The COVID-19 pandemic has confined more than half the population. While the lockdown has been lifted, people still fear meeting each other physically while others continue to avoid going out unless it is essential. With public gatherings such as fairs, carnivals, musical evenings and jatras unlikely to be allowed any time soon, the livelihood of people who depend on such events has become uncertain.

At Village Financial Services, customer welfare is a priority so we avoided face-to-face meetings. But we stayed in touch with our customers over the phone. On one such call, Keka Paul, who makes soft toys, told us how the lockdown affected her. As the mother of a five-year-old daughter, Keka understood that the pandemic lockdown will help in keeping the virus at bay. But the sight of her once-flourishing workshop remaining in darkness for more than two months crushed her spirit temporarily.

Before the pandemic, Keka used to sell her soft toys to distributors, who travelled from fair to fair in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam. With the lockdown, orders dried up. After the government lifted the lockdown, Keka realized that her business model should include sales to proper toy stores. And that she would have to add plastic “Barbie” dolls to her product portfolio.

Now, while soft toys remain her primary product, demand for the new plastic dolls is growing. Hopefully, the autumn festivities will help get her back in full swing.

Fairs and carnivals, both in urban and rural grounds, will come up again. But the new product line – and the extra revenue it fetches - is here to stay. A change that may have come much later had the hardships of the pandemic not forced her into a corner.

I am happy that Keka could make a bad situation better with her spirit.

Keka also spoke of her 5-year-old Ruplekha, who was to get admitted to Class 1 this year. Then the pandemic struck and no one knows when the government will allow the schools to reopen. Till then, Ruplekha will be “product-testing” the toys her mother makes!