A look at how this Bihar-based businessman managed to stave off coronavirus-induced crisis

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With Covid-19 induced lockdown, many small businessmen lost their daily bread. People were confined to their homes and the sales of many non-essential businesses came to a standstill. In such a situation, when someone executes out of the box ideas to survive, it becomes an inspiration for everyone

One such small businessman is Rakesh Mandal from Mithila in Bihar. When Covid-19 was not in the picture, Mandal used to sell Madhubani paintings. As soon as the lockdown restrictions came into force, Mandal started losing customers.

With practically no income, it was getting difficult for Mandal to feed his dependants. “Due to social distancing, people stopped coming to buy our paintings and even we couldn’t deliver them. My business collapsed and survival was becoming difficult for me,” said a teary-eyed Mandal.

We all know how suddenly N-95 masks became an essential part of our lives. But, as soon as the demand for N-95 masks started rising, their prices also went up.

“We started making masks at home because we couldn’t afford N-95 masks for everyone in the family. After two months of being confined to our houses, one day, out of boredom, we made a Madhubani design on a mask. Surprisingly, it looked good and beyond our expectations,” Mandal said.

Mandal, with four other Madhubani artists, started making masks at home with special Madhubani designs on them. He posted his work on Facebook and within a few days, he got his his first order for 100 Madhbani masks.

“In a matter of a few days our world turned and we pursued making masks as a full-time work to sustain in the market. Even the Prime Minister praised artists from Mithila in his Mann ki Baat show,” he said.

Till now, Mandal has managed to sell around 14,600 masks in the cities and 1,563 masks in villages. Along with him, four more people in his team survived this lethal pandemic by making masks. Changing his business model from selling Madhubani paintings to designer masks proved to be a boon for him and his team.

The pandemic has given us many inspiring stories like this and gives us hope that human beings possess the resilience to deal with adversities of any nature.