Aunty Ki Chai

As the night kicked in, on came a woman on the streets of SB Road who guaranteed she sold the best chai in the whole of Pune. 17 years later, nothing’s changed. Let’s meet, Sunita Pramod Agarwal urf Aunty Ji, a brash independent woman who’s earned her fanfare and a living sitting on the same side path of SB Road selling tea from 11:30 pm – 5:00 am.

The story of how she came about to being that Aunty Ji we all love, is a rather Bollywoodish Tale. Married 40 years ago, a frail baniya woman from Agra shifted into Nanapet, Pune. A few years into marriage a family feud cropped up which eventually led to her and her husband moving out of that home. It’s then that her husband started selling breakfast at the same spot and when income wasn’t enough she began to sit through the night selling tea. The rest as they say is history.

But besides all of this there were 2 other questions I didn’t have answers to, A. What was so special about a glass of Chai especially when she sold it at Rs 10? B. She set herself up at the same spot every night but not even the police ever bothered her, or so I had heard. The former was answered the minute I tasted her garam adrak ki chai, and the latter took a while to surface.

Finally she spoke; “Police ke saath sambandh ache hain, aur aaj main jahaan hoon sirf unki dua se. Hum unki izzat karte hain, aur woh humari.” After her husband passed away 5 years back the police told her “Vidhwa ke aasoon poch, aur kaam kar” (Wipe these tears of a widowed and get back to work). And, thus started this relationship, which quite honestly is very surprising in today’s times.When asked about competition, she overtly says that there is no competition what so ever.

And why would there be? Every customer there vouches for the fact that the chai has no water content. She uses only Chitale milk (priced 10 Rs higher than Amul for every litre.), the best of sugandh elaichi and a lot of love.Bobby aka Aniket Nigam, a proper aunty loyalist and local student when asked about Aunty Ji said, “On the Saturdays and Sundays you won’t find any place to park your bike around the lane. She may come across as stubborn but actually she is a very sweet lady and today she has earned enough to live a life of utmost comfort and respect but still chooses to sit here every night serving the dwellers of the night”.A little more probing led into finding out that she now owns over 3 flats around the city, has 2 educated daughters, and one very beautiful 2 year old granddaughter.

Then why, why would she still bury herself into making Chai for 6 straight hours every night?All aunty had to say then was, “Mujhe ab in Bache logon se aur Business se bahut pyaar hai.” She’s a woman who wants to sell tea until her last breathe, and with a hint of nostalgia she added ‘If I were to die, I would like to die selling tea to these kids and those people who’ve made me Aunty Ji.’ The one lesson I took away that night being around her was “Don’t look down at yourself then neither would the world.” She took pride in selling Chai and that’s probably why she earned so much respect.Quoting a student “If there is ever a day she leaves us for the heavens, even there she’ll continuously sneeze; that’s how much Aunty Ji will be missed”A chulah stove; couple of vessels; a stool to sit on; stock of cigarettes, cream rolls, mik and ChaiPatti with a mob around in a 1-foot / 2-foot area on the side path.

– I welcome you to Aunty’s Suite.Aunty, being an individual, is the subject matter of Micro-Economic Study. The main point to be focused on here is How, Why, and What creates so much demand for her “chai”? The primary reason as to why her stall is THAT popular and successful is because the Location and Time that she’s adopted. People who live in Pune would relate to the mechanism better, observing the Place and Time utility that she creates for her product(s).

Shivaji Housing Society, Behind J.W. Marriot is where you can find her, everyday, after 1 a.m. upto 4 in the morning. Again, the society is home to hundreds of students while a 5-star hotel attracts good crowd, making it a Hot-Spot for people to hang out.

Tea, cigarettes, cream rolls and cookies at a time when every shop in the neighbourhood remains closed is her USP. She creates Direct demand for tea, which can be credited to its quality. Derived demand for tea is created when people who only go to her for cigarettes, order for tea to prevent their throats from going dry. Joint demand for all permutations and combinations of her items are seen from people of different preferences.On top of that, lack of competition makes it her monopoly. And the monopoly is what allows her to charge exorbitant prices without the demand for it being affected too much.

