The temperatures have suddenly dipped in Delhi this week and everyone around me is thinking of travelling to balmier climes. When yet another friend mentioned going to Goa this weekend, I remembered Dilip Soni, the itinerant jeweller who, like the migratory bird and Delhi socialite, spends winters in Goa and summers in Manali. I had chanced upon his hole-in-the-corner shop in Old Manali this October, which bore a homemade sign declaring that customers were welcome to create their own trinkets. Inside, however, the shop looked like it was winding down. The show windows were almost bare and the owner was packing whatever remained into steel trunks. The owner, Soni, cordially invited me in, explaining that he was leaving Manali to set up shop in Goa for the winter season. While I'd heard of cafes and waiters working in Leh and Manali in summers, and in Goa in winters, this was the first time I'd heard of a business establishment doing the same.
"It's not that hard," he said. "My shop fits easily into a couple of trunks and I have a tie-up with my landlords here as well as on Goa's Vagator beach. It takes me less than a day to lay out my wares, put up the sign and start my business. I've done it for so long that, sometimes, I even forget where I am!"
He was from Rajasthan, he said. "When I entered this business about 10 years ago, thanks to the thriving tourist trade, jewellery shops were a dime a dozen in Rajasthan," he told me. So, he decided to try his luck plying his trade in other tourism hotspots. "Manali and Goa were good options as their seasons were totally different. In between the two seasons, I also got time to go home and see my family," he said.
While we were chatting, two young western tourists wandered in, undeterred by the dismantled sign and bare shelves. Soni expertly switched to English, unpacked a wide array of beads, hooks and chains. Within minutes they were hooked and he sauntered back to chat with me. "When I started my business 20 years ago, I realised that people love the idea of making their own jewellery, or customising it to their taste. It gives them something to talk about and makes that jewellery item even more precious to them," he said. As a marketing strategy, it seemed sound, I mused, when I saw them leave later after shelling out what seemed like way too much money for a couple of inexpertly made bracelets.
Business was quite good, Soni said, in spite of the high rents he had to pay in Manali and Goa. "On good days, I manage about Rs 5,000 in sales," he said. "In fact, I do better here in Manali than in Goa; there is so much cheating in the jewellery business there that it's impossible to compete on prices!"
Had he ever set his sights on other tourist destinations, I asked. "Well, I've always wanted to go to Varanasi and see its ghats and temples. But its tourist season clashed with Goa's which is a Mecca for small businessmen like me. In summers, my other option is to go to Leh, but again, Manali offers better business prospects." What an interesting life he led, I commented. It's almost as if you've spent your career just following the sun, I said. He thought for a moment and then grinned: "It's not the sun I follow - it's the Israeli tourists! They just love jewellery and all I do is follow them wherever they go..."
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