When ‘Mahabali’ turns up as lottery vendor

Lottery vendor Mayadevi’s ‘Mahabali’ used to be a hit at shop inaugurations and other functions during the season that fetched her anything between ₹2,000-3,000.

Mayadevi T.M, a 36-year-old lottery vendor, is not one to give up so easily. Had that been the case, she would not have survived two lockdowns and constraints of multiple containment zones that took a heavy toll on her livelihood since last year. And on Thursday, coinciding with Atham, Mayadevi, who is settled in Guruvayur with her 13-year-old daughter, turned up clad in the attire of Mahabali at Thripunithura to sell lottery tickets. In the pre-pandemic years since 2015, she used to be one of the many Mahabalis to stroll along the streets of the temple town. Her ‘Mahabali’ used to be a hit at shop inaugurations and other functions during the season that fetched her anything between ₹2,000-3,000. But the pandemic has put paid to all that for the second year running.