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Tamil Nadu
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Chennai
The Marina will attract more ice cream vendors as temperature rises in the coming days
At other times, ice cream vendors lead a hand-to-mouth existence. — Chennai: “Ice cream, ice cream…,” N.Kalaiperumal shouts as he moves around with his pushcart through a mob of young boys coming out of Marina Swimming Pool. He then drags his cart a few meters from the gate and sets shop. It’s 1.45 p.m. and the afternoon temperature is killing, but the 72-year-old makes hay while the sun shines: summer brings him more business. The tha ta’s vanilla, mango and pal ice cream tempt three exhausted boys to stop-by for a cool treat, priced anywhere between Rs.5 and Rs.15 each. For the next hour the vendor knows he can attract more passers-by to enjoy his stick and cone treats. Once the crowd thins, Kalaiperumal leans on the handle bar and bends under the cart, resting until a new customer come calling. “This is my chair and that my umbrella,” he says, showing the handle and the roof that act as cover. When the temperature rises next week many ice cream pushcart vendors know they are going to make money when the sun shines. Many of them are sub-vendors and lead a hand-to-mouth existence making Rs.100 to Rs.300 a day. Kalaiperumal has been in the business since the age of 25. His work starts at 7.30 a.m. in Velachery, from where he sets out to collects ice creams from the company near Luz Corner. Once he arranges the insulated box with the collection of ice creams, the septuagenarian sets out to sell them on the Marina. “I make around 20 halts in a day along the beach stretch, stopping at places where the crowd is more,” he says. More than a hundred pedal push cart vendors dot the beach stretch. Their number will increase once the temperature rises. Vimal S. refuses to sit on the sands of the beach while at work. “How will people know I am running the stall,” asks the 19-year-old listening to FM music on a transistor while attending to customers on the go. Vimal is having his share of fun but he knows it is not enough making Rs.300, if he sells Rs.1,000 worth of ice creams. “I also work with a newspaper house distributing papers in the morning,” he says, explaining how he supports the family. Muthuraj B. and Kani Raj say that at the end of the day the greatest satisfaction is to see the wares are sold. While many other cool treats compete with his business, Rajendran S. is content changing his mobile cart from the handle to pedal one. “Two year ago I upgraded it. This shelters me from heat as well as has more storage capacity,” says Rajendran, who has been in the business for the last 35 years. Past dusk Kalaiperumal will return with his pushcart to give its owner the day’s account and collect his wages, while Vimal will stay a little longer, as late as 10 p.m., to ensure most of his ice creams are sold.
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