Take 5: ‘Does anyone sell pakodas out of choice?’

In an interview to Zee TV, PM Narendra Modi answered criticism over not creating enough jobs by saying a pakoda seller earning Rs 200 a day should also be considered employed. Kishore has been selling pakodas at Delhi’s Nehru Place for 32 years.

How much do you earn?

I sell roti-sabzi, poori, daal and bread pakodas. People from nearby offices and shops come here for breakfast and lunch five days a week, and I make around Rs 300-400 a day. I used to sell bread pakodas for Rs 8 a piece till a year ago, but now I charge Rs 10.

Is the money enough?

Occasionally, but very often I have to borrow from friends and neighbours. I spend Rs 200 a day alone travelling up and down from my house in Madanpur. Rs 2,000 goes every month towards purchasing ingredients and a gas cylinder. A large part of what I earn is spent on electricity and water bills at home.

What is the best time of the year for you?

The monsoon. Everybody loves to eat pakoda with chutney in the rains. But it is also in this season that the gutters overflow and the area is waterlogged. I’ve to shut the stall for three to four days at a time, as people stay away due to the dirty surroundings. As the MCD does not clean the area, I have to hire people for the task.

What are the other problems you face?

My stall has been razed by the municipal corporation several times. Police come once a year with eviction notice. However, ever since I became a member of the NGO Manushi in 2013, such instances have decreased. They have helped me get authorisation, and with other legal matters.

Do you see your work as employment?

Do sau rupaiye roz ke kamaana berozgaari naa ho par bekaari hai (Earning Rs 200 a day may not be unemployment, but it is destitution). Does anyone sell pakodas out of choice? Even if I do consider myself employed as I work hard, our earnings are not enough. My son (30) and daughter (28), who studied till Class 10, too had to join me in the stall after I got paralysed.