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NEW DELHI — Laxman Rao’s roadside tea stand in New Delhi sells the same items as most tea stalls in India, like various types of cookies, crispy fried snacks called namkeen and sweet milky tea. But Mr. Rao also offers something that most tea sellers, known as chai wallahs, do not – books that he has written and published himself.

“Most people are surprised when they hear about this chai wallah who can write,” said Mr. Rao, 61, the author of 24 books in Hindi, including novels, plays and analyses of Indian society and politics. “It has always been my dream to become a Shakespeare. Now I am living that dream and people are reading my work.”

Indeed, Mr. Rao’s writing has gained a loyal following and earned him audiences with the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and former President Pratibha Patil.

“They were impressed that I had come from a village where I had nothing and now had become a writer,” Mr. Rao said at his sidewalk stand, located outside Hindi Bhavan, a cultural center in Delhi.

Born in a small village in the state of Maharashtra, Mr. Rao left in 1975 “with nothing but 40 rupees I took from my father and my 10th-grade completion certificate.” He first went to Bhopal, the furthest city to which he could afford a ticket, and worked construction jobs for three months until he saved enough to come to Delhi.

He washed dishes at a restaurant before setting up a small stand selling paan, tobacco and beedi cigarettes in 1977. Twenty-two years later, he switched to tea, which he said had a higher profit margin. Mr. Rao said he sells about 150 cups on an average day, enough for a daily profit of 500 rupees, about $10.

At first glance, Mr. Rao’s story is similar to that of millions of migrants who have come to India’s cities hoping to escape rural poverty. But Mr. Rao’s motives were not only monetary.

“I came to Delhi because it is where all the publishers are and the best place to make it as a writer,” Mr. Rao said. “I went from publisher to publisher, but they all threw me out. They would say, ‘How can a paan seller from the street write a book?’ ”

Undeterred, Mr. Rao self-published his first novel in 1979, “Nayi Duniya Ki Nayi Kahani (A New World’s New Story),” about a man’s determination to become a writer in the face of considerable obstacles. Like many of Mr. Rao’s books, it was based largely on his own experiences.

His best-selling novel, “Ramdas,” published in 1992, tells the story of a student from Mr. Rao’s village who drowned while bathing in a river. The student had been a troublemaker, but a teacher reformed him and put him on the path to a bright future. “When he tragically died, I felt pain I didn’t know how to express,” Mr. Rao said. “That led me to become a writer.”

While Mr. Rao continues to self-publish, his writing has reached a considerable audience. He has sold more than 10,000 copies of his books, which he sells for 300 rupees at his tea stall and to school and college libraries around Delhi, and has gained acclaim in the Indian press. His books “exude a rare sense of honesty and humility,” wrote Bhanu Pande, a reporter for The Economic Times. Nalini Ranjan of The Tribune wrote, “Laxman’s writings are woven around ground realities of life.”

Mr. Rao remains attuned to those realities from his minimalist stand. Under the cover of a parasol, he sits on a mat and boils tea on a gas flame elevated a foot off the ground, into which he frequently pumps kerosene from a rusty tin. Next to him are two benches for his customers. His regular clientele include civil servants, students and migrant laborers, among whom he has gained minor celebrity status.

“We are very proud of Laxman’s writing,” said Mohammad Rihan Khan, an auto-rickshaw driver who said he had not read Mr. Rao’s books himself because he had not gone to school. “He gives the common man a voice. He is living the same daily challenges as us.”

Indeed, Mr. Rao has seen his share of challenges. For years, police demanded he pay bribes for allowing him to run an unlicensed business, an occupational hazard routinely faced by street vendors in Delhi. In 1999, authorities forced him to shut his stand, leading him to move to his current location.

Mr. Rao said he now has a license and does not have to bribe police to conduct business. In fact, police officers have become some of his most loyal customers.

On a recent visit, Jogi Ram, an assistant sub-inspector with the Delhi Police, bent to touch Mr. Rao’s feet in a sign of respect as he approached the stand with two other officers. “We treat Rao sahib as our uncle,” Mr. Ram said, using a Hindi term of reverence. “There are plenty of other chai wallahs in this area, but we come here. He makes the best tea in India, and he is a good friend.”

Mr. Rao does not provide customers only tea. He gives them advice and inspiration.

“A lot of people come here and seek Rao sahib’s guidance,” said Udit Satsangi, an actor with Asmita Theatre Group, which conducts rehearsals at a school across from Mr. Rao’s stand. “I am trying to get into a creative field, but my parents want a more stable career for me. He’s from a different background than me, but has a similar story. He had to leave home to pursue his dreams. He is an inspiring role model.”

Mr. Rao said the inspiration flows both ways as customers often provide creative fodder for his writing.

“I get new ideas every time I hear people talk,” Mr. Rao said. “They tell me about the challenges they’re facing at work or in school or how the world is changing for them, and I put that into my books.”



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Mr. Rao said the protagonist of a recently published novel was inspired by a classmate of two students who frequented his stall. “Renu,” about a girl who overcomes struggles with poverty and an alcoholic father to achieve financial success as an accountant, led to Mr. Rao’s meeting with President Patil.

“She had read ‘Renu’ and liked it and called my family to come meet her in the Rashtrapati Bhavan,” India’s presidential palace, Mr. Rao said.

Despite all this recognition of his talent, Mr. Rao still toils at his tea stall for 10 hours a day, commuting an hour each way from his home in east Delhi’s Shakarpur area, where he lives with his wife and two sons. He writes by hand at a table, lit by a small lamp, for at least five hours every night, often until the sun rises. He later hires a typist to transfer his work to a computer.

“It is not ideal. I wish I had more time to write and also to read,” said Mr. Rao, who completed a bachelor’s degree through correspondence courses at Delhi University. He is currently working toward a master’s degree in Hindi literature and cites the Hindi novelist Gulshan Nanda as his greatest literary influence.

“I write in Hindi, but I’ve read authors from all over the world like Marx, Shakespeare and Lenin,” said Mr. Rao, who hopes to translate his books into English soon.

That task may fall to Mr. Rao’s elder son, Hitesh, currently studying to become a chartered accountant. The son edits his father’s books, helps market them online and manages a Facebook account, which he uses to communicate with fans who cannot make it to the tea stand.

“My goal is to focus on selling books full time and leave the tea business. I’m near that goal,” the author said with a smile, pouring a cup for a customer. “But for now, I will keep selling tea – the Shakespeare chai wallah.”

Zach Marks is a journalist based in India. He is researching roadside tea vendors around the country with Resham Gellatly. Read more of their work at chaiwallahsofindia.com

