How is the life of an electronics and Home appliances shop owner in India?
Several times we walk into a home appliances store to get household materials. We tend to purchase the required materials, bargain as much as possible with the store owner, and walk out without giving the slightest thought to why the shop owner only decided to open a home appliances store and none other.
On my all-India cycle tour, I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting Saibanna Ingle sir from the Sawantwadi district of Maharashtra who is the owner of a home appliances store. I learnt that to be able to set up a home appliances store, the person has to be in the field for long enough to learn the tricks of the trade, understand the mentality of the customer, and take the right actions at the right time. All of these only come with experience and majorly experiences of struggles which any of us are blind to.
Speaking with Saibanna Ingle sir who saw my cycle, handed me 500 rupees wished me for my journey, and even offered me food, I learnt about the struggles of his life. So, how is the life of an electronics and Home appliances shop owner in India?
Life of an electronics and Home appliances shop owner
Ingle sir said that one may think that running a home appliances shop is a profitable business. To be able to run one, the person will have to learn about the business and that doesn’t come with reading, but with experience working.
Born to a poor family who sold utensils on a cycle carrying as much as 100 – 150 Kg luggage at a time without even wearing slippers, Ingle sir has seen hardships up close. He has lived a tough life many of us find hard to imagine. Being a part of a family having 4 sisters and 2 other younger brothers, the responsibility was on him to have the sisters married and the brothers educated at a very early age. He said he didn’t get the opportunity to even put his foot into a school once in his lifetime.
He started to work at the age of 10 back in 1971. From there on it took him 15 years to establish his first shop in 1986. By then he was married and had his first daughter born. Today he is 61 and says he leads a comfortable life. All his 4 daughters are married and his youngest son is taking care of the store currently.
Sir said that he loves travelling and has been to all major temples in the country. He said he hasn’t visited only 3 states, Assam, Tripura, and Meghalaya. He hasn’t found a reason to visit these places as there are no major temples there. He has been to all other states in the country apart from these three. Of the four Dhams Badrinath, Kashi, Jagannath Pur, and Rameshwaram, only Badrinath is pending and he soon wishes to visit there. When I asked him what makes him visit these places, he said it gives him peace of mind when he visits these places.
To be able to visit the entire nation and continue doing it is no small task if one has been through such immense difficulty starting from an early age. I was curious to understand what the mindset of Ingle sir could be that allowed him to get out of the difficulties in his lifetime. I asked him a couple of questions to which I derived answers.
Justification
Ingle sir said he always wanted to get educated. Unfortunately, he took up the job of selling utensils and eventually home appliances as that was the only option he had. That was the only thing he knew how to do best. He told if he hadn’t put in the effort to work back in the day it would have been difficult to have gotten his sisters married and his brothers educated.
Today, both his brothers run the same business as he does. The entire family is into selling home appliances and materials and living a comfortable life. Thanks to all the struggle that Ingle sir had to go through in his early stage of life.
Validation
Ingle sir said that they were born to a family of utter poverty. So much so that they several times slept on the streets. During that time he always looked at people well off and asked himself why he shouldn’t be like them. That was the biggest driving factor in his life. Ingle sir smiled and told that he has achieved the goals he set as a kid. “I am okay with where I am now. I don’t want to go up or down”, he told.
Complaints
Ingle sir told that whatever is over is over and can not be changed. There is no point looking back. He is happy and content with where he is and doesn’t have any complaints at the moment.
Ingle sir added that had he been educated, he would have achieved way more in his life. It was a zeal for him to get educated and what he couldn’t achieve he has made sure his children do. Everyone has cleared 12th and some have completed their graduation too. He stressed on the importance of education. “To go to much larger heights, one should get educated”, he told.
Materialism
When I asked what sir would do if he got lumpsum money, I was surprised to hear that he would give all of it away and that he didn’t need any money. That was not what I expected from a person who learnt the business through the hardships of life.
On being asked if he had a message to the world, he said it is better to say no to drugs, stop lies entirely, and value one’s time to the fullest. These are the most important elements of life. Hearing this, his younger brother who was standing beside him all the while immediately jumped into the conversation and told that he used to get whacked by sir often during his childhood when he made mistakes. Today he understands that it was for his good. “My brother had only good intentions in his mind” he mentioned.
I had accidentally stumbled into an event which takes place post-marriage where the male members of the family collect together to have food. I could see that there was a lot of respect the youngsters showed to the elderly. There was order amongst the entire lot. At the same time, there was also laughter all around. Sir being the eldest in the family handled the entire situation very well. He raised his voice when needed and subtly suggested people proceed with work when required as well.
The importance of education, sacrifice for family, working with a vision, relentless hard work, and smartness enough to learn business, are the important traits I observed in Ingle sir that left a mark in my mind as I left the place.
Similar to Ingle sir, one another person took care of the family and continues to do so single-handedly. Some of the traits coincide (read this article).
I am a 31 year young PhD graduate who has decided to travel the length and breadth of India on my cycle, to document the journey of meeting a vast array of people. In my journey, I intend to understand the characteristic features of the people of this nation and categorize them based on their demographics, age, profession, gender, traditions, and cultural differences.
Dear Asutosh I thank u for taking some of ur valuable to pen down about this Great simple man. There are very few people like my Father in Law who doesn’t open up about his past life but he helps a lot to others without any Expectation he is the inspiration to all Of us
Once again Thank U
Have a Wonderful and safe Journey
Ingle sir seems to have a stoic mindset. I just enjoy reading about these individuals and now am grasping the content about justifications, validations and complaints to a better depth
We sincerely appreciate your excellent coverage of my father s life story and other topics. We feel that your journalistic work is in the best tradition. Thanks again. My all family members appreciates your clear and accurate writing.