Currently, fairs are being held in many places to celebrate Navratri, Dashera, and Ram Lila. These fairs feature numerous attractions, toy and earring shops, shooting ranges, as well as vendors selling chaat and pakoras with chhole bhatura.
Among this variety, one can find people selling balloons that wander through the fair. Often, we ignore their requests to buy, assuming that since there is a fair, the balloon sellers must be gathered here.
However, selling balloons is not an easy job. Although the fairground can be crowded, people come to sell balloons based on potential income. But gaining access to the fairground area is not easy; a significant amount must be paid for it. Even outside the premises, they cannot freely sell balloons because they must pay the police, fair organizers, or the local market committee 400–500 rupees.
One reason why balloon sellers are persistent is the presence of small children among the fair visitors. For example, at the Ram Lila fair at Noida Stadium on one day around one o'clock near the stadium, a person appeared filling balloons in a small tent. At that time, the fair had not yet started, as it gains momentum around five o'clock. Seeing him, I had several questions and asked if he sold balloons inside the grounds in the evening. He answered negatively.
Curious, I asked his name. He introduced himself as Brajyamohan. He is from Sambala and came here to sell balloons. When I asked if he traveled from far away just to sell balloons, Brajyamohan explained in detail the entire economic model of balloon sales. He mentioned that he only sells balloons at fairs. He noted that fairs constantly take place in places like Meerut, Bulandshahr, Sambal, Aligarh, Delhi, and Noida.
Brajyamohan explained that although he sells balloons at fairs, he sometimes has to work outside the fairgrounds. This is because a substantial commission is charged for selling balloons inside the venue or on the fairgrounds. He specified that even inside Noida Stadium, a commission of 1500 rupees is required for one day of balloon sales. Therefore, he prefers to set up his stall outside. Outside, there are people who allow him to trade for only 300 rupees.
Brajyamohan said that in the evenings, he spends the whole day inflating and decorating balloons. By the time evening comes, he starts selling balloons on the roadside near the fairgrounds from ten to eleven at night, while people continue to arrive and leave. He sells balloons for 50 rupees per pair and also offers small toys costing between 20 and 100 rupees, which he quickly sells along with the balloons.
According to Brajyamohan, he sells about 1000–1500 rupees worth of balloons in a day at the fair. Sometimes, if the day goes well, sales reach 2000–2500 rupees. However, there are days when revenue barely exceeds 500 rupees. In such cases, if he tries to sell inside the fairgrounds, he will have to give all the income to the committee or contractor. This is why they trade outside the fairgrounds.
Thus, the next time you meet a balloon seller at the entrance of any fair, you should understand the effort he put into getting to that spot. He stops us and asks us to buy a balloon because, since we are going to the fair, he is also there, having paid money for the right to sell balloons.