Delhiwale: Portrait of a life

Hindustan Times

19-05-2025

In his 60s, Puran Chand sells 'chick blinds,' the slatted bamboo screens that sieve the daylight streaming in through doors and windows. He spends the day walking along central Delhi localities. This afternoon, sitting on a shaded pave, he agrees to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make 'Parisian parlour confessions', all to explore our distinct experiences.
Your favourite colour.
I'm always sad, I don't like colours.
Your favourite bird.
I like all birds. Each day, I carry grains in my pocket and give them to birds wherever I find them. Sometimes, I stop at traffic intersections where people tend to throw grains at birds, and I pick up some of the extra grains to give them to birds in places where nobody leaves any for them.
Your favourite food.
Whatever my wife, Vimla, prepares for me. I eat to survive. I just finished today's meal of rotis and kathal.
Your favourite qualities in a man.
His ability to earn well.
Your favourite qualities in a woman.
Her ability to get up early in the morning.
What do you appreciate the most in your friends?
The willingness to talk to me in the evening, after work.
Your favourite occupation.
I have sold chai. I have sold bread pakora. I have sold momos. I have worked in a book binding workshop. I've now been selling chick blinds for many years. But I have not been able to sell much for more than a month now.
What would be your greatest misfortune?
It has already happened. My mother Shri Batto Devi died when I was seven. I still remember her. Every morning, before leaving home to cut grass in a park, she would tell me a story.
Where would you like to live?
In a house of my own.
Your favourite names.
Anup and Binay, which are the names of my sons. And Nisha and Meenakshi, which are the names of my daughters.
How do you wish to die?
Whenever the breathing stops.
What is your present state of mind?
I'm thinking I work so hard, I earn so less.