The Crying Game

Born and brought up in Chennai, Goribi came to Pune some five decades ago when economic compulsions drove her family and her out of their hometown. Since then, she has been selling onions and potatoes at the market. “I remember onions being sold for 25 paise a kg when I began. In all these years, there have been times when prices soared and sales dropped but none as bad as this. Either the onions remain unsold or we are forced to dispose them off at a loss to prevent them from rotting on the carts”.

As if on cue, a customer marches up to her to show a bagful of onions purchased a day ago that have already rotted, and demands an exchange. With a helpless shrug, Goribi replaces them. “From selling 20 sacks of onions a day, we have now come down to one or two,” she adds.

Competition is rife at the congested little vegetable market, with three to four onion-sellers trying their best to incite the odd customer seeking onions. Prices range from Rs. 12 to 25 a kg, depending on the onions’ quality. “My son gets four to five days’ stock from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Market Yard. And while this saves us daily transport fare, the unsold stock rots easily. Sometimes, when the quality is really bad, we get just two days’ stock.”

Goribi’s day begins at 6 a.m. at her home near Guru Nanak Nagar. She finishes household work to reach the market by 9 a.m. and is there till almost 9 p.m. A short break in the afternoon suffices for her dabba.

However, much like the price of her wares, Goribi’s life story is also one that is likely to induce tears. With a physically handicapped husband and two sons who have never held stable jobs or contributed much to the household, the family burden has never been lifted from Goribi’s ageing shoulders. “I earn about Rs. 2,000 per month. Out of this, 150 go towards the stall rent and the rest to feed the family of 12. Three grandchildren are studying; their annual fees total Rs. 1,200. Another grandson failed last year, so I had him taken out of school. He now handles a vegetable cart in this market and shares my burden somewhat”.

The only bright spot in her life seems to be the yearly trips to Chennai, a product of great financial juggling. “The fare itself is Rs. 600. Then I have to take gifts for all my relatives. But perhaps this year, I should just carry some bags of onions for them. That should be a much-appreciated gift,” she chortles, making the other stall-owners lapse into guffaws of laughter as well.

And so life goes on for Goribi. A life much like her onions, whence you peel layer after layer to ultimately uncover nothing.