Face in the crowd

PUNE, June 21: These days my bicycle is giving me a lot of trouble; I have to often move around on foot,'' says 69-year-old Malati Vishwanat...

PUNE, June 21: These days my bicycle is giving me a lot of trouble; I have to often move around on foot,8221; says 69-year-old Malati Vishwanath Gulawani. Really inconvenient, you admit. More so, you8217;d say, if you knew that she needs the cycle not just to ferry herself but also to cart the newspapers she has to drop in at 40-odd households in the Deep Bungalow Chowk area!

Yes, Malati is a newspaper vendor, most likely the first woman vendor in the city, considering that she first wheeled out her cycle to distribute papers almost 30 years ago. 8220;I had just two customers 8211; Shashikala tai and Vaijanti Ghate. You could say this was a personal delivery service for them. But they were the ones who helped me out when I was in dire straits,8221; says Malati.

What prompted her to take up distributing newspapers when she was almost 40 years old? She says with a philosophical shrug, 8220;I guess that8217;s what they call fate. I came to Pune from Kolhapur in 1956. I did not have my husband8217;s support and had to bring up my daughter. So I began by working as a cook in a North Indian household. The family was like my own.

8220;For some reasons, a couple of years later, I had to quit the job. Wondering how to sustain myself, I even opened my own paan patti, but had to give up the space from where I was functioning. Then I began to consider the job of a newspaper vendor. It was as good an option as anything else.8221;

Things did not work out till the two ladies offered assistance. They suggested that Malati begin on her own, instead of trying to seek employment with some other vendor. 8220;I started by distributing one copy of Sakal and one of Tarun Bharat. These were the papers they subscribed to. I would leave home at 3.30 am to pick up the Sakal copy from the newspaper8217;s office, and for Tarun Bharat, go to Appa Balwant Chowk, where they had a distribution centre,8221; she recalls.

And once she got going, there was no looking back! From those sole customers, there were 10 more on her list the next month, and her operations spread around the Shivajinagar area. 8220;There was quite a bit of opposition initially. The vendors in that area felt insecure, with a woman entering their area of work. On learning of my financial difficulties, some even offered to chip in, just so that I would not continue my work. But help from others is only temporary. I needed to stand on my own feet, and I continued. There were hassles 8211; sometimes the newspapers would be flicked from my cycle, sometimes the cycle tyres were punctured,8221; she remembers with a laugh.

Today, Malati has around 200 customers in Shivajinagar, Wakdewadi, Deep Bungalow Chowk and Gokhale Nagar. Leaving home at 4 am, she collects her copies from a distribution cell in Deccan. With old age setting in, she has limited her own work to just about 40 homes. The other deliveries are taken care of by her three assistants.

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8220;Initially, it was strange. People would stare at me. But my clients have never doubted my sincerity or given me any trouble. Now, with my advancing years, they are all the more considerate. I, too, have taken care to ensure that I do not give them cause for complaint. I am a strong woman, and I have endured quite a bit till now, and will continue till whenever possible,8221; she says as she trudges back home after a morning8217;s hard work.