COMMERCIAL STREET:Shopping on the congested Commercial Street and its by-lanes involves dodging vehicles, vendors and other shoppers. But there’s one vendor you’ll find hard to dodge. That’s Manish with his samosa bicycle.
The bicycle, retrofitted with a glass display case packed with hot samosas and kachoris and a board advertising his wares, beckons shoppers and shopkeepers alike. The bicycle-mounted chaat case seems to be custom-made for the narrow lanes. The longitudinal glass case is just as wide as the bicycle and barely juts out at the sides, ensuring that Manish easily negotiates the dense vehicular and pedestrian traffic. “I made the case on my own. It not only fits well on my bicycle but also attracts customers who get a view of the heaps of samosas and kachoris through the glass pane,” chuckles Manish. And below the bar between the saddle and the handlebar is another retrofitted tray that holds his chutneys and garnishing.
As he zigzags his way through the lanes, customers begin to mill around him, grabbing his stock before it is exhausted. Manish’s deft hands snatch the piping hot pyramids and bulging kachoris, which are then mashed and filled with chopped onions, coriander, chillis, savoury mixture and his hot and tangy chilli and tamarind chutneys. He serves them on bits of old, absorbent newspapers, which later double as tissues that end up in the bucket hanging by the rear wheel serving as the trash bin.
He then collects his money and proceeds, tinkling his bicycle bell, till he is stopped again by another set of hungry shoppers, where the ritual is repeated.
Manish, who has been a familiar face on Commercial Street for the last 10 years, starts his business at around 6 in the evening, when exhausted shoppers are craving for a bite, and is done by 10 pm. “The case can hold around 150 samosas and kachoris in all. They’re usually exhausted in three hours, after which I go back home get the next batch, which is prepared fresh and hot for the second round,” says Manish, who hails from Rajasthan.
Manish’s territory is Commercial Street and its environs, and he doesn’t venture out beyond this neighborhood. He doesn’t need to, since his stock is invariably exhausted well before he completes the rounds on Commercial Street.“It’s the Biharis who specialize in samosas. Rajasthan is known for its kachoris. The filling and the spices in the kachoris are made like they are done in Rajasthan. I deal with both samosas and kachoris since customers look for a choice,” says Manish, who has two brothers to help him in the business.