Graduates selling tea to realise their dreams
LUCKNOW: On the busy road outside Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Gomti Nagar here, none can miss the sight of an unusual tea stall – not because the tea it sells is out of the world, but for its signboard – ‘Graduate Chaiwale’.
Owned and managed by three graduate brothers in their early 20s, the stall is their attempt at small-scale entrepreneurship and a response to years of struggle against poverty.
“Running my own business is a better idea than working for someone else. I couldn’t afford to start a big business, so I thought it would be better to start with a small business,” says Govind Tripathi, 25, who started the tea stall in August this year.
Financial and legal troubles at home forced Govind to start looking for a job in 2010. While working for meagre salaries in local call centres in Lucknow, he completed Bachelors in Computer Applications from IGNOU in 2012.
“However, the degree was not of much help. For better jobs you need to know English, which we didn’t, because of our background,” he says.
Meanwhile, his brothers – Gopal Tripathi, 23, and Madhav Tripathi, 21, also completed their graduation from ASBD Memorial College in their hometown Madho Ganj in Hardoi this year.
“When I discussed the idea of a tea stall with my brothers, they were apprehensive about its feasibility. But I convinced them that it was not a bad idea for financial stability,” adds Govind.
The stall gives them a profit of about `350-400 every day. Govind says it is much more than what he was getting at call centres. “While working for call centres, I was getting about `5,000 per month. The workload was unbearable and salary was also irregular.”
The brothers now take turns to run the stall as Govind is also working as a water plant supervisor in Takrohi while the younger brothers are preparing for SSC and bank jobs.
“When we have enough money, we would try to start a chain of tea stalls in the city in future,” says Govind.