Modern day Luck vendors
Growing up in a small town in south India, I used to walk past street vendors selling different items on the footpath (read as roadside as there wasn't a footpath).Among them, the one who always attracted my attention was the middle aged man who sold rings embeded with colourful stones which he claims as semi-precious lucky stones but were actually glass pieces. Unlike other vendors who were selling essential commodities, the luck vendor was never busy with many buyers. However, occasionally he had customers who are to be first convinced about the 'quality' of the product and then about the 'positive' impact of the product. I always pondered, "if wearing those rings, stones are sure to bring luck and prosperity, why was he not wearing them and becoming rich to live a better life away from this roadside?" and " what's so compelling for him to make others rich?" As years passed, my visit to the place lessened from daily to