A cup of life: Delhi chaiwallah turns novelist

WRITER BY THE ROADSIDE: Rao has penned 18 books in the 30 years that he has been brewing tea for Delhiites.

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New Delhi: Laxman Rao is not just another chaiwallah (tea seller) on Delhi pavements. At 53, his spirit is unfazed and undying.

Fondly called Lekhakji, Rao has managed to pen 18 books in the 30 years that he has been brewing tea for Delhiites. His titles include novels, plays and political essays.

Rao runs a make-shift tea stall on the pavement in front of Hindi Bhawan in Delhi. He comes from a family of farmers in Maharashra. As a child, he was fond of reading, but never ever did he plan to become a writer.

"Main mazdoori karne lag gaya building construction par. Phir main dhabo par kapde dhone lag gaya. Dhire dhire, maine Darya Ganj ki book market dekha, aur wohi se kitabe kharid ke lane lag gaya. Mujhe Shakespeare ki pata chala, aur achche achche pushtako ka pata chala, Marx, Lenin, Gorki ki pushtake le kar padne lag gaye... (I started as a construction worker. For sometime, I was also washing clothes at a laundry. It was then that I discovered the book market in Darya Ganj, and I started buying books. I got to know about Shakespeare, Marx, Lenin, Gorki and the likes)," Laxman Rao says about his initiation into the world of literature.

And it's not just his sugary cuppa that is addictive, his bitter-sweet words have old-timers like Ravinder Pawar hooked to his literature.

"Sometimes when I have tea here, I discuss some basic issues. I have found he has very clear views on national and international affairs," Pawar says.

Today a little space in the literary universe is all that Laxman Rao seeks. Until then, Rao says it is through his writings that he will continue to drink life to the lees.

Rao earns Rs 5,000 a month from his tea stall. He spends a large portion of that on publishing his writings. Today, his books can be found in various branches of Delhi Public Library and also in some school libraries.