Dispatches from real India (Part 2): Mrs.Lakshmi and Mr.Soda

I kicked off a short series on some interesting people I met during my recent (and ongoing) India trip. In the first post on the topic, I wrote about Mr.Rajan, MGR fan extraordinaire and owner of a 85 year old sukku kaapi shop in the outskirts of Coimbatore. In this second brief post, I turn my attention to a simple and enterprising lady at the local Mr.Soda franchise shop, Ms.Lakshmi.Not too far from my house, in a bustling intersection where buses and autos make their evening resting stop, is a local Mr.Soda franchise shop. For the uninitiated, Mr.Soda is a burgeoning chain of shops/kiosks around the city where made to order flavored sodas are concocted and sold. These shops are bustling at this time of the year when 100F is bosom buddy of the thermometer. The shop offers everything from mint flavored soda to ginger lime (fabulous), jeera masala (pretty awesome), guava (OK), butterscotch (too sweet) to cocktails of various flavors made to the customer's desire. Most of these range from Rs.10 (about 17c) to Rs.30 (about 50c) and is a lifesaver on warm summer days.[gallery ids="1196,1197,1198,1199,1200,1201"]Over a cup of Kalakhatta flavored soda, I struck a conversation with her. My father and brother are regulars here. So she knows all about me already. She is an enthusiastic lady, chatting away inspite of the crowd on a warm 98F afternoon. She has two daughters in college and she works here until they get back home. She is employed in Mr.Soda for the past three years but interestingly enough, her wage is tied to how much soda she sells every day. Warm afternoon and big sales translates to a decent income. She says, they make up to Rs.4000 a day on sales when the going is good. But then on rainy and breezy afternoons, they barely sell 15-20 cups making less than Rs.400. This is important because, her wages kick in after the daily rent for the shop which is Rs.450.To make the Rs.450, she needs to make good friends with everyone in the neighborhood, myself included. The auto stand close by is a good source of income. As is the Tasmac liquor shop next door. Apparently the sweet and sour sodas work well to dispel the smell and occasionally the effects of hard local liquor. The enterprising lady is all smiles on a good or a bad day and is slowly becoming a part of the local area. They thrive and she thrives.In a nation of Rs.70 coffees and Rs.150 cakes, Mrs.Lakshmi of Mr.Soda is surviving with her skills and instinct. The nation was and will continue to be build on the shoulders of such people.Other posts in this series:Dispatches from real India (Part 1)