“I am over sixty years old, so I stopped selling flowers since the lockdown began in March. The money I made by selling flowers was one of the key sources of income for my family, and that’s taken a massive hit. So, I started selling flowers again since the third lockdown when people were able to step out.
I got married at 18, and having studied only until the 5th standard, I only had limited choice in terms of a career. The financial situation at home after marriage was such that both my husband and I had to work. So, I initially started working as a daily wage labourer, but when I got pregnant, that was no longer an option. That’s when I began selling flowers. It’s been a few decades now since I started doing this. I now live with my son and his family since my husband’s demise and all of us at home work as that’s the only way we can make ends meet.
Until the lockdown began, I used to travel to Koyembedu and back to source flowers. One day even after the lockdown started, I walked up to Koyembedu from Kodambakkam, and my grandson gave me an earful. He told me that he would source the flowers if I needed to open the stall. Since then, every morning, he drives to Madipakkam and brings these flowers for me. As I’ve been sitting in the same spot for close to a decade now, everyone recognizes me. Some of them even came down to give me clothes and ration. It is only at a time of crisis like this do we realize how nice the people around us are. After all, we have the moral obligation to look after each other at a time like this.”

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