For Urvashi Yadav, a food vendor in Gurugram’s Sector 14 market – under the peepal tree and opposite Gulab Sweets to be exact – life has been chaotic over the past couple of months. And thanks to a Facebook post/blog called Soul-stirrings by Sunali, it seems that it could take a turn for the better.
Yadav is a graduate, a loving wife and a doting mother of two. Till a month back, Yadav was just another Gurugram resident, working as a nursery teacher and taking care of her family. But things changed when her husband met with an accident in May and the doctors said he’s need a hip surgery.
Because of his injuries, Yadav’s husband – the primary earner in the family – had lost his job. Instead of blaming fate and waiting for funds to run out, she decided to do something constructive.
Yadav opened a food stall/thela, selling kulchha-chana and sabzi-paranthas. Sunali’s post talks about Yadav’s decision in the most inspiring words:
Till the Facebook post by Sunali Anand Gaur, Yadav was doing just about okay. But once the post went viral, she was completely overwhelmed by the response. Not only did customers increase manifold, but Gurugram residents came forth with help and encouragement. Reportedly, Yadav is now saving up to buy a food truck, and eventually open a restaurant.
In an interview with Vagabomb, Yadav said, “We weren’t facing any immediate financial crisis, but the thought of it scared me. I never wanted to be in a position where I would have to change my children’s school just because we couldn’t afford their education. I had an idea but I didn’t want to ask my family for money, because if it hadn’t worked, I would have been in even more trouble, financially…
My husband’s accident really shook me up. I tried to imagine our family without his income and the future looked grim. That’s when I decided to take matters into my own hands. I am good at cooking and I decided to use that skill to my advantage. The more acceptable option, according to our family and the society, would have been to open a restaurant or a catering business.
But I didn’t have the funds for that. I was thinking about all of this one day when I was in the market to buy medicines for my husband, and I saw a roadside thela.” That’s where she got the idea to start her own; though her kids and in-laws were against it, she had her husband’s support.
