Whitechapel Markets Only Female Stall Holder

I conducted this interview with Ms Thandi last summer with the Survey of London whilst exploring the people that work on Whitechapel Road. To find out more about the survey visit: https://surveyoflondon.org/

On a warm summer’s evening, after a long day at the market, Ms Thandi leaned against a packed up stall with a box of Mangos and a pocket knife, peeling away at her Mangos; she spoke to me about her time on Whitechapel Road.  

Ms Thandi came to the UK from the Punjab in India in 1968 with her parents at the age of 16, she went to college and a few years later got married to her husband. Together they ran a shop on Brick Lane selling ladies clothing. At a time when the East End was the wholesale clothing capital of London business was thriving.

In 1990 however Ms Thandi’s husband passed away suddenly and left her with the shop and her three children. Clothing began to be mass produced in China and this had a huge impact on the local clothing industry. Ms Thandi eventually closed down her shop and with her remaining stock set up a stall on Whitechapel Market in 2000.

Ms Thandi had many sewing tools and equipment left over from shop and once her stock had all been sold she began selling the haberdashery that she had acquired along with some household items. When she first came to the market she said “they did not like me, I was a woman and they were not used to it, there were no other women, I never even saw the stall holders wives, I get it, it’s like that in my culture too, the women stay at home, take care of the children but I had to work”. Ms Thandi faced hostility from other male stall holders and felt she had to fight back. One day she shouted “well you’re just going to have to put up with me, cause I’m not going anywhere!”.

“Working at the market is tough, you have to work with the weather, the winter is horrible and the number of people outside depends on the weather, if you have a normal job it is better, you will have more money than a stall holder, everything is online and business has changed”

When asked about the people of the area Ms Thandi said “there are a lot of Bengali’s here, has been for a while, I like them, they have soft characters and are nice people, the market hasn’t changed much in the last 20 years”

Growing up in the East End I have always seen Ms Thandi at the market working hard, she is a familiar face to everyone. When parting ways Ms Thandi shouted to me “come again!” she enjoyed telling me her story. If you would like to say hi to Ms Thandi, her stall is located at the end of Whitechapel market opposite The Blind Beggar’s pub.