“For the past 25 years, I have been working as a bike and bicycle mechanic on the roadside opposite to Andhra Prabha colony. When I was 11 years old, my family shifted to Vijayawada from our village in Suryapet. Even my father was a bicycle mechanic and he couldn’t afford the education of four children so I had to drop out of school after the seventh standard. After doing odd jobs at various places in the city, I learned how to repair cycles and bikes in my youth, and ever since it has been the sole job for me.

Every day, I spend around ten hours repairing cycles and bikes and take home Rs.500 to 600. These days, because of the Covid-19 outbreak, the number of service requests have drastically reduced and I am hardly able to make any money. There are times when I return home with no income or a paltry sum of Rs.200 or 250. Depending on the work that needs to be done, I charge the amount. I have a college-going son and a daughter who’s in class seven. Though my son scores above 75 percent, I struggled a lot to get him into a good college. Fortunately, we were able to pay their fees for the coming academic year with the support of my wife who started tailoring recently. But we will have to work hard as we have some existing loans to clear. All I am left with is debts and woes in life currently. Yet, every day, I rotate the cycle and bike wheels hoping that someday the wheel of fortune will turn in my favor!”

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