Sanjay, the Ice Gola Vendor of Visakhapatnam, has a success story that inspires many

Serving ice gola and masala soda to Visakhapatnam for almost seven years now, Kumar Sai or ‘Sanjay’ as people call him, is determined to earn better this year. Having lived in many cities and fluent in various languages, we bring you more about his life and work.

“I hail from Patna and I’m in this business for over 28 years now. I grew up in Bihar and then moved to Mumbai to start my own business. I worked as a helper for somebody before starting my own Gola Thela. I served ice gola and soda on Juhu beach, Mumbai for over 15 years and after spending a decade and a half in Mumbai, I decided to move out and try something new. That was when I came to Vizag.

I came here in 2010 and since then, this city is my home. I live in Chinna Waltair with my wife and 3-year-old son. Initially, I tried to set up my business in Gajuwaka but that didn’t work out. Then I thought of trying my luck in the city and moved my business to Zilla Parishad but got no success there as well. I have now moved to the Beach Road and my business is stable since then. I had to pay money to the union to set up my cart on the Beach Road but business was good so it didn’t matter much.

I now own two carts in the city which are run by 3 people who work for me. One of them is on the Beach Road while the other will soon commence near the GITAM College campus. I get all my syrups and materials from Mumbai as quality is important to me. I visit Mumbai once in a month for the supplies.

People in Visakhapatnam love the ‘Kala Khatta’ flavoured gola the most and masala soda is a favourite too. In a month, I manage to get 10K to 15K profits and I expect the profits to increase until the end of June. I work really hard to earn maximum profits so that my son can be educated well. I hope my dream comes true soon.”

For a man with so much dedication and willpower, Team Yo! Vizag wishes all good for him and hopes that his hard work proves fruitful.