The Demon of Numbers

We bought rock-melons from this young guy which were super sweet and juicy. He told us he gets up daily before dawn to get stock for his street cart from the wholesale market in Azadpur.

I read in The Economist last week that in India, fruit and vegetable vendors like this guy make about 300-400 rupees per day. That's nothing in dollar terms (5-6.50 USD) and next to nothing in purchasing power locally. Inflation is high and a litre of milk for example is 50 rupees. Imagine working hard all day and with your salary you can buy 6 litres of milk. Needless to say dairy products are not a commodity street cart vendors will buy. They will stick to the very basic staples of rice and lentils and remain undernourished.

The posters behind this vendor invite the residents of this wealthy neighbourhood to send their kids to schools that promise to turn them into a 'prodigy' or to learn to mentally count faster than a calculator.

Meanwhile ordinary folks like this guy really do struggle with 'overcoming the demon of numbers' ... how to make ends meet in their daily toil for survival.