Rakesh Bhai

I’m Rakesh Bhai and you can find me at Vinod Nagar in the Nai Subzi Mandi. My spot is number 108. I’ve been working in this vegetable market since I was a teenager. Every morning I wake up at four to get the fresh arrivals. The mandi is a chaotic place with trucks backing in and people shouting. My shop is just a small stall with wooden crates stacked up high. I don't have a desk or a chair, just a plastic crate I sit on when I get a chance. The floor is usually covered in onion skins and bits of hay. I spend most of my day weighing vegetables on an old scale. Sometimes the weights are a bit rusty but they work fine. I have a lot of regular customers who come to me because they know I’m always here at 108. We talk about the weather or the price of diesel while I bag their potatoes. It’s a hard life on the feet and my joints ache when it rains. But I like being out here in the middle of the market. I have a small stove in the back where I make my own tea twice a day. The steam feels good in the cold months. I’m not looking to expand or do anything big. I just want to keep my spot and keep working. The people here are like family to me after all these years.