As India observed a national lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19, it left many lives turned upside down, especially due to the loss of livelihood.
Some showed gumption by somehow not giving up, seeking assistance from the government to aid their survival without too much red tape.
Karan Kumar, a resident of Faridabad in the Indian state of Haryana, is one such individual. He says he lost his job as a driver during the lockdown.
Now his day begins at 3 a.m. Soon, he is chopping various things to prepare spicy and aromatic items for his small eatery. He sells chickpea gravy and rice, kidney bean gravy and rice, and gram flour fritters in gravy with rice.
By 11 a.m. everything is prepared, his next challenge is to carry it to neighbouring Delhi and sell it.
He brings out his old Maruti and drives to the city's Talkatora Road, near Parliament House.
After selling off all his wares by late afternoon, he has to go to the local market for groceries for the next day. By the time all of this gets over, it's already midnight.
Within a few hours, Kumar is back at it, engrossed in the struggle to survive another day.
Losing Job During Lockdown
Kumar says that losing his job as a driver for an MP amid the lockdown was a big setback.
"Job loss meant losing my accommodation too. I pleaded before my employer to let me stay in his accommodation for at least a month. But he did not agree and I became homeless", he says.
With nowhere to go, Kumar had no choice but to start living in his hatchback Maruti Alto, which he now utilises to sell food. "Both me and my wife stayed in the car for almost two months during the lockdown".
To date, most of his earnings get spent on buying or arranging raw material for the next day. "I am barely left with INR 500 ($60-64) after buying material for the next day. That's my full day's earnings", said Kumar, adding it means INR 15,000 ($205) which allows them to at least afford a rented accommodation in Faridabad, near Delhi.
"Today, I can say that it may not be a luxurious life but still there is some stability", he said.
Biggest Fear Apart From Hardship
Kumar says local municipal officials remain the biggest challenge, as they question him for running an unlicensed food stall.
Unemployment in India Since Lockdown
In India, a national lockdown was imposed on 25 March to curb effect of the contagious COVID-19 virus. The measure lasted until end of May, with the government starting to gradually relax the restrictions in June.
According to the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy, almost 18 million salaried Indians have lost their jobs since April owing to the lockdown-imposed curbs all around the country.
