Keonjhar: For Brundaban Jena, a resident of Dhanurjaypur in Keonjhar, newspaper hawking is bread and butter, in every sense. His daily distribution of papers has made him a familiar face in the locality. He has also engaged several youths in this job.
Jena has been doing this for 40 years and a bicycle has been his company all along.
Leaving his bed at 5 am, the 65-year-old goes out for newspaper distribution and returns home around 12 noon. Then he takes rest for some time before taking bath and lunch. “Dal, rice and any simple curry are my favourite for lunch and dinner,” he says. He goes to bed at 10 pm. At the end of every month, he collects subscription fee from customers.
His family comprises his wife and two sons. “Though there are hiccups in life, my family lives happily. My elder son helps me in paper hawking. I will be doing this till I am active,” he added.
Earlier, he used to work as a contractual worker in the municipality. Later, when he along with others was retrenched from job, he started delivering papers under a newspaper hawker. The old bicycle with which he had started his work is still with him.
Initially, his earning was meagre. “Initially, I used to earn Rs 60 per month. The earning has become Rs 6,000. You have to do your work in time. It will give you happiness,” he noted. He added that some people do not pay subscription fee in time; that makes him unhappy. In such cases, he has to pay from his pocket to the newspaper organisation.
PNN
