Manojkumar Jivanlal Patel

You can find us at number 8 in the Sardar Patel Vegetable Market over in Behrampura. Manojkumar Jivanlal Patel is the name on the records, but most people just know us as the stall in the corner. The market is a very noisy place, especially early in the morning when the trucks arrive. There’s always shouting and the smell of fresh produce. We spend our days handling crates of vegetables. It’s physical work, lifting and moving things around. The floor is often wet from the mist or the rain. We don't have a fancy office; it's just a space in the market with some ledgers and a scale. Behrampura is a busy part of town, and the market is the heart of it. We’ve been here for years, watching the seasons change based on what vegetables are coming in. Some days it’s potatoes, other days it’s onions or greens. We know the other sellers and the regulars who come by to buy in bulk. It’s not a polished business. We wear old clothes because they’re going to get dirty anyway. We deal with farmers and transporters all day long. Sometimes the trucks are late, and we just sit and wait with a cup of tea. It’s a simple life, centered around the market cycles. We just try to get the produce through as quickly as we can to the customers.