Slice of Life: ‘My mind is still fresh and pushes me more’

Chennai

I am from T Nagar. I could not study much owing to family situations. I was married nearly 45 years ago to Subramanian. I have two daughters, and both are married now. I am running this flower stall at Perungalathur for the past 20 years. My husband, who worked as a security guard at a private firm, became ill and is unable to go to work. Now, I am running my family with my lone income. I buy flowers every day from the Koyambedu market. I visit the market at 11 am and return after buying the flowers. Thereafter, I would open the stall around 4 pm and close it around 10 pm. My shop will remain open on all days of the week. I will keep it closed only when I am ill, and not unnecessarily. If I work hard like this, I can run my family. Now, I have grown old and can’t work like before. My mind is still fresh and it’s pushing me to work more but I am physically very weak now. I have many regular customers who buy flowers from my shop. I used to give them extra flowers whenever they come. I would like to continue this till the end of my life. I am also praying that some Good Samaritan comes forward to help my family.