Cole and Tell

“When my grandfather began selling the books during the British Raj,they only cost one anna. Then my father got into the profession and now it’s me,” says Maruti Pawar,another seller who is in his late forties. Selling these books for 35 years now,Pawar remembers how there was a time when these books sold like hot cakes during the race weekends. “There was a special train that would come down every weekend to the city filled with people who wanted to bet at the races. After the two days of races,they would leave on Sunday evening itself,” he says. The books,which are printed in Mumbai,have been circulating since 1920. “However in the last five years,a new book called the Bol book too is now available. It contains the same information. The only difference is that Cole books have been around since the days of the British while this one is very new,” informs Sonu Pardeshi another seller.

Most of the sellers work on a commission basis. They earn two and a half rupees for every book sold. “We make around Rs 250-300 every day on the racing weekends. In a month,we earn anywhere between Rs 3500-4000. What we earn in these four months of racing helps us pull through the entire year. We do not have any other source of income,” says Pawar.

Interestingly these sellers even sell Cole books for the races in Hyderabad. “People can bet from the tote stands even for the races in the other cities. Even though there is the internet,most of the people who bet here are from average families and still rely on the books,so business is normal,” says Rahul Pawar,who has been selling these books for the last 15 years.

These sellers however do have an unfulfilled dream as Suresh Kamble,another seller,points out. “I have always wanted to bet at the race course but I have never had enough money to do so. Someday hopefully I will go in and place a bet and if the horse wins a lot of money,then I will become rich,” he says.