Tough Times for Custard Apple Sellers This Year

A S Joel Kumar

Deputy Bureau Chief, Sakshi TV

Now it is that time of the years when custard apples make their presence felt at street corners and market places. They are there everywhere. The green is matched by the colourful attire of the Lambadi tribal women who peddle them.

The custard apple season lasts just for 60 days. Some years, the season is even shorter making things difficult for the vendors. This year is one such lean year and the Lambadis claim that they aren't making many profits.

The custard apples that reach Hyderabad markets are generally from Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda, Medak and Siddipet districts. Lambadi community people from these districts pitch tents and use them as temporary shelters on the roadside for two months and sell custard apples. Generally, men are involved in transporting fruits while women sell fruits throughout the day. “This time the crop is not good and hence we are not able to make profits,” says Kamli of Nalgonda who has set up a shop at the NTR Stadium.

Lambadis living near a forest area pluck the fruits and sell them in local towns on day to day basis. One such Lambadi community is staying close to Narsapur forest area in Venkatpur Tanda in Medak district. This Tanda is very small with 25 families. Every year during custard apples season, all the households get busy with custard apple plucking and sale. Generally, Lambadis go to forest area to pluck custard apples, along with their cattle. While cattle graze, Lambadis pluck custard apples. “This time we will not get fruits for full two months. Rains have come late this year and we are disappointed”, says Mangli, who is busy plucking custard apples.

To pluck custard apples generally women go in big number. But doing this job is not easy. “Snakes and insect bites are our major problem. Our lives are in constant danger if we are not alert," says Seyni while plucking custard apples. Even educated youth from Venkatpur Tanda pluck custard apples. “I am doing my graduation in Hyderabad. Whenever I come home for Dassera vacatio,n I will go to pluck custard apples along with my parents. I have been doing it from my childhood and I enjoy doing it” says Mohan, while plucking custard apples.

Once the custard apples are plucked they are brought home. These cannot be put on sale immediately. They are incubated under leaves four days. They are sent to the market only after they are ripe. “We earn anything between Rs 60 to Rs 100 daily. We do lot of hard but what we get at the end of the day is very less. But we cannot sit idle. We have to earn our daily bread the hard way,” says Tara, who is selling fruits in Medak town.

Apart from tribal communities, there are few other backward communities who pluck custard apples from the forest area and sell them by sitting on the road side. Some even burn custard apples and then sell. “Some people prefer roast custard apples only, ” says Padma of Tonigandla village, even while keeping herself busy roasting the fruits.

In Medak district, many Lambadi communities and other people who pluck custard apples, sell their fruits in Ramyampet Seethaphal market. Though this market is 20 km away from the Medak town people bring fruits in trolleys and autos to this market. Eight or ten people form a group and bring their individual basket of fruits. “Fruit sellers from Hyderabad and neighbouring Andhra and Maharashtra states come here to purchase fruits in bulk. We are giving best price to these tribals and other community people who are getting fruits. Now it Rs 200 to Rs 400 per basket depending upon the quality” says Shyam, commission agent of Ramayampet seethaphal market.

“We are from Maharastra. We are coming to this market for the past eight years. During the season weekly three times we come. This time the crop is good”, says Matheen fruit seller from Akola.

But the tribal communities are not happy with the price they are getting for their custard apples. “With lot of hard work we collect fruits from forest areas and transport them to the market anticipating good returns. But commission agents are exploiting and cheating us. At the end of the day, what we get are just peanuts.”, says Shobha of Narsampally Pedda Tanda.

With every passing year season of custard apples is coming and passing out. But the life of Lambadi community and other backward communities who are depending upon their sales is not changing. Let the sweetness of custard apples also come into the lives of these people with the formation of new districts and new administration in place.