The three stages of a man’s life
A tea stall owner’s snap bio through the lens of the ongoing pandemic
Each person’s life these days seems to consist of three phases—the pre-pandemic CAPITAL } times, the first surge, and now the second surge.
Consider middle-aged Manveer Singh Negi, a tea stall owner in a shopping complex in Gurugram’s Sadar Bazaar. This account is derived from three encounters.
The pre-pandemic era, April 2019
Days are stained with a nagging disappointment. Mr Negi had dreams, but “I couldn’t do anything.” For 20 years, the Uttarakhand native has been running a chai stall in a dilapidated market building. The earnings aren’t much. As a young migrant, he had dreamt of having his own house in the adopted city—that remains elusive. Life’s consolation lies in his wife and two teenaged kids, who live with him in a rented house in Lakshmi Vihar.
First surge and its aftermath, July 2020
As he watched scores of people making an exodus to their villages during the early days of the first lockdown, Mr Negi toyed with the idea of returning to Sagwan Gaon, his own mountain village in Pauri, and spend a few months at his family house. He soon realised the plan’s implausibility. “The fact is I moved out to make a different life in the city. My brothers might shelter me and my family for 15 days, 20 days... but after that they will expect me to leave. They have their own household to support.” Although the lockdown has lifted, Mr Negi’s reopened tea stall isn’t regaining most of its regulars. A big part of the business relied in the market complex’s small offices, many of whose employees continue to work from home. The few who have returned don’t come to the stall any longer, fearing “the virus might enter their bodies if they drink chai from stalls like mine.”
Second surge, May 2021
Mr Negi’s financial situation has deteriorated. Gurugram got its lockdown a bit later than Delhi, but the consequent closure of the tea stall put an end to his daily earnings. Savings quickly disappeared in running the household. “I had to borrow money to keep the children well fed.” This week, following a relaxation in the lockdown measures, Mr Negi finally opened his stall but “so few customers... most shops and offices are still closed.” The tea seller hasn’t been able to buy new clothes for his family for more than a year. “This year too seems ruined.”