February 13, 2025
Fruits Story

The Man of Fruit Under The Cluster Fig Tree

Fruit sellers can be found all over the island. But a good one; a decent one; a one worth changing your work rout every morning just to get a taste of that fresh fruit juice or that exceptionally large box of fruit salad, cannot be found easily. And the man under the cluster fig tree, has it all.

Since the mid-1990s he has been well known. People would change their work rout, for a clean-cut piece of papaya which can be scooped by a spoon and eaten then and there.

Even in five-star restaurants the quality  taste of fruits can go up and down during off seasons, but here, with N.G Manimel’s ability to pick the right fruit was unbeatable. He knew what’s good and what’s not as soon as he laid eyes on them, or smelt the fruit’s scent, or felt the outer skin of the fruit.

He started his small business by the side of the Bristol Street the very street where countless people have started their currently thriving businesses from. And that was, in his own little bicycle. He came there every morning and gave a bit of extra energy and light to everyone’s day. His nectar and fruit salads made wonders in peoples’ lives giving them a refreshing energy to begin their days.

Before he picked this particular spot and started his little shop, his work had been somehow involved in fruit related activities. . Hence, he mastered in choosing his daily supplies. And not very long after he started selling fruits on his bicycle, he got permission to put up a small shop and it was flourishing and he would have a better income  but until and unless  reconstruction work of the road started which put him in a bit of a muddle. And that was when the Cluster fig tree was cut down and the shop was moved to the other side of the road.

Mr.Manimel didn’t do his little business just for the sake of doing it. He loved every inch of its work. He was an agricultural expert from the start, even though he never had the chance to get it certified on a piece of paper.

“Cutting up fruits nicely and serving them is the best”, he said, “It’s nice to see that sparkle in their eyes when they see the fresh juicy fruit cubes served in decent portions. Specially as they’re on their way to work and are probably still on empty stomachs”

Every good businessperson has had to face rock bottom at least once in their lifetime, and for Mr.Manimel there have been times when they have had whole tubs of fruit thrown out due to issues in demand, and this was mostly during the first few years of their work

They have also faced issues when they had no choice but to increase the price of their fruit salads and drinks. And times when they need to run on zero profits as they cannot disappoint their daily customers.

“An amount has to be separated for the rent payment. Then there’s also the water and electricity changers.” He said.

Before starting the fruit shop, even though Mr.Manimel’s work was always mainly based on fruits and vegetables he tried to change his path and tried to go for a garment store at wall market. This didn’t seem to be working out for long and so, “name” left it all and travelled all the way to Dubai to find a way to provide for his family.  He spent a good 10 years on his work in Dubai and came back home and got to work to start his fruit shop.

 It took some time for the people around to get used to the spot the shop was located in. but after they did, they’d come every morning, and not just as customers, they’d come as friends. With a warm smile every morning. There were no borders whatsoever among the ones who came. No religion, no race, no ethnicity was even noticed. “Everyone who came was the same to us. The more they come the more love you feel for them. Even if you don’t speak, you can tell from person’s eyes and their smile towards you.”

Maybe another reason for every customer to come back to the shop was the homely feeling and the family like atmosphere. Now this could be because everyone who worked there was Mr.Manimel’s family. His son, his sister, his wife and so on. They take turns on their jobs and do it all out of love. And you can feel it when you get closer to the shop: the rush and annoyance caused between siblings which stays the same as when they were 5 years old; the care between the parents for each other; and of course, the wise aunties giving advice to their 30-year-old nieces and nephews.

“Sometimes people have to wait in line for 10/15 minutes till we finish making the stuff for them, but a few things that we never do is to keep a pregnant lady, or a mother carrying her child, or ladies and gentlemen of the forces in line, waiting” “and if we are able to, we give them a small discount.” The smallest things like these, are what matter the most, and it’s heartwarming to know that people like this do exist.

 Due to the pandemic a lot of plans have been postponed. Mr.Manimel”and his family have been having an idea of expanding and starting a delivery service for all of their fruit products this April and we shall only hope for the best.

After seeing all of these years of hard work through thick and thin, the main thing we see in Mr.Manimel and his success is the dedication he has towards his work. His dedication towards good, pure and honesty work, is astonishing. He doesn’t care about a single religion that the people who come there represent. He only sees the good, and he only wants to spread the good, with as much as he can do from what he has. This kind of people, especially during these days cannot be seen everywhere. So, we whole heartedly wish them all the best, because, even with all of these challenges, this fruit shop will not be waving goodbye anytime soon as one of their main challenges faced these days, is serving their long lines of customers.

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