The rotating wheels of Guwahati that spin money for many and add to the rhythm of life in the city

They are everywhere- in the crowded streets of marketplaces or by lanes in Guwahti, selling wide range of products, from street foods to daily essentials of the city residents. However, stories of their life and struggle have a connecting point– their life moves on with the rhythm of rotating wheels.

Years ago, Rakesh Chouhan came to Guwahati from his native state Bihar to eke out a livelihood opportunity. He initially began his livelihood as a daily wage earner before starting his own small business of selling sugarcane juice on his handcart. The business though small, earned him more money in comparison to his daily wage-earning job. He used to move in the busy streets of the city, pushing his cart to meet thrust of city residents sweating under the Sun.

The rotating wheels of his cart and the machine could spin enough money for Rakesh, particularly during hot summer days. But then life posed him another challenge forcing him to give up the business following acute pain due to constant rolling of the wheel of the machine fitted on his handcart to extract sugarcane juice. This time too, the wheels of his hand cart did not betray him to start another life on wheels of sweet corn business. The new business, however, has limited his earning between Rs.400/-500/ a day. But then it has also reduced his physical labour.

Baharul Islam, a resident of Baihata Chariali, a small town, about 35 km off Guwahati, studied up to higher secondary level. Due to demise of his father Islam had to make his own living and began his own business on wheels to sell betel-nut, chips, chocolate etc. Baharul is now a father of two children. However, the earnings remained almost standstill and his small business on the wheels to make the both ends meet continues along the streets of this gateway to India’s Northeast.

Rakesh and Bararul represent thousands of such vendors, whose life and living are controlled by wheels. For some of them, the families stay with them, while for others the family lives in different parts of the state, or in their respective states. They rely on their handcarts, cycle, motorcycles, three-wheelers to survive.

The newspaper hawker, for example wakes up before dawn to collect the newspaper to distribute at the doorsteps of the readers on bicycle or a scooter, the fish-sellers head towards the riverbank whole-sale market on their bicycles to buy fresh-water fishes, Vegetable vendors carry the fresh vegetables on bicycle or pushcart to sell them and vendors selling mouthwatering street food also use a pushcart or a pull cart.

Each of them has their own world that we normally do not have time to notice. The rhythm of life in Guwahati will be incomplete without presence of these vendors and hawkers who struggle to earn between Rs.250 to Rs/1000 a day.

Hussain, a resident of Amingaon, located on north bank the river Brahmaputra that flows along the northern boundary of Guwahati, sells tender coconut in the city. He purchases tender coconut coming from outside the state at wholesale prices and again sell to different part of the city to quench thrust of customers and earns Rs.300/-Rs.400/ a day. However, the earning varies in different seasons and goes up during summer. He has been continuing a long journey of selling tender coconuts on his bicycle.

The story of Harish, a resident of Bihar, who runs a stationary shop on wheels, has twists like others running different business on wheels in the city. As a young boy, his only desire was to join the army to serve the nation. However, acute poverty had made him make compromise with his dream, and search for a livelihood in Guwahati city. His dream of serving the army remained as a distant dream not to be fulfilled but the wheels have fast forwarded his life.

A large section of the city residents cannot think of starting their day if the vendors on their bicycles, motorcycles or here-wheeler carriage van do not deliver them fresh milk or fresh baked breads or other baked items every morning.

Dilip, a resident of Paltan Bazar, Guwahati is a milkman by profession. He manages to earn Rs.10,000/ a month. His son is pursuing graduation in Commerce and daughter is studying in class X. His wife too works in a private farm as the couple struggles to support education of their children besides meeting other needs.

Expansion of the city both vertically and horizontally has accelerated the pace of life of the residents. To keep pace with the growing city some of them have upgraded the mode of transport from bicycles to motorcycles, scooters or three-wheeler carriage vans. Such faster mode of transport helps them expand their business by reaching out more houses and customers in less time. But then they also need to pay the monthly instalments of loans they have taken from banks or other financial institution.

Irrespective the mode of transport, the wheels of their vehicles must keep rotating to spin money for them to live and nurture new dreams. The rotating wheels have added new motion to the busy city creating new rhythm of life and wheel for its residents.

Bedabrat Sarmah, Tribhuban Kaur Virdi and Sanjkuta Sarma

Bedabrat Sarmah, Tribhuban Kaur Virdi and Sanjkuta Sarma are students of M.A. (4th Semester) at the Centre of Studies in Journalism and Mass Communication, Dibrugarh University. They have produced this multimedia story as part of their Winter Internship at NEZINE.