Meet the 1st native woman Ice-Cream seller in town
"Willing to take up every tiresome job if it doesn't amount to stealing"
Source: Hueiyen News Service / RC Mangang

Imphal, October 06 2012: IN A society where cases of discrimination and violence against women are spiraling, one woman has come out defying all odds to show the world that women are inferior to none and can do all the works any man does for a living.

Meet Chingangbam Devala, a young woman of 35, mother of a son and wife of a mason, who has been selling ice-cream on a trolley to supplement the income of the family.

Married to Chingangbam Inaocha (40) of Khurai Thangjam Leikai under Imphal East district, Devala has been helping her husband in maintaining the family for the last 3-4 months.

She goes from place to place to sell ice-cream braving the scorching sun daily.

For her, everyday is a working day; there is no Sunday in her life.

Before getting into the present profession, there have been nothing that Devala had not tried her hand on, in the hope of earning the bread and butter of her family and keeping the kitchen fire burning.

FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL: Despite being a woman, Devala goes around selling ice-cream to supplement the income of her family

Earlier, along with her husband, Devala used to engage in selling petrol and diesel on black; sold grocery items on the road sides and had also done piggery farming.

However, due to shortage of money to invest in these businesses, nothing could last long.

Finally, after discussing the matter with her husband, Devala started selling ice-creams on a trolley.

Her ice-cream trolley contains a variety of ice-creams including the much acclaimed 'Vanilla', 'Choc� bar', 'Cup Butler Scotch' and many others of the like.

It was sheer co-incidence that this reporter met Devala at a place in Porompat selling ice-cream in the scorching heat.

In a tete-a-tete with Hueiyen Lanpao, Devala informed that she was married to Inaocha in 2001 and was blessed with a son the following year.

Later it became hard for the family to make both ends meet from the little amount of money her husband brought home.

So, they started thinking of ways and means to earn money and tried almost everything possible from selling petrol and diesel on black to hawking grocery items on streets and then venturing into piggery farm.

"Though we could earn handsome amount of money on certain occasions, our business could not last long since we do not have sufficient money to invest", Devala recalled.

Later, with her husband's support she joined the Hills Man's Ice-Cream, an association formed by one Sur Enterprises and took up the job of selling ice-cream on trolley.

"It has been around three-four months that I have joined this profession.

Earlier I felt shy to go out in the streets and sell ice-cream.

But now I have realized that there is nothing to feel ashame of when one is earning for the family, unless he/she is onto some mischiefs", Devala added.

The woman ice-cream seller further disclosed that she could sell ice-creams for around Rs 2000 to Rs 3000 on daily basis and after deducting the charges for hiring trolley, she manages to take home at least Rs 300 to 400 every day.

"I am very happy that I could at least share the burden of the family and help my husband in running the family", Devala said with pride.