Noida Haat: Juice stall run by transgenders a hit with visitors

Amrita Joseph Matyu, along with another transgender Anamika Rajendran, is running a fruit juice stall at the Saras Ajeevika Mela at Noida Haat in Sector 33A, which has caught the eye of the visitors and is one of the famous stalls at the food court in the fair

For 40-year-old transgender Amrita Joseph Matyu, being able to run a business without having to hide her identity has been one of the biggest achievements of her life.

Amrita runs the stall with Anamika and Mithun who she ‘adopted’ to work with her. (Sunil Ghosh/HT)

The Kerala resident, along with another transgender Anamika Rajendran, (25), and a helper Mithun, (22), is running a fruit juice stall at the Saras Ajeevika Mela at Noida Haat in Sector 33A, which has caught the eye of the visitors and is one of the famous stalls at the food court in the fair.

Back in 2015, when Amrita took the decision of earning her livelihood, she was compelled to hide her identity of being a transgender to work at a fruit juice stall in Ernakulam in Kerala.

“I was not allowed to reveal my identity, otherwise my boss would have fired me from the fruit juice shop. It was after much convincing that I had got that job as I did not want to earn by begging on the roads and my family and parents also supported me. After two years, when I had enough savings and experience to start my own juice corner, I started my own shop in 2017, near the Ernakulam collectorate,” said Amrita.

Amrita also became a member of the local self-help group (SHG), which further motivated her to do business but not hide her identity.

“Kudumbashree, the state poverty eradication mission in Kerala, always pushes rural women to become entrepreneurs. When we got in touch with Amrita, we were floored by her dedication and motivation to earn her livelihood and hence supported her endeavours. As a result, she has been a part of Saras Ajeevika Mela for three times now,” said Preeta, a Kudumbashree coordinator.

Amrita runs the stall with Anamika and Mithun who she ‘adopted’ to work and live with her. “These children are orphans and when I started my own fruit juice corner, they became my family and now stay with me,” she said.

In 2019, when the fair was held at the India Gate, Amrita’s fruit shop had generated a revenue of ₹8 lakh in 13 days.

“We set revenue targets for the food stalls at the fair and Amrita has always been one of the highest revenue generators at the food court. For this year, our target is ₹8 lakh, which is expected to be crossed as the fruit juice corner is always the busiest stall at the food court,” said Preeta.

Shivani Balyan, a visitor at the juice stall, said, “The workers, especially Amrita and Anamika, are very soft spoken. We came here after a neighbour recommended the stall.”

Amrita says that the perception of people towards the transgender community has changed drastically in the recent years. “Earlier, people would not even speak to us and would think that we are a shame to society. However, at the Saras Ajeevika Mela, the visitors are very cordial and motivate me to continue to work,” she said.

Saras Ajeevika Mela is a platform for over 300 rural SHG women to showcase their skills in art, handicrafts, food and textiles. The fair began at the Noida Haat on February 25 and will go on till March 13. Over 150 stalls operate at the fair venue whereas the food court has 27 stalls, selling authentic dishes from different states of the country.

Officials said that the footfall at the fair on weekdays is around 2,500, while on weekends it is around 4,500.

“At weekends, the food court receives a lot of people. All proper Covid-19 protocols are also being followed as teams from the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj are stationed across the venue to oversee the event,” said Charanjit Singh, joint secretary, Union ministry of rural development.