She’s a believer in the concept of Profit Maximization and not Sales Maximisation. A Small Scale business, a Simple business, a Smart Business. She Scientifically carries on her Art and caters to people making more than just a living for herself. Which keeps me wondering again, if entrepreneurship is a science or an art? Or a science as well as an art? The use of an appropriate Location based on study of areas, and Timing it to perfection is what makes it a Science.The Tea can be called a work of her art, or a recipe which involves scientific blending of various ingredients to give you the perfect taste. Either way, it creates demand.

Also she smartly uses a marketing gimmick, i.e. she sells other commodities such as cigarettes and cream rolls and cookies just to help the consumers help themselves to her stall and then advertise her tea. As an overview, the factors which contribute to the demand for her “chai” are:- Location (which creates place utility)Time (which creates time utility) Quality of her tea Variety of products she sellsMicroeconomics is that part of economic theory which deals with the behaviour of individual units of the economy. Its main tools are individual demand and supply and it mainly studies the decisions of an individual producer, consumer, worker etc.

and the factors affecting those decisions. It provides the foundation for macroeconomic analysis and thus forms the core of economics.The main focus of microeconomics is on the actions of the individual and its implications for the economy and Aunty ki Chai indeed makes for an ideal subject matter. Operating alone without any other help, with only a gas stove and a few vessels at her disposal Aunty has gone on to become arguably the most popular tea vendor in the city. She has a limited range of items to sell and also caters mostly to the youth but it is the superior quality of her products which stand out and contribute greatly to her success.

The following report is a microscopic analysis of her operations while discussing various microeconomic concepts such as demand, types of demand, factors affecting demand and various forms of market to name a few.In the context of economics, a good that provides direct satisfaction to the consumers is said to have direct demand. All finished goods have direct demand and such goods are demanded mostly by consumers. Prime examples are food, clothes, books etc.This concept is clearly understood when one looks at the demand created by ‘Aunty ki Chai ’. Every customer there vouches for the fact that the chai has no water content.

She uses only Chitale milk, the best of sugandh elaichi and lots of love. It is the quality of tea prepared which amazes and which is primarily responsible for the crowds which line up every night. Demand for this cup of tea is independent of demand for any other commodity directly satisfying the want for tea of people. Thus, Aunty’s chai indeed creates direct demand.Derived demand is a term in economics, where demand for a factor of production or intermediate good occurs as a result of the demand for another intermediate or final good.

Generally, demand for such goods comes from the producer’s side. For example, the demand for labour required for producing cloth would essentially depend on the demand for cloth. All factors of production have derived demand.This concept becomes easy to comprehend while taking a closer look at Aunty’s operations. The major raw materials used by Aunty include milk, sugar, gas among other materials such as cinnamon and saffron leaves.

Now, the demand for these materials which go into the making of a cup of tea clearly depend on the demand for the finished good, i.e., the cup of tea. Aunty would be demanding more of raw materials if demand for her tea goes higher and vice versa. This clearly establishes the direct relation between the demand for raw materials and the demand for the finished good as stated in the basic definition.

When two or more commodities are demanded simultaneously to satisfy a particular want their demand is said to be joint demand. Goods having joint demand are generally used together, and are therefore also known as complementary goods. Bread and butter, pen and paper, car and fuel etc. are all examples of goods which are demanded together, thus having joint demand.In addition to tea, Aunty also provides fresh cream rolls, cookies and cigarettes.

It is safe to say that most people consuming tea would not just buy a cup of tea but also a cream roll or a cigarette along with it, which indeed makes for a heavenly combination! So, it is essentially the cup of tea and cream roll together which satisfy the consumer’s hunger. The cup of tea and the cream roll are complements and are thus demanded together resulting in joint demand.