India may be known to the business world as the land of the Tatas, the Birlas, the Narayan Murthys and the IITs and IIMs, but the first thing that hits you when you land in India and you drive out of the airport to your hotel or home is the number of shops lining the streets - big department stores, tiny shops selling paan, biscuits, chocolates and juices, roadside stalls selling savories and snacks, makeshift stalls for clothes or just men and women squatting on the pavement selling anything from flowers to toys to books.
Dry fruits and fresh fruits on a slow Sunday afternoon
I wouldn't be surprised if the number of entrepreneurs per thousand in India is the largest in the world, though I sometimes wonder how any of these businesses make any money at all. Some of these are tiny businesses with just a table and a row of huge glass jars with some chocolates in them in the front room of a house (of course, that business may not be the enterprise sustaining the families).
Of all the different examples of small business enterprises I've seen, the one that fills me with the most satisfaction is the food stalls operated out of tempos or out of the backs of Maruti vans. Because the vehicles are mobile, they are able to operate out of a small strip of pavement. These vehicles arrive at the designated spot (usually near construction sites of which there are untold numbers in Bangalore right now) with huge vats of sambhar, rice, curries and raagi (millet) balls, throw open the doors and set out the dishes. They also bring with them plates, glasses and jugs of water. There's usually a woman behind the vats serving mostly construction laborers their breakfast, lunch or dinner.
It's thrilling to see this in operation. The food stall operators make brisk business and the laborers get home cooked meals, the kind they like, probably at even lower prices than the Darshinis, a chain of Indian fast food restaurants.
Article comments
1 - Eric Berlin
Really interesting and fascinating stuff for those of us in the west, Sujatha, thanks! I've had perhaps similar sensations at times walking the streets of New York City. True New Yorkers know that "real life" really exists in the boroughs and out of the limelight of Manhattan. I love taking my wife around Queens when we return to visit and the wonderful and strange and lively existence that hustles and bustles there everyday.
2 - sujatha
Thanks Eric and you're welcome! Is Jamaica in Queens? I forget. That's another area where there are many Indian and South Asian stores crammed in the streets with all the wares hanging out.