Panipuri, dahi puri, and a search for belonging in Tripura

I work as a panipuri vendor in Agartala, Tripura. While my siblings and I were born and raised in Tripura, my family’s roots are in Begusarai district, Bihar. Having sold 10–12 kathas of land in Begusarai to pay for their daughter’s wedding, my grandparents came to Tripura approximately 50 years ago in search of work. And my parents came with them.  

They are among the many migrants who have travelled from Bihar to Tripura, where there are more opportunities for labour-intensive work. My father found work as a thela (handcart) puller.  

However, we carried our migrant identity wherever we went. For example, when my father fell ill, my mother set up a small pakoda and kachori stall to make ends meet. But many locals objected to this as we were ‘outsiders’. When my father got better, we decided to avoid the trouble and shut the shop. But the need for additional income meant that our family had to keep looking for work.  

I started working as a panipuri vendor when I was just nine years old. I would accompany a panipuri vendor—also a migrant from Bihar—who lived near our house in Agartala. I learned the trade by watching him, helping him out, and slowly understanding the little details of the business. He would pay me INR 10–20 a day. I was too short to reach the top of the cart, so I would sell panipuri by standing on a small stool. This was when I was studying in school; I still remember how I used to hide from my classmates when they passed by. 

Later, the owner sold his cart to me for INR 1,000 and went back to his village. Initially, I tried various things to increase profits. I set up my stall at local fairs, which are usually great places to conduct business, but I was pushed out because I didn’t ‘belong’ to the state. 

We decided to make the most of what we had. Slowly, I started selling new dishes like dahi puri. The business picked up. Now, our entire family contributes to running the stall: My mother boils and prepares the potatoes for the puris and my father and my brother help in making the dough. Together, we manage to earn approximately INR 30,000 a month. 

Bikash Gupta is a panipuri vendor in Agartala, Tripura. 

As told to Anupam Sharma, IDR Northeast Fellow 2024–25. 

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Know more: Learn why workers in Odisha migrate and return to bonded labour.