From having their own Paper Tube business to a PaniPuri rickshaw..they have seen many ups and downs. This couple initially had their own business of making Paper tubes used for the stitching threads. After few years they had to shut it down and this rickshaw happened! Starting their business standing outside Sardar School and Sayaji School, they were seen as a tough competition by the school canteen vendors. And that is how they found their spot of 26 years, outside the Girls College, Akota. They never imagined that within hours they would run out of food, such was and is still their popularity.
Their routine starts at 3:30 AM with Uncle boiling potatoes for the PaniPuri and Samosa. After an hour Aunty joins him in the kitchen, and together while having breakfast they prepare the chutneys and the fillings. Their youngest son who is a Graphic Designer, he says proudly, helps them too. At sharp 8 AM they leave for work to return home by 3:30 PM. Struggle is a part of life and he feels blessed to have such wonderful children who always helped them in tiny ways possible, be it peeling endless potatoes and sorting bundles of Dhaniya.
Nowadays, when people separate within few years itself, this couple continues to stay strong after 45 years of marriage. They said..”We never fought. Yes we argued, obviously, but we always overcame it”
When asked about the secret of being together for so long aunty shy’s away and uncle just smiles saying “Aisa kuch nahi hai” Then he whispers that “Hum dono ko ek doosre ke bina nahi chalta”..”When she will leave I know I cannot live without her and so I will follow her..and I know it’s the same for her too..”
Asking aunty’s name in the end he said “Mandakini..” and with a beaming smile adds “from the movie Raam Teri Ganga Maili”
