Gondturum: Pink coloured cotton candy (Bombay Laddu) packed in transparent polythene packets is something that all of us must have tasted in our childhood. It is the children’s love for this sweet that has given an earning opportunity to many.
Suraj Gupta, a man from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, is one such person who earns his livelihood by selling cotton candies.
Gupta can be seen moving around lanes, by-lanes of villages in Bargarh town, riding on a scooter in which a wooden pole with 100 plus packets of cotton candy attached.
According to the Kanpur man, he is a lone child of his parents-Sipahi Lal and Surajmukhi and his family is a poor one. However, the financial condition has improved since he took up this business of selling cotton candy.
Regarding how the idea of selling cotton candy came to his mind, Gupta said, “Once I was travelling by train to Puri and noticed how the sweet was in demand in Odisha. Returning home, I learnt the process of cotton candy preparation from some neighbours who were already in the profession.”
After acquiring the skill of preparing cotton candies, he borrowed some money from friends and relatives to buy a machine for Rs 15, 000.
“I am staying in a rented accommodation in Bargarh town. I am manufacturing the sweets there. My per day average income is Rs 300, excluding all the expenses on raw materials like sugar, flour, food colour etc and other ancillary expenses,” Gupta admitted.
“I have never tried to trace the nomenclature. But I love to hear children still calling it Bombay Laddu, even after the metro city’s name has changed from Bombay to Mumbai years ago,” Suraj said.
However, Gupta doesn’t complain about his life. “I am happy with my business. My hard labour, honesty and friendly behavior are working for me. Every June, I visit my village, spend some days with my parents, buy them clothes and other necessities and then again return to Bargarh to sell Bombay Laddu,” he signed off.
PNN