Hartal and a street vendor
by D.Dhanuraj Today morning, I was speaking to our vegetable vendor near my home. When I asked for the fresh pieces, he started discussing , yesterday’s strike. Knowing my interest in politics, he started asking; “are we living in a democratic country or not?” I was not sure what he was referring to. Then he showed me a basket of rotten tomatoes and mangoes. It was shocking site for me since he is a medium level vendor who makes a living out of that. When I asked him what had happened; he was so angry for the strike called yesterday. He had gone to Ernakulum market on Monday to buy vegetables and grocery to sell it on Tuesday. He was told that there was motor strike only. so he bought on a regular basis. Yesterday morning, when he opened the shop, he was asked to shut it by the local politicians who support the strike. He had no other way except accepting their muscle power. He keep on narrating what happened to the nearby shops that include hotels, restaurants, grocery shops and ...