Delhiwale: Cowboy of Connaught Place

With his brown felt hat, long locks and impressive bread, Krishna Kumar Tiwari looks like a character straight out of a Bollywood western

Krishna Kumar Tiwari looks like a character straight out of a Clint Eastwood western.

Krishna Kumar Tiwari at his kiosk on Connaught Lane. (Mayank Austen Soofi / HT Photo)

About three years ago, Mr Tiwari realised his kiosk on Connaught Lane wasn’t doing so well. Sales for the usual stuff like mouth fresheners and bubble gum were falling off, sometimes disturbingly.

“I got so upset that I stopped getting my hair cut,” explains Mr Tiwari, “and when my hair grew long, I put on a baseball cap.”

That was only the beginning of a transformation. A friend got him the distinctive brown hat from China, and of course, his impressive beard added to the illusion. We, however, cannot infer that this new appearance increased sales at his kiosk in central Delhi.

This busy morning, as we stand beside Mr Tiwari’s booth, pedestrians of our jaded capital seem too occupied with themselves to look at our cowboy.

While we’re chatting, a sari-clad woman asks for a pouch of Pass-Pass, please. While Mr Tiwari fiddles around for change, she gazes at that hat like a tourist transfixed by the Taj Mahal.

Mr Tiwari enigmatically explains that the new look “helps me soothe the anger I have with myself.” As we walk on, we turn to look at him one last time.

Yes, straight out of a Hollywood western.