Rational thinking affected sales, say ‘Drishti Bommai’ vendors

Vendors involved in ‘Drishti Bommai’ trading here are finding it difficult to make ends meet. They allege, the growing rational thinking among the people are to blame for the declining situation.

‘Drishti Bommai’ vendors hail from a community that either buy or make their own dolls, and sell it to earn a living. The dolls are believed to ward off ‘evil eye’ of jealous people. In order to prevent accidents and bad fate, demon masks are often hung at construction sites, terraces of houses and multi-storied buildings. These supposedly ensure the evil is warded off and misfortunes evaded.

There are around 100 families residing in the Gandhi Nagar near Nagamangalam in Tiruchy who used to travel at least 100 kms to sell such dolls that are priced anywhere between Rs 25 and Rs 250.

These sellers are now finding it difficult to make ends meet as the growing rational thinking among the people has affected their business. They are now forced to borrow money at a hefty interest rate to run their families. Some have even resorted to begging.

“This has been our family business. Since my father was involved in this business, I followed him,” says Vinod (35), who has been selling ‘Drishti Bommai’ dolls for over 15 years. He recalled that his father used to carry the load on his head and walk for several kms to sell the dolls. However, now, they transport the dolls on their moped, travelling over 100 kms every day. “This is the only change that was witnessed among the people. However, many still walk long distances to sell their dolls,” he said.

These vendors purchase the dolls from Andhra Pradesh, Villupuram and Cuddalore and sell them across the state for a small profit margin of around 15 per cent. However, doll that are bigger in size reap more profit. Also, shell and lemon evil eye dangles, which is popular among the truck drivers, reap in good profit.

Over 85 per cent of the ‘Drishti Bommai’ (dolls) are sold in the rural areas. This indicates that superstitious beliefs are still pertaining in such areas, whereas, such dolls rarely attract urban populace. “Presently, people avoid these dolls claiming that these are mere superstitious beliefs. Thus, we have been losing our livelihood and sometimes we even struggle to buy fuel for our mopeds,” said Maheswaran, another youth involved in the business.

Meanwhile, K Rajalakshmi, a research scholar from Bhrathidasan University who studied the living condition of these people, said that 90 per cent of them were not satisfied with the income. Among the community, 41 per cent claim that they used to sell five to 10 dolls per day earlier. However, now, selling even five has become a challenge. Around 90 per cent of them adopt various tricks to sell their products. They have around 10 types of dolls, he said.

Further, he said that these people do not receive any help from the government and therefore, they borrow money at exorbitant interest. “Their living conditions are very poor and sometimes, they can only afford one meal a day,” she said.

Rajalakshmi further said that these vendors lack the basic necessities, and therefore, the government and NGOs must help them with employment opportunities and educational facilities for their children.

She said that these vendors were originally performers of Boom Boom Maadu, a rustic cultural art. This can be introduced with decent wages in cultural programmes to keep alive the traditional practice among the youth.