"Street food, I believe, is the salvation of the human race." - Anthony Bourdain
True to the quote, Guwahati adores its street food, making the street food vendors an integral part of the city. From the ‘desi’ pani puris, bhel muri, golas to the Indianised Chinese range of chowmien, momos etc....food from the streets have never failed to appease the taste buds of Guwahatians.
And not to forget the tea stall owners, the small ‘bhaator dukan’ (small stalls selling rice, roti etc.) and biryani walas, who cater to most of the office goers and the daily workers alongside the students. They provide daily meals at affordable prices and have established themselves as a necessary organ of the busy metropolis’ everyday functioning.
However, months of lockdown have changed this scenario of Guwahati completely. The street food hubs like Fancy Bazar, Kachari, Beltola, Sixmile and the rest are no more the same. Some have started shop for the sake of livelihood, but sales aren’t the same as before.
“I have been doing business here for the last 20 years. My brother also runs a small food stall near me. We used to earn Rs. 500 to Rs. 600 profit per day. But now it’s hardy around Rs. 100. Our part of the city (Kachari) has all the offices and the Cotton College. So business was always buzzing. This is my only source of livelihood. Never did I imagine that a day would come when things would come to this. After all my shop is in the heart of the official area,” said an upset Babul Rajbonshi, who runs a tea stall from a kiosk at Kachari, Panbazar.
When the lockdown was first announced back in March, Babul along with the other food stall owners of the area had to close down. After all there was a sudden closure of all offices and educational institutions of the area.
Now that there is gradual unlocking of the city, they have restored their business, but customers are minimal.
“Initially the government allowed only 30 percent employees to attend office. So automatically our customers reduced. Then again the college (referring to Cotton College) is closed. We used to get many student customers,” he continued.
“Now-a-days we cook food following all norms. We wear masks. But people are scared. Many carry their own tiffin from home. So who will eat our food? Earlier, lunch hours were the busiest. We didn’t even get time to breathe. Now we have all the time,” Babul sadly added.
The food vendors of Kachari have been serving for decades. From local delicacies like different variants of pitha, laru to rice, roti, puri-sabji, they make it all. Even the casual passerby often hops in to catch a bite of these well known delicacies.
As for now, given the soaring summer heat, only the lemonade and the coconut vendors are somewhat thriving.
While tea and rice stalls have started functioning as office goers and workers are back to work, the others like the pani puri walas and similar other vendors are still hoping for regular customers.
G Plus asked a few Guwahatians when they last enjoyed street food.
“I last had puchka probably last year,” said one.
Another mentioned, “Was hoping to relish on all these food and especially ice cream during Bihu which we friends do every year. But this year went by without any such enjoyment. My parents wouldn’t allow me to eat out even now. Tasting the street foods again is a distant dream now.”
While many street vendors have returned home to their respective villages in the past months, many are languishing in the city. With no daily income at hand, they have no means to pay their rent and for other necessities.
“I used the little savings I had in the first two months. With nothing to survive on I started working as a labourer. But unaccustomed to such work, I could not do it for long. I sell chaat at Fancy Bazar. My chaats are very famous and I have regular customers too. There were some who have been coming to eat my chaat for years. Even they fear to eat now. With the scare of this disease engrossing all, even many permanent customers are refusing to eat now and have even questioned my hygiene standards. I am completely broke and de-motivated,” said Sitaram almost breaking down.
Naren Rajbonshi, who owns a tea stall at Kachari and is the president of Assam Tea Vendors’ Association said, “I last opened shop on 16th March. Now I am worried to reopen. Expenses of running a shop are high. I have to procure rice for the pitha, tea, sugar and also other biscuits and snacks that I sell. But the earning will be much less. No point spending the little amount I am left with.”
“Only 20 percent of the food vendors in Guwahati have reopened shop. Most are in their village doing whatever work they can find. I myself sold vegetables for a few days. But both are completely different businesses. I could not understand the calculations well and ended up with a loss. My family suggested I should better stop that wasting my own money. So now I am practically jobless,” he added.
While the fear of the virus continues, even the die-hard food lovers choose to stick to home-cooked food for now, rendering many food vendors jobless.
