There are many people who dot the mada veedhis landscape and are an integral part of it and of the community.
And each has a history to share.
One such person is Poorani Ammal, the woman who sells tender coconuts from a three wheeler outside the shutters of the Bank of Maharashtra, off Nadu Street.
Over a decades or so she has raised a fairly loyal clientele – local residents and shopowners – with tourists and pilgrims boosting her earnings.
Through sun and dew, Poorani Ammal sits or stands at her cart and hawks the coconuts.
But there are a few people who seek her out for a craft she is good at – making plastic wire baskets.
Today, she takes orders from foreigners who pitch in Mylapore for a week or fortnight and are fascinated with the craftwork.
“Sometimes the demand is so much that my arms ache!”, she says one Sunday morning as a few walkers order for the coconuts.
She hails from Marakkanam and marriage brought her here and by sheer dint of hardwork at the cart, she has raised a family and has got her children married.
She says she learnt weaving plastic wire basket when she was very young and now uses her spare time at the cart to make these baskets.
“All this adds to our income and it helps, ” she says..
It takes two to four days to complete a basket depending on the size and design, she tell us.
Her clients get the materials required from the market and hand it over to her.
The colours are the clients’ choice,
Poorani Ammal has a few designs to offer to those who want to make a choice.
“But I cannot do this in a rush. Yet, I got to be at it, ” she says.
Sourcing the tender coconuts is not difficult.
Since her hawking joint has been a fixture for over a decade, the suppliers come by and drop off the number she needs,
– Reported by R Revathi
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