Selling cigarettes in a market of men

By all standards, 30-year-old Pawan Devi is living like a ‘man’. She sells cigarettes, pan masala, toffees and other tidbits from her small kiosk in Delhi and lives alone in a room which is walking distance from where she works. “I start my day at 7am and usually end by 11pm,” Pawan says.

Doing this work was not a matter of choice. Her husband, who ran the shop, passed away two years ago. Back in her village in Bihar, she was alone and needed money.

Encouraged by her sister-in-law, Pawan came to Delhi and set up shop six months ago. And like all work, it gave her a sense of standing on her own feet. “Initially I was scared. But it took me just a couple of days to learn,” she says.

However, except for two incidents, everyone around her has been helpful, she says. Walking back to home so late at night too has not been a problem. “The police or the MCD don’t trouble me at all because everyone around here thinks they should help a widow.”

To survive in the community of small tea shops and dhabas in the Safdarjung market area where she sits, Pawan has used a safe route — the man at the Mother Dairy kiosk opposite hers is like her “sasur”, and recently she “tied rakhi” to the guard of the nearby nightclub.

As you observe Pawan on a busy day, you’ll  find that she is never aggressive and yet always in control. “I earn Rs 1,000 or sometimes even Rs2,000 per day” she says.
Her two children — aged 10 and 12 years — study in their village. She hopes that her school-going son will soon be prepared to take over. “I haven’t planned further ahead than that. Let’s see what happens”.

@ ihskaa