HYDERABAD: Bhaiya, extra masala puri dho!”, “Uncle, meetha wala nariyal pani dho! Okka zip kosam 100 rupeesaa. These are the common conversations we have with the coconut vendor, pani puri vendor, cobbler and many more people, without whom, our lives are incomplete. Have we ever asked them if they got to eat a square meal that day? Have we ever asked them about their pain, their survival, their trails and turbulence? Why would we ask? We are depressed about not buying a luxury car, expensive lipstick, iPhone.
Anyway, one person did and decided to tell the world too. Sakthi Swaroop, an aspiring civil servant and former writer of Wikipedia, who was disappointed that Wikipedia was extremely westernised and was looking for starting a similar platform in an Indianised way. What happened next makes the plot of the story…The moment of epiphany to start a platform to inspire people with real hero stories happened on a fortunate afternoon. In Sakthi’s words, “I wrote about an entrepreneur from Hyderabad but Wikipedia didn’t accept the article in the initial stages.
When I added it to the category of MIT (Massachusetts Institute), they readily accepted the article. They even called one of the famous initiatives - ‘She Teams’ as not a notable one and rejected the article. When I had raised these questions, I was eventually blocked from Wikipedia. So, I thought, I should start an Indianised one. I didn’t know how.”
“One day, I was walking through the streets of Himayath Nagar and I found a 70-year-old man slicing coconuts for a living, His were shivering and I asked him why he was struggling at that age. He said that his children had abandoned him and he had an ailing wife to take care of. That gave me a strong inspiration. Although the vendor refused to tell his story for the records, I thought I should focus on this genre to inspire people because these people are the real heroes of our country.”That’s how ‘Storiesofcommonman.in’ was born, as a website for stories of common people, who are struggling for their livelihood without giving up.
People behind the website
Sakthi Swaroop is, of course, the CEO. He is currently preparing for civil services exam. He was also awarded ‘Idea champion’ by ‘iSEED Entrepreneurs Organisation.’
Writers include Joy Solomon, a music director from Hyderabad. Kruthika Parappa, a student from Bangalore. Amritha Varshini, a student from Chennai. Krishna Gopika, a reporter from Kochi. Laxmi Balan, a student from Pondicherry. Shwetha Lalwani, a student from Raipur, Payal Priya, a student from Kolkata. Vibuthi, a student from Delhi. Priyanka, a student from Mumbai.
The other key people on the website include Rajdeep Sinha, who leads their marketing campaign. Vibaari Varma, who made their apps and Vijay Kumar, poster designer. He says that his parents Raghunath and Jayalakshmi supported him throughout. “We publish the stories of people, who never accept defeat, who are ready to hit the tough times with their willpower and never give-up hope in life. The best stories published were ‘The last Fire,’ which is about a woman working in crematorium for living, ‘The Tea Time,’ about a person selling breakfast and snacks, at cheaper prices till date, ‘The bread of the morning,’ story of old women, who are struggling to make a living in their tough times,” Sakthi shares with pride.
They have published these stories as a book too, which is available on Amazon.
Like the Chinese proverb goes, ‘Don’t give someone a fish, but teach them how to fish.’ Sakthi and his team do not help them monetarily but help them build a livelihood. “We met a man, who was partially blind and had a broken leg. He was grappling to win bread every day. His alcoholic son used to snatch his hard-earned money and beat him up. With the money we raised from the donations, we bought him a cycle pump, puncture material, a blanket to keep him warm in the nights as he stays in Delhi. Since he runs a cycle shop, the material which we gave him will help him generate more revenue,” Sakthi informs on how they help people.
Their income is generated from book sales, website traffic and also with the help of local NGO’s or entrepreneurs. “We have tied up with educational institutions Like Banaras Hindu University and IIT-jodhpur, where we conduct literary competitions and make money.
Fortunately, Sakthi didn’t have to face any obstacle while building the app and website as he is a software engineer himself, graduated from NIT. He made the book on his own with help of online tools.
“The book was funded and published by Amazon. They also sell it and give us our royalty. Vijay Krishnam, our designer helped me in creating the cover page and designs,” he adds.
Sakthi found his writers through internships. Initially, he had only two interns and later they multiplied. “A lot of them voluntarily came forward to write about people in their neighbourhood and a dedicated few landed a permanent job with us,” he smiles.Every man we meet on our way has a tale to tell. A few have deep sorrow boiling like lava in the volcano and waiting to flow out. “While a few people do not prefer to get published, a few people ask for money, a few hope that some miracle would happen, but most of the people just hold our hands with love, smile, offer us tea or food, saying, ‘Thank you for reminding me how far we have come. It has been years that some have spoken to us for a few minutes with some concern.’ We always come back with moist eyes and heavy heart.
— Purnima Sriram purnima @newindianexpress.com @iyer_purnima