Road Side Vendors

It’s not difficult to spot them. Walk out of your house to the main road and they’re everywhere selling all kinds of stuff, from vegetables, clothes, shoes, kitchen utensils to anything you can imagine. Well, just about any. I haven’t seen cars, bikes and refrigerators. Someday, if the current trend continues, even two-wheelers and four-wheelers will be sold in the road.

In Kathmandu, it’s the taxis and people ferrying micro-van that bar private vehicles from enjoying a smooth ride on the streets, stopping everywhere to pick up passengers and speeding recklessly to reach their next destination to pick up more passengers. In the pavements, the road side vendors create the same havoc to pedestrians. They take up all the space and leave only a single line for the people to walk through. Argue with them and they’ll call the big bosses, YCL.

Last Saturday, the Rato Macchindarnath festival was culminating with Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel, Kathmandu. It was the day when an elusive piece of inner garment worn by the God, Rato Macchindranath, on the upper part of the body is displayed openly. Thousands flock to the place. Along with them, the road side vendors also flock, setting up their stores wherever there is enough space.

I went to pay my homage early in the morning, around 7 am, to avoid getting crushed in the melee between devotees and vendors. But the devotees were already there, and not surprisingly, so were the vendors.

After paying my respect to Rato Macchindranath, I made my way to the place where majority of road side vendors where concentrated. Most of them were already at their game, shouting out their advertisement.

“Rs. 100 for a vest,” one said. “It’s the cheapest you can get”.

I stood next to him and asked him where he was from.

“Nearby,” he said. I asked him if it wasn’t too early for him to be here. He said he had to because he wouldn’t find space if he came late, and at around 5 pm, the police will chase them away as the place will be full of people to see Bote Jatra.

He became quiet though when I said from where he’d brought all his clothes.

I looked around. There were probably 50 to 75 vendors. They seem to be getting good business too. People were inquiring. A girl was buying a pair of shoes. A small child was demanding a balloon to her parents; the vendor was displaying all the balloons he had to the child. There wasn’t any interesting for me to purchase though, so I walked amidst the vendors and made my way home.

They need money, these road side vendors, but I need my space to survive in the city as well.