ask maaji nahi aaye? Seth kahaan hai? Seth ko bolo kabhi dukaan chodke idhar bhi aaya kare…

A striking difference that I observed is in the way people behave in these outlets. In the ‘fresh’ and air conditioned grocery store that I visit in B’lore I came across a kid running happily from one stack to another. She was excited to find various vegetables in so many colors. She put her hand into a stack to get the feel of the color when her parents yell – Take your hand out Honey! Don’t touch them… Keep quite… Go and hold the hand of your mummy! The other day I had been to the market in my town with my family accompanied by our tenant’s family. They have a sweet li’l daughter aged about 7. As soon as she enters market, she runs straight to a vendor, smiles at him; the vendor gives her a carrot which she relishes till they finish buying and come out. She has the complete freedom even in that crowd.

During the training sessions in my company, we were taught FISH philosophy. We had seen what Pike place fish market looks like. It was when I went to the market in my hometown that I realized our market resemble Pike place fish market. The energy surrounding them, their attitude towards their customers, the way they make our day are all proof enough to say they are unknowingly following the fish philosophy. Had I realized back then that their actions could be stated as a work philosophy, I would have been the child prodigy on #1 best sellers list(of course with the help of one who knows how to convert thoughts into words)!! I had all the resources and experience back then but not the realizationJ

I sometimes wonder what keeps motivating these vendors all these years. They get meager margins on what they sell. They usually have to fight their way out with government authorities. They have to keep on working hard 24x7, 365 days a year. There is nothing called weekends to them. In fact they have to toil harder on Sundays. They hardly hang out with their social circle. In fact there exists no social circle. They see no dramatic growth/changes in their environment around/wealth/position/status. They don’t know what Orkut/Facebook is. They cannot tweet their helelessness. They don’t know what a pizza looks like. They are content with roti cooked in their homes almost everyday of the year. A film CD, a Television and in front of that hordes of them under a tin shed is what they call their multiplex. I have seen them wearing same shirt for about 5 years but they don’t complain! They manage to put up the genuine smile on their face and especially the large-heartedness (which is woefully missing in those who drive their BMWs, eat nothing raw, check out calories before consuming anything and have almost forgot what sunshine is).

Every time you go back they welcome you with a smile and kind words. They ask about your work. They tell you that you have shrunk since the last time you visited them (thus reminding you how important mothers home-made is). You never negotiate the total amount of purchase. They just tell the total amount and in some cases you stand there surprised thinking this guy will never change and then you forcefully hand him couple of notes more. He never complains about the problems he faces. He never tells you how cash strapped he is. He just gives you what is called more-than-desired-service and which is mutually satisfying. He blends all his social elements in his business as he has no explicit social circle. You know you are getting more value than desired when you deal with him. At the end of the day, more than money, satisfaction is what matters him the most.

Don’t we have something to learn from him?