Farmers Movement Archive

Dhol sellers drum a brisk business at Singhu protest site

While most businesses around the farmers’ protest site at Singhu border have suffered losses over the past 20 days owing to the road blockade, one group is busy doing a bit of brisk business -- dhol sellers from nearby Bawana who have reached the protest venue in large numbers to make the most of the ongoing agitation. Farmers from Punjab and Haryana are buying these small brown drums, known as dhols, in plenty -- some to take them home as presents for their children, others to “loudly cheer and celebrate” as and when their agitation becomes “victorious”.One such seller, Muzahir Ali, said he and most of the other hawkers live in Bawana’s slum colony and decided to come to Singhu as their sales had dipped in the months following the Covid-19 lockdown.“Apart from toy shops and fairs, these dhols sell the most at protest sites and right now, there is no bigger protest spot than Singhu. So, about 30 of us have been selling dhols here every day,” Ali said. Ali and the others are actually toy sellers, but the only toy they have been bringing to Singhu is dhol.Salman Naved, another dhol seller, said he was among the first to reach the spot, about a week ago. “On the first day itself, I sold over 20 dhols. The farmers here don’t even try to bargain the price the down,” Naved said. Jarnail Singh, a farmer from Mullapur village in Ludhiana, who purchased three dhols from Ali for ₹150 said he would take them back for his two children and one he would beat all the way while driving home, as and when the government gives in to the demands of the farmers.“My children think I am enjoying at a fair and they want me to bring back something from here. So, I’ll take the dhols back as mementoes,” Jarnail Singh said. Shahid Khan, another dhol seller, said he had to wrap up his toy stall in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, after the lockdown. “This protest is a boon for us. We’ll try to make up a little of the losses we sustained during the lockdown,” Khan, who sold four dhols by early afternoon on Thursday, said. The sellers said they purchase these dhols for as little as ₹50 per piece and sell them at Singhu for as much as ₹150 per piece. “In Sadar Bazar toy market, these dhols go for only ₹70-80,” Khan said.Bhajan Singh, a 65-year-old farmer from Lakhoke Behram village in Ferozpur, said he was buying a drum from Khan for himself. “The government doesn’t seem to be hearing us. Maybe the dhols will help carry our voice to those in power,” Bhajan Singh said.

Hindustan Times

17-12-2020

Delhi