Pooja Parekh is unlike any girl of her age. A student of Class XI Commerce stream, she is also a newspaper vendor.
Every day at 3.30 am she crosses the deserted lanes of Ajwa to reach the Raopura Clock Tower. Amid all the men, she collects around 450-500 newspapers and magazines for delivery to her customers at the Waghodia Road.
“I do not feel uncomfortable among these men. I have been going with my father and younger sister for so many years. I have known them for several years now,” says Pooja, who comes back home at 6 am to get ready for school.
Pooja's widowed mother, Rupal Parekh, now runs the newspaper agency, perhaps the only agency in Gujarat completely run by women. While Pooja and her sister, Chandni, keep a daily record of the newspapers delivered, her mother, Rupal manages the monthly accounts.
Pooja lost her father D Parekh around five months ago. It was then that her mother took over the reins of the 26-year-old news agency. “It was a difficult time and only Pooja knew about the intricacies of the business,” said Parekh.
It's been a month since Rupal Parekh has employed three persons to carry out the deliveries, but she and her daughters make it a point to carefully place pamphlets and other fliers along with the newspapers.
“Even if we make around Rs 12,000 to 15,000 a month, I pay these people Rs 1,000 a month, which is much above the average, so that news paper delivery takes place on time,” says Rupal.
Pooja feels that more than anything else, it is the management of delivery of the newspapers on time while keeping budget under control, that has taught her the basic lessons of entrepreneurship.
“I want to pursue business management and help my mother expand the business,” says Pooja. She also takes care of her younger brother, Ronak, a Class II student , besides teaching younger sister Chandni the realities of life.
During monsoon, the family usually hires an autorickshaw for collecting the newspapers. “We sort them and wrap them in polyethylene sheets for delivery in Waghodia Road,” says Rupal.
Rupal is also thankful to the competitors, her fellow newspaper vendors and even the circulation staff of the newspapers. “A lot of my husband's friends were very supportive. While they did say that it is not an easy task, they were confident that Pooja would be able to do it,” says Rupal. She also scoffs at the idea that it is a man's world out there in the newspaper delivery industry.
“If women can give you the news, why they should not deliver the same to you?” she says.
Courtesy : www.expressindia.com
Every day at 3.30 am she crosses the deserted lanes of Ajwa to reach the Raopura Clock Tower. Amid all the men, she collects around 450-500 newspapers and magazines for delivery to her customers at the Waghodia Road.
“I do not feel uncomfortable among these men. I have been going with my father and younger sister for so many years. I have known them for several years now,” says Pooja, who comes back home at 6 am to get ready for school.
Pooja's widowed mother, Rupal Parekh, now runs the newspaper agency, perhaps the only agency in Gujarat completely run by women. While Pooja and her sister, Chandni, keep a daily record of the newspapers delivered, her mother, Rupal manages the monthly accounts.
Pooja lost her father D Parekh around five months ago. It was then that her mother took over the reins of the 26-year-old news agency. “It was a difficult time and only Pooja knew about the intricacies of the business,” said Parekh.
It's been a month since Rupal Parekh has employed three persons to carry out the deliveries, but she and her daughters make it a point to carefully place pamphlets and other fliers along with the newspapers.
“Even if we make around Rs 12,000 to 15,000 a month, I pay these people Rs 1,000 a month, which is much above the average, so that news paper delivery takes place on time,” says Rupal.
Pooja feels that more than anything else, it is the management of delivery of the newspapers on time while keeping budget under control, that has taught her the basic lessons of entrepreneurship.
“I want to pursue business management and help my mother expand the business,” says Pooja. She also takes care of her younger brother, Ronak, a Class II student , besides teaching younger sister Chandni the realities of life.
During monsoon, the family usually hires an autorickshaw for collecting the newspapers. “We sort them and wrap them in polyethylene sheets for delivery in Waghodia Road,” says Rupal.
Rupal is also thankful to the competitors, her fellow newspaper vendors and even the circulation staff of the newspapers. “A lot of my husband's friends were very supportive. While they did say that it is not an easy task, they were confident that Pooja would be able to do it,” says Rupal. She also scoffs at the idea that it is a man's world out there in the newspaper delivery industry.
“If women can give you the news, why they should not deliver the same to you?” she says.
Courtesy : www.expressindia.com