KANNUR: When Hareesh Bharathan, of Kayatteel in Cherukunnu, returned from Saudi Arabia in the second week of March, he was dreaming big. The 33-year-old was eyeing a job in Europe with the help of a friend. But, within a few days, the situation across the world had turned topsy-turvy with the spread of COVID-19 and he was staring at a bleak future.
Not cowed down by the setback, the man fought back with his childhood friend, Baiju Chandran, who had also come back from Saudi Arabia, and started selling chicken biryani by the roadside. "It was only an attempt to survive as both of us had lost our jobs," said Hareesh.
A month after, they again started looking at their lives with hope. "Though the new venture is not that profitable, we have pushed our lives forward," he said.
Hareesh returned from Saudi Arabia on March 11. The situation was not that bad then. But the very next day, a COVID-19 case was reported in Kannur and things changed for the worse. Then the lockdown was announced and the whole country came under the grip of COVID fear.
"During the early days, it was fun. Baiju, who is a childhood friend, would visit me and we would spend our days without any apprehension. But as days progressed, we realised that this pandemic would make millions jobless, including us," Hareesh said.
"I have to support my family, which includes my parents, wife and daughter. As the cash in hand dried up, Baiju and I discussed about our future. It was during one such discussion that we decided to try our luck at this," he said.
Since his parents, Bharathan and Anitha, are good cooks and had some experience in making biryani, they decided to proceed with their plan. Since they were not confident about succeeding, they prepared only 30 packets on the first day.
The duo then decided to try their luck on the highway. "It was not easy in the initial days as we were not good at sales. Still, all packets were sold out," said Hareesh.
A month later, they started selling around 50 to 60 biriyani packets daily. Once the packets are ready, they would take them in Hareesh's car to Kallyasserri or Dharmasala, where they would park the car and sell biryani. "We charge Rs 70 for a packet. At this price, we can't earn much. Still, we can manage somewhat," he said.
After two weeks, one more friend, N Vijith, 33, joined them. "He had also lost his job as the driver of a school bus. Now, he is also with us in this venture," said Hareesh. "Three months back, we had never thought of such a change in our lives. But isn't life like that?"
They don't think they will be able to go to the Gulf soon. "Now, we are not thinking about that. Our first priority is to stay positive even during this setback. We have the will to work. We have to support our families. It is important for all of us to stay safe and see the threat go away. Till then, we have to keep ourselves going. That's what we are doing now," said Hareesh.