Vasanthi. V, fresh greens vendor
At 12 noon, the July sun shows no mercy. While most people stay indoors or seek shade under umbrellas, not everyone has the luxury of escaping the heat. For some, the street is the only stage where they can earn a living.
“If I do not walk through every street in this neighbourhood with this spinach, my children would sleep hungry,” says Vasanthi V., 40, a spinach vendor who begins her day before the city comes to life. Hailing from Arani in Periapalayam, she boards a bus at 4 a.m., with a heavy basket of freshly harvested greens and a couple of big-shopper bags, and step down only at Anna Nagar.
“I only stick to Anna Nagar because I already have a few regular customers here who still prefer fresh greens that do not come shrink-wrapped,” she says. “But I am losing customers to supermarkets. It is tough for me,” says Ms. Vasanthi, adding that she does not know any other neighbourhood in Chennai.
‘Sole breadwinner’
Balancing a towel on her head to cushion the load, she hoists the basket. As she moves through the streets, her voice rings out with a familiar call for fresh spinach, caroming off apartment walls. Though she has been at it for only a couple of years, Ms. Vasanthi says this is her only livelihood; she is currently the sole breadwinner supporting her family.
“Before this, I was working as a daily wage labourer, doing whatever came my way. But selling spinach seems to have worked better for me and my family,” she says with a shrug, pointing to the bundle of different greens.
She strolls through the Anna Nagar West neighbourhood until 2 p.m., earning around ₹500 on good days, but not every day brings such fortune. “On some days, the greens do not sell, even though they are still crisp and fresh. I skip lunch and keep circling the neighbourhood, hoping for just one more sale. There have been days when I carried the load back home, and on those days, I do not earn much at all,” she says.
Shanthini, a resident of Anna Nagar West, was carefully picking greens from the vendor as the latter spoke about her daily life. “I mostly buy greens, mainly drumstick greens, from her because I know they come fresh, directly from the village,” says Ms. Shanthini.
A glimmer of hope
When asked what brings her joy, Ms. Vasanthi’s expression is still. “What happiness? In this heat? We walk miles with our lives stacked on our heads, just so our children can eat and study,” she says, but then talks about what will bring her a flicker of hope. “If I had just one vegetable cart, that alone would ease half the struggle. I can carry them through the street and would not have to carry the load on my head anymore,” she adds.
Published – July 05, 2025 06:00 am IST
