Enterprise in a pandemic

Right in the middle of the lockdown I was out of some vegetables one morning and was desperately trying to load my cart on Amazon-Fresh. But sadly I was unable to get a slot for the day and I became quite desperate when I heard someone shouting, “tharkari, vegetables,” outside my house. Running to the parlour to get a peek, I was pleasantly surprised to see a mini-truck going past slowly. Realizing that it was loaded with vegetables, I scrambled to the door to stop the vehicle. The driver stepped out, just as excited as I was and began showing me his produce, neatly piled in cartons --fresh vegetables straight from the market.

I bought to my heart’s content and thanked him profusely. I also complimented him on his neat vehicle and the orderly arrangement of the vegetables. He seemed pleased at my observation and went on to explain that he was a caterer by profession and had been supplying food for parties for the past many years. But with the lockdown, his business had gone bust and he was left with no income. Then this idea struck him, to convert the truck that he had used for transporting cooked food to the venues of parties into a mobile shop. Realising that fresh vegetables were the most needed commodity of the day, he decided he would buy vegetables from the wholesale market and ferry them around to the doorstep of consumers. Thus he had embarked on an altogether new career, with no previous experience or anyone else’s assistance.

Impressed with his story, I voiced my appreciation at his enterprising nature and promised to buy my daily vegetable needs from him. He nodded in acknowledgement and assured me that he would stop by whenever I needed replenishments. Thankful for the fresh supply of vegetables I got by surprise I walked in, humbled and inspired by the whole experience.

I realized how Covid-19 and the lockdown that has followed, has left many professionals and workers in the lurch. With no work and no earnings, the current times are indeed a testing time for scores of people. Yet, many are rising to the challenge, and with a dash of enterprise, are trying alternative professions to get them going during the pandemic. It impressed upon me that it is in the darkest of times that the human spirit shines the brightest. As Ishmael Beah put it, “We all find joy and radiance and a reason to move on even in the most dire of circumstances. Even in chaos and madness, there's still a beauty that comes from just the vibrancy of another human spirit.”