Occupation: Sells dhotis and cotton towels
I come from a family of weavers and am a weaver myself. My father, Balakrishnan, ran a weaver’s society in Balaramapuram, which was successful back then. However, as my father took to the bottle, we lost our hold in that society; others are running the society now.
I learnt to weave by practising on my father’s loom. As I wasn’t a good student, I dropped out after class four. In 1975, I started supplying products from our looms to textile shops in and around East Fort. I stopped delivering goods to the stores seven years ago when I failed to receive a reasonable profit for my efforts. I then began selling towels in rainbow colours and dhotis, which I buy from wholesale stores. I sell them on the pathway leading to the Sri Padmanabha Theatre. On Sundays, I occasionally set up shop at Chalai.
During Vishu, Onam and Kerala Piravi, I stock up on Kerala saris. With Onam just around the corner I will be selling Kerala saris the whole of this week and next. Onam is a time when people loosen their purse strings. Although most prefer shopping in textile stores, there are some who buy from street vendors as they find it much more economical. They also find that the quality of our products is not too different from those available at the stores.
My day begins at 5 a.m. when I drop my son off at the railway station; he is employed there. After that I head to my ‘work spot’ and start vending my ware. As there is stiff competition, business is usually dull. Like today for instance, I set up shop by 7 a.m. and now, it’s 11 a.m. All I have sold so far are two towels, which came up to Rs. 30. I got a profit of Rs. 5 for each towel.
My day at work concludes when I leave home for lunch. My wife, Jaleja Kumari, is a good cook, so I prefer dining at home. After lunch, I spend my time lazing in front of the television. Although I have relatives living nearby, I rarely drop in on them for a visit. I occasionally drop by my elder daughter’s house to play with my grandchildren though. I am 56 years old and my health is not too great. As all my three children are more or less settled in life, I can afford to take it a bit easy.
Although I do regret not being able to continue the trade of my forefathers, I guess it’s inevitable. The handloom industry in Balaramapuram is gradually loosing its sheen with more and more youngsters breaking out from the family tradition; at the end of the day, you need money for food on the table.
(A weekly column on men and women who make Thiruvananthapuram what it is)
