All roses smell same, some only sell better

Sravani (name changed), a quinquagenarian street hawker stands gawking at a gift shop in Sector 15, Chandigarh, with a bunch of red roses held tightly in her hand. “How much do they cost? Those roses,” she asks, pointing at the wrapped single roses — the ones that looked exactly like those she wanted to sell.

“I walk around all day, looking for customers and sell these for Rs 20, but the shop owners seem to make double the profits?” she further questions, puzzled on being told that the roses in the store cost Rs 50 each.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, Sravani and a majority of street hawkers have switched from selling utilities such as car accessories and toys to Valentine’s Day theme balloons and roses. Even children as young as 12 years could be seen selling Valentine’s Day souvenirs in the markets of Sectors 10, 22, and 36, along with other vendors on roads and traffic signals, including Labour Chowk, Aroma lights and the ISBT chowk. However, it seems to be a rather unfavorable economic bargain for them. “I went to get my supplies, but these balloons were all I could see at the wholesale market from where I buy goods,” said Mohri, a street hawker who is carrying a bundle of heart-haped balloons and trying to sell these near Labour Chowk.

On being asked if she knew why these balloons were suddenly the rage, Mohri responds in negative: “I was just told that the balloons will fetch more money this week even though the margin is negligible. We have to earn a livelihood by selling whatever we are given — be it balloons or handkerchiefs. We have little say in what we get to sell.”

The festival of love is not going to bring much joy to those existing on the margins of society. A group of young street hawkers, led by two sisters, Sunaina and Saloni (names changed), chuckle at the mention of Valentine’s Day, but can only come up with vague replies on what it actually means. For them, it is just a weekend of overtime.

Roshan, who is selling roses in Sector 36, echoes the concerns put forward by Sravani. “All of us get our products from the same dealers. It’s just that the businessmen in the big stores have the luxury to decide their own prices. For us, it comes down to subsistence. I cannot afford to price these roses high and risk not selling at all.”

Residents seem to concur with the opinion. Surinder Singh Salaria, a resident of Sector 41, says: “It’s evident that these products come from the same place. Most of the roses, either sold by street hawkers or fancy stores, come wrapped in the same plastic sheet.”

“I have not seen as many hawkers selling balloons and roses this year. So, I decided to buy some from the store. They are a little expensive, but it is convenient than to go looking for people selling it on the streets,” says Gurpreet Singh, a student at DAV College, Sector 10. However, if concedes that he would prefer buying from a street hawker if readily available. His friends nod in agreement.

And yet, even in the face of all compassion, the numbers are stacked firmly against Sravani and her ilk. Having done the math in quick time, her statement and calculations explain it all. “For every single rose they sell in the store, I have to sell at least four to make the same profit, while working harder to achieve it… Unlike them, we don’t even have well-lit places to display our products better.”