Unsung Frontline Warriors

With the outbreak of Coronavirus, life of people and economies have come to a screeching halt. If there is anything that doesn't seem to have taken any break during this pandemic is the street vendors cart filled with vegetables and fruits beaming at the top of their voice,

Tarkaariiii, Hoovooo, Balehannooo, tomatoooo, thenginkaaaay....

A bunch of frontline warriors including doctors, nurses, police, media and many others are hustling every single day to save lives. Amidst all these warriors who are recognized, we also have a group of heroes who are seldom acknowledged! Be it early morning, mid afternoon or late evening. Be it a weekday or a weekend. Be it a sunny day, a gloomy day or a heavy pouring rainy day. Be it strolling by the posh societies or filthy slums. These heroes fearlessly make their way every single day through the lanes of country.

Olden days our ancestors would wake up every morning by the sound of roosters crowing Kokoro-ko. Today I wake up daily to the sound of a lady selling flowers early morning, screeching Hoovoooo...!! This marks the beginning and many more will follow throughout the day. At around 9 AM a guy comes with his cart full of plastic tubs, boxes, toys and what not. With a very soft and sophisticated voice he keeps uttering plastic, plastic, plastic. Nothing more nothing less. No sound modulation. Same thing, same tone every single day. Once he is done following him comes an english man uttering the name of all the vegetables in english. Tomato, Potato, ginger, capsicum, sweet corn, baby corn and so on.. Later during mid afternoons an old man arrives with his vegetable cart. For four months I thought he was selling Bhelpuri every afternoon! Until lately when I saw him selling veggies! Turns out his accent of telling Tarkariiiiiii sounded like Bhelpuri to me all these months! At around 4pm a lady comes with her cart filled with fruits screeching at the top of her voice, Bale hannoooi, Apple hannoooi, Pineapple Hannoooi... Her voice, so sharp that she is audible even if she is 4 lanes away! Including these daily comers there are also a few others who come occasionally selling veggies, coconuts, fruits and flowers. Some of them even make use of technologies like microphones, recorded voices and digital payments options.

Sadly the after effects of lockdown and the pandemic have made millions to loose their jobs. Every now and then we come across reports stating a teacher, restauranteur, auto driver, daily wager and even school kids turning into vegetable vendors! #COVID-19 has not just impacted the health of people but, it is also forcing them to change their professions to feed their families.

So tomorrow, if you come across a street vendor. Greet them with a smile on your face. Your smile can make their day. After all, every individual is fighting his own war within.