The Indian Street: A Multipurpose Entity.

In India, it is safe to say that there is a huge difference between roads and streets. I guess, it is always safe to say that there is a difference between roads and streets but Indian streets mock the difference. A road is something that connects two points, while a street is a public way that has buildings on either side. Although this is true, there is so much more to it than just buildings in India. It can be said that if you want to experience Indian Culture in a way you never have, travel on the streets of India. It is a memorable experience, to put it mildly.

The street network in India stretches for a distance of about 6,215,797 kilometers, ranking second after the U.S. Each kilometer of these is optimized and occupied for and by street-based businesses. (I made up that term)

The streets here are truly multipurpose. Getting from one point to another might be the main purpose, but there are so many other things happening. People travel, sell, buy, live, sleep, play, pray, perform, and socialize, all on the same streets. The stalls, local vendors, bazaars, supermarkets, and hypermarkets, you will find them all here.

The Vendor Business.

There are more than 600,000 people in the street vendor business. They form a very important part of India's retail trade and distribution system, representing 4% of the urban workforce across India and generating a turnover of about 800 million rupees ($10 million) a day. Most of these vendors have an individual average workforce of only about three employees or partners. Most of these are migrants or poor laborers who work an average of about 10-12 hours a day. According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Property Alleviation, street vendors in India contribute more than 50% of the country's savings and 63% of the GDP comes from street vendors. 49.48 lakh street vendors have been identified in India so far, the majority of 8.49 lakhs coming from Uttar Pradesh followed by 7.04 lakhs in Andhra Pradesh. Some of these people start off with stalls and upgrade to stores and supermarkets. While some of them stick with their stalls throughout their lifetimes.

Some of the major streets of India for buying/selling of clothes, accessories, and other wearables on a large scale are Colaba Causeway, Mumbai; Fashion Street, Mumbai; Mall Road, Shimla and Manali; Connaught Place, New Delhi; etc. The vendors, as it is clear now, are a huge part of the Indian Economy but they aren't as honest as they seem. On such a large scale, it is quite obvious that people will try to benefit from illegal ways. The vendors are nothing new to this crooked principle. Some people build their stalls on land that they do not own. This not only results in trespassing on that particular land but also the vendors litter the area causing problems for the people that live there. They do not have to pay rent and utility taxes because they set up their stalls on land they do not own. This results in an unfair competition between on-street and off-street businesses. However, since these people play such an important role in the economy, the government fails to take strict action on the majority of vendors. Not saying that they let serious criminals pass through, but the usual crimes like living tax-free and using someone else's/government's land are some of the things usually overlooked. Sometimes, when the government receives complaints from the residents about these hawkers and vendors, they arrive at the location and seize their stalls.

Diversity in the Streets.

A walk through the streets will soon make you aware of all the types of people that live in the locality. All religions, castes, creeds, races, and people with similar or dissimilar beliefs reside together. There are some stereotypes about street vending and shopkeepers that all Indians know about. People from particular religious backgrounds carry out particular on-street businesses which change with religion, for reasons I am unaware of. These stereotypes just exist and have been existing for a long time. Thousands of pedestrians are making their way through a small walking space using the Indian Street Walking Tactics that they have developed over the years. Nobody bumps into one another, nobody pushes one another. You will see people living in extreme poverty, sleeping on the footpaths, to people living in extreme wealth, getting out of their luxurious cars and going into luxurious buildings and apartments. You will see people walking to 12 hours of unstoppable work to people walking like they have nowhere to go. You will see people driving scooters and bikes on footpaths when the road is jammed with cars and other vehicles. You will see everything you haven't seen on these streets.

The Poverty on Streets. A home for people.

Cities like Mumbai have an unending contrast between the rich and the poor. You will see the most luxurious apartments when you look up, but look down and you will see people living their lives on the streets, fighting for one meal a day, and begging strangers for money. This contrast exists in every Urban Indian city. Heavy migration from rural to urban regions is one of the reasons. Close to 81 million people in India live below the poverty line, which is over 25% of the Urban Population. In this decade, urbanization in India is set to reach 50%. According to a UN report in 2009, by 2030, 40.76% of the population in India will live in Urban Areas. Mumbai witnessed large-scale rural-to-urban migration in the 21st century. and It is home to 12.5 million people and is the largest metropolis by population in India, followed by Delhi with 11 million inhabitants. Delhi's urban population experienced a growth of 4.1%, witnessing the fastest rate of urbanization, as per the 2011 census, followed by 3.1% in Mumbai. As long as poverty is visible in these urban areas, investments will be delayed and growth will be stunted.

We see marketing styles, innovations, inventions, resourcefulness, and every other creative tool at use when we walk past these shops and streets. We see things we never expected to, which gives these streets meaning. Some of the well-known streets are

Colaba Causeway, Mumbai.

1. Fashion Street, Mumbai.

2. Connaught Place, New Delhi.

3. Mall Road, Shimla and Manali.

4. Fontainhas, Goa.

5. French Quarter, Pondicherry.

6. Old City, Udaipur.

7. Park Street, Kolkata.

8. Rajpath, New Delhi.

9. Tripolia Bazaar, Rajasthan.

The streets of India stay alive, may it be day or night. This diversity in the streets, this contrast, is what makes them so unique and beautiful. The diversity must be preserved, but the poverty shall perish.