Vendor Vignettes: Stories from the streets

Do you also love street foods?

WHO ARE THEY?

A street vendor is someone who you can see no matter if its a urban city or a rural region. Yes, they make our life easier by selling necessities in and around our locality, sometimes carrying the item on their head, sometimes on a bicycle, sometimes outside of a temple, sometimes in any place where they can get a space to keep their stuff. 

Broadly defined, a street vendor is a person who offers goods or services to the public without having a permanent built up structure and without a license. Mostly, such vendors start vendor work due to poverty and lack of education because of which they carry remote work to save themselves from starvation. However, is it an easy work? Can you go to a nicely air conditioned grocery store and bargain for the vegetables and fruits? No, instead we purchase them even at a very higher price than that fixed in the market, whereas, we people would never leave a chance to bargain the prices from such local vendors who sell their commodities at extreme heat. Street vendors have poor social protection and their working conditions on the street expose them to a variety of safety and health issues. The street vendors complained of stress related diseases such as migraine, high blood pressure, hyper acidity, hyper tension and so on.

Vendors are often regarded as public nuisance. They are accused of depriving pedestrians of their space, causing traffic jams and having links with anti-social activities. The lack of recognition of the role of the street vendors culminates in a multitude of problems faced by them: obtaining license, insecurity of earnings, insecurity of place of hawking, gratifying officers, fines and harassment by traffic policemen. 

CATEGORIES OF STREET VENDORS

Street vendors can offer a wide range of products and services depending on the local demand and regulations. A few examples -

(A) THE FOOD VENDOR

Are you already tempted? Food vendor play a crucial role in providing convenient and affordable meals to people on the go, tourists, and locals alike. They can operate from stationary stalls, carts, trucks, or even portable setups. Ever thought why is their a difference in taste with street food and hotels? It could be possibly because they do not own a refrigerator to freeze their food, they have to buy fresh raw materials every day, also they do not include any fancy and expensive raw materials to their food. The simpler the food, the more tasty they are. Often, food vendors are looked down for being unhygienic and unclean since they visibly prepare their food. But you never know what happens inside a 5-star hotel kitchen, Do they invite their customers inside their kitchen to check how hygienic their process of preparing food is? At least the vendors does not add preservatives and harmful chemicals in their eatable.  

They next time you go out enjoy the golgappas, pav bhaji, vada pav, dosa, lassi, faluda, kulfi, kachori, samosa and much more Indian street food.

(B) CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES VENDORS

Clothing and accessories vendor often offer a mix of trendy, vintage, and handmade items to appeal to a wide range of customers. They play a crucial role in providing affordable and accessible fashion options to shoppers, especially those looking for unique and one-of-a-kind pieces. These vendors typically sell items such as shoes, bags and purses, jewelry, accessories such as hats, scarves, belts, etc and clothing.

Instead of purchasing basic amenities from firms and enterprises, one must always go for hardworking artisans and labor intensive products to uplift their standard of living.

      (C) ARTS AND CRAFTS VENDORS

Art and craft vendors supports the local arts and crafts community, providing a platform for artists and artisans to showcase and sell their work directly to customers. They also contribute to the cultural richness of a community by offering unique and culturally significant artworks and crafts. They take pride in producing high quality, handmade items that reflect their creativity, skill, and passion for their craft. Such vendors sell their artisanal goods in public spaces such as streets, markets, festivals, and fairs. 

For your next festival occasion, purchase your needs from vendors and DO NOT BARGAIN.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

We can find many such more vendors everywhere around us, in parks, beach, trains, tourist places, outside a shop, near our home, in roads,in the gap of traffic signals and many areas. The least we can do for them is purchase at least one item from them, be kind, their is absolutely no need to chase them away. We can find children working as a vendor, don't shush them away. We can gently say that we do not want to purchase it but being empathetic and humble is what makes us human.