“Does it look cloudy? I hope it doesn’t rain much. I will have to close my stall early if it does. That is a problem we the roadside vendors face- the weather; we are dependent on it. Oops, sorry, where are my manners? Would you like to have a plate of special bhel mix with a dash of lime and freshly boiled chana in it? This has been my livelihood for the last 20 years.

I prepare the masala mix at home and stock the items fresh every day. I clean and slice vegetables such as tomato, cucumber, coriander and onion fresh and place them in a container.

Most of my customers like my masala bhel preparation as it is extremely tasty and a good alternative for a healthy snack. It’s rather filling too. A plate of masala bhel mix only costs 20 rupees. My customers are mostly those who go out shopping. They stop to have a quick evening bite to help beat their cravings. I also have quite a few regulars who know me by name too. They call me Trivedi chacha.

I am here daily from 2 p.m. till 9:30 p.m. As I live at Nampally, setting up the cart by the Tilak road here in Abids made sense.

I come from a family of six. My father was a farmer in our hometown Uttar Pradesh. I had studied until class 10 and moved to Delhi after marriage. I started making ends meet by selling goods near India Gate. Later, I moved here to Hyderabad in the year 1995 and took up employment in a company but as the income was less, I decided to start this stall on my own. Sales are good when the weather is pleasant and weekends are the best days for business.

I have three children. My eldest son has completed his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and is working. My daughter has also completed her graduation. She got married three years ago and lives with her family. My youngest son is pursuing his B. Com and is awaiting his results. I hope he gets good grades. I want to see him succeed in life. My focus right now is to keep putting food on the table for my family and I will continue as long as God gives me the strength to work.”