Kiran (Rajkiran) is 26 years old and his mother Vandana Devi is a drawing teacher. Father Gnanavel runs the Murugan Mavu Mill in Veerakeralam and the youngster is a successful vegetable vendor in R.S.Puram. The visitors to the Uzhavar Sandhai in R.S.Puram are his cutomers. " I sell exotic vegetables between 6 AM and 11 AM everyday and also supply them based on orders. We hail from a family of farmers and the flour mill came up later. Veerakeralam is our native place and I began by helping out my father who was selling country vegetables. Sweet corn, baby corn was also sold and we undertook a lot of marriage orders. I did my diploma in Computer Science Engineering from Karpagam and went on to my B.E in Computer Science from C.I.E.T. Our Kuladeivam is Mahalakshmi of Chitadurga in Karnataka. The family had migrated during the times of Tipu Sultan. Schooling was in Baldevdas Kikani Higher Secondary School, " shared the soft spoken Kiran. The youngster had originally decided on modelling as a career.
Kiran (Rajkiran) is 26 years old and his mother Vandana Devi is a drawing teacher. Father Gnanavel runs the Murugan Mavu Mill in Veerakeralam and the youngster is a successful vegetable vendor in R.S.Puram. The visitors to the Uzhavar Sandhai in R.S.Puram are his cutomers. "I sell exotic vegetables between 6 AM and 11 AM everyday and also supply them based on orders. We hail from a family of farmers and the flour mill came up later. Veerakeralam is our native place and I began by helping out my father who was selling country vegetables. Sweet corn, baby corn was also sold and we undertook a lot of marriage orders. I did my diploma in Computer Science Engineering from Karpagam and went on to my B.E in Computer Science from C.I.E.T. Our Kuladeivam is Mahalakshmi of Chitadurga in Karnataka. The family had migrated during the times of Tipu Sultan. Schooling was in Baldevdas Kikani Higher Secondary School," shared the soft spoken Kiran. The youngster had originally decided on modelling as a career.
The engineer had worked in a retail departmental store for sometime but he was keen to become an entrepreneur. He had been a spices and pulses trader for sometime. Rajkiran quit the venture for it did not suit his style of working. Nowadays he sells quite a few varieties of exotic vegetables and seasonal fruits.
"I sell broccoli, lettuce, leeks, parsley, zucchini, capsicum, cucumber, lotus stem, rosemary, thyme, pomegranate, litchi, mangustan, mango, star fruit and other similar ones. The sale takes place on the street in front of the ' Uzhavar Sandhai '. I am grateful to the owners of the house for letting me literally block their gate for a few hours everyday. My day starts by 5 AM and We begin to align things first in order to begin the sales by 6 AM. Lots of the residents living in R.S.Puram make Italian items and they patronize me. We work everyday. Well, work was not great after engineering. Salaries were not good and therefore I thought its better to be an entrepreneur. My parents are my role models. I source the items from places like Bengaluru and Ooty. All the purchases are on the basis of cash and so are the sales. The vegetable business is good in Coimbatore. The Coimbatorean is really conscious of his or her health. My favourite deity is Kamatchi Amman in R.S.Puram and therefore I have named my business as 'Sri Kamatchi Traders'. I visit her every Friday and offer a ' Nellikai Malai ' ( gooseberry garland )," smiled the aspiring entrepreneur. Kiran wants to put up a permanent store in R.S.Puram or its neighbourhood. His elder sister Sumithra is married to Pasupathy and they are blessed with Srivarshini and Niharambari. Srivarshini has been speaking her ideas aloud to her uncle and granny.
Kiran has institutional clients like 1002 B.C and French Door. He discusses ideas with his mentor cum guide Arunachalam aka Arun. He had tried to involve farmers in his work but it did not work out because his varieties were exotic. There had been a time when he sold a tonne of sweet corn per day. He has an Instagram page. The youngster has thick hair, kadukkan (ear rings), sandhana pottu and a beard. "Mom used to cook for all my friends and I used to take a lot of methi biriyani to college. I am now keen to have food in my vegetable store. Currently my shop is on a mat. I carry an electronic scale, phone, tubs for storage on a TVS XL and a Hero Bike. My parents help me everyday," added Kiran who is just 26 years of age.
The vegetable vendor is a self learner. He is quite religious and also practical. " The youtube has been really helpful. I learnt the Adi Sankara composition Kanakadara Stotram with the help of my phone. Now I am learning Sri Lalitha Sahasranamam and have got introduced to Sri Lalitha Trisathi. I like the Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam a lot. Allu Arjun was my inspiration for the same. I just heard a few lines and got hooked on to it. Now I listen to Kandhar Anubhuti, Manikarnikashtakam, Sivapanchakasharam, Kolarupadhigam, Gatkamala, Aditya Hrudayam, Navaratnamala, Srisuktam, Ganesha Pancharatnam, Abhirami Andhadhi, Subramanya Bhujangam and many other compositions. I like the Shyamala Dandakam rendered by the great D.K.Pattammal," spoke the deep thinking vegetable entrepreneur. The early morning shoppers can listen to a number of wonderful compositions emanating from Kiran's smart phone during their shopping period. This is one rare entrepreneur who is rooted to hard work, innovation, technology, music and our ancient tradition. Kiran knows Kannada, Tamil, English and a smattering of Malayalam and Telugu is part his skill set.
Kiran plans his day well ahead. It is based on the season and the day of the week. Availability is also an issue. Part of his business is based on organically grown vegetables. He buys raw mangoes and waits for them to ripen naturally. The weekends are busy for him and somehow he finds time to chill out with his friends. Kiran does a lot of analysis with his mentor Arun. He believes that self help is the best help.
"We buy all the exotic fruits and vegetables from Kiran regularly. He sells quite a few exclusive items which are not available in the market. This vegetable vendor is really offering very good service, " shared Madhavi.G.Shah and Gaurav Shah of R.S.Puram.
Rajkiran is known as Kiran. He is popularly known as the 'sweetcorn guy' in the Uzhavar Sandhai located in R.S.Puram.
Kiran, this ray of hope is sure to go places in a country known for entrepreneurship.