Chasing rains on the streets of Mumbai.

Mumbai city of dreams is something completely different during monsoon. It rains a lot and by lot, I mean - a lot. No place on earth can compare to Mumbai during the monsoons.

And guess what? I am sure nothing beats sipping on a cutting chai while sitting by the window and watching the raindrops fall with a rhythm of their own.

In many countries monsoon brings depression, however, in India which is a country completely dependent upon agriculture for its welfare such is not the case. Monsoons in India and especially in Mumbai are a ray of hope for the people. It is said that during monsoons farmers are the happiest people on earth as the seeds that they planted get water which then turn into crops, providing them with a means to earn their livelihood.

But are farmers the only people who have a lot to gain from the rainy season?

During monsoon while we are all busy having vada-pav and cutting-chai in our free time, there are hundreds of people who take up odd jobs to earn their livelihood and support their families back in their villages.

So what was the best way to find this unbelievable side-effect of monsoon which provides people with employment?  Going round the city for a week or two and getting to know these avenues of ‘seasonal employment’ seemed like the only option. And so, accompanied with nothing more than a pen, a note-pad and my trusty digital-camera I set out on my daunting task.

Getting drenched every day just to discover that smile on people’s faces was my task for the next few days.

Charni Road station

Zip-lock seller.

Passing by Charni Road station my eyes fell on a family sitting on the bridge with a basket full of Zip block cover; generally used by people during the monsoon to protect their phones from rain water. The male member of the family i.e. the father was busy making Gajra right next to the basket full of Zip block covers. The mother i.e. the female member was busy selling the covers with their infant sleeping on her lap.

On talking further with the family, I discovered that the man usually sits at the Dadar market and sells gajras throughout the year. However, as it is the monsoon season people need to protect their swanky smart phones from rain-water, which is how he came up with the idea of selling zip block covers. It is only by selling Zip block covers in the morning and gajra in the evening that he can make ends meet. If it rains a lot on a particular day, his income goes up by fifty rupee for the day by selling Zip block covers. “The fifty rupees that I earn may sound too less for you, but for me it’s a day where my son gets sufficient milk and an extra piece of bread for me and my wife.” Says Kalpesh Sanjanwalla; your roadside Zip block cover seller.

Dahisar Station

Cobber outside Dahisar station.

Just after covering a distance of around 35 km from South Mumbai, I was now in other corner of the city in North Mumbai’s suburb called Dahisar. Getting down from the train I realize my sandals are torn and I am in need of a cobbler immediately. My search for one on the station went in vain. After which, I decided to look for one outside and to my surprise, there was one outside.

I approached him with my sandal and told him, to fix it as fast as possible. This earned me a rude, “Baarishke time pe chata kaa kaam jaldi hoga sandal ka nahi” (During monsoons only umbrellas are fixed in urgency and not sandals.) Waiting there patiently for almost another 20 minutes I started a conversation with him regarding his business getting more response during monsoons. On asking, he said, “I am here only till the month of September. Baarish mai chatri kaa taar tutte reheta hai, handle bhi repair karna hota hai.(In rainy seasons umbrellas tend to bring more business as they’ve to be repaired with new handles and oiling.) My uncle has his business nearby and it was he who gave me the idea to do have a business of my own during monsoons. I work in my village in Karnataka throughout the year. But the city is a much more profitable place, and monsoon is the peak season for this.” 

Dahisar Market

The next thing to do was to have a look at the market outside Dahisar station. Soon I found a hawker selling all types of plastics which people generally prefer buying during monsoons for obvious reasons. On speaking to, Rajesh Mishra, the hawker, I found that he is the kind of person who has all kinds of seasonal business ventures. Selling crackers during Diwali, colours during Holi and plastic during the monsoon. “People buy plastics during monsoon for their rooftops, vehicles and even for other hawkers to cover their stall. By doing all kinds of seasonal business I manage to earn something between 600-1000 on a daily basis for my two school going daughters, wife and ailing parents back in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh.”

Outside Churchgate Station

Plastic seller outside Churchgate station.

The next halt was at the stall of an umbrella seller. As we all know it has been pouring like mad from the last week and we all need an umbrella to protect ourselves from the rain. The next time you tend to forget your umbrella at your home or office and happen to be passing by Churchgate Station, don’t forget to buy an umbrella from Irfan Machiwallah, who has his stall right opposite Eros cinema. While talking to Irfan, I discovered that, he sells all types of plastic items throughout the year, but as monsoon arrives in city, he makes sure to have an extra plastic basket, in which he keeps all types of fancy umbrellas on sale. He earns 20-30 rupees as profit on each umbrella and makes it a point to at least sell ten umbrellas a day, which increases his income by Rs 200-300 a day.

Even with this increase in income he further goes on to explain that surviving in Mumbai is an extremely difficult task. Prices seem to go up every day making life increasingly difficult for him and his family.

Is Pothole a source of income?

Outside Hinduja College.

Do you remember the last time you had a bumpy ride on the Mumbai roads? Potholes rule the streets of Mumbai during monsoon. As painful as this may sound for commuters, for Parag Bang, garage worker, it brings happiness, as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is very lazy at filling potholes.

“Apne road itne bekkar hai, ki baarish ke time pe tyre fatt jata hai aksar.”(Our roads during monsoons are in horrible condition that, often tyres of the four-wheelers tend to burst.) He further goes on to explain that, “During monsoon I end up changing many more tyres than the norm. This earns me an extra sum of money depending on the number of tires changed.”

On days when it pours heavily for hours it is easy to predict that the next day’s newspaper would carry stories about flooding accompanied by photographs. It is obvious that the photographer earned a good sum of money for these pictures. A freelance photographer for a tabloid in Mumbai stated, “I get a good sum of money by clicking pictures related to monsoon, which generates extra income for me and helps me fund my post-graduation, which I am currently pursuing.”

Dhanda hai manda toh khao samosa!

APMC Market, Vashi.

I was fortunate enough to visit the Agricultural Produce Marketing Corporation (APMC) situated in Vashi, Navi Mumbai. Trying to look around for that smile which the season brings about in the form of employment seemed impossible as the whole-seller said, “During rainy seasons, our business is the worst. Fruits and vegetables are perishable items and transportation becomes a daunting task. This results in heavy losses for the business.”

After roaming for almost three hours I found a person selling samosa there who was very busy selling them. On speaking with him, he said, “I have been selling samosas here for the past fourteen years, and during monsoon my business increases up to 20%. People at the APMC simply have nothing to do as their business is down; they end up eating a lot of samosas, which gives me income when they’re out of business.” said, Satyandra Mishra, Samosa-seller.

Monsoon does not merely generate seasonal employment for hundreds of people on the streets of Mumbai it also creates smiles. I am certain when we visit rural or semi-urban places in India we will find many more interesting ways through which people earn their livelihood. For Mumbai, it was by selling samosas and fitting tires, by selling, Zip block covers for your brand new android or apple. People can always find new and innovative means to earn their livelihood and survive.

Monsoon brings happiness and smiles for hundreds of Mumbaikars every year. But you know what? As I finish writing this sitting at a ‘chai tapri’ and waiting for my chai to arrive, you should already be heading to your kitchen to make one for yourself.

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