One and half month into his new profession Surjit from Loitangkhullen easily make a profit of not less than Rs 10,000 (ten thousand) in a month time. He moves around Kwairamband Bazar making popcorn in his cooking pan with a Kerosene stove mounted on a wooden wheeler.
On a daily basis Surjit will start making popcorn at around 10:30 am and continue till 6 pm. The explosive expansion of kernel of heated corn giving a while flowery popcorn has been a favourite snack food of many in Manipur.
Most of his customers are the one who walk pass the market along the foot path while few make a quick stop to grab his popcorn packed in a small plastic bag. Surjit also expresses that he is presently encouraging some of his friends in taking up the profitable business.
“Earlier, I use to sell ice cream. I learnt that popcorn making is lucrative from my North Indian vendor friends while I was selling ice cream in the summer time. In the beginning, I could hardly work on 5 kg of maize, now I am able to heat and blow up 10 kg of maize seeds a day. At the end of the day, I count a profit of not less than Rs 500”, says Surjit.
Surjit does his business around Kwairamband bazar. He is a member of KEDO, group of volunteers who camp in the Kwairamband bazar taking up manual works for earning. KEDO is also involved in making the market clean and tidy.
