Photo: BSS

CHUADANGA, Nov 27, 2025 (BSS) - Once poverty-stricken Marjina Begum has now become an icon for other poor and helpless women. She becomes a self-employed woman in the district town by selling egg chops, pithas and other food items. 

Everyday her shop sees a crowd of local customers from afternoon to night. It was seen that customers were standing in line at her small shop in front of the TNT intersection in the town to have 'Egg Chops' and different types of seasonal pithas.

As the winter season knocks the door, the shop has added new varieties of pithas including 'Pakan Pitha' and 'Chitai Pitha'. Customers irrespective of ages and class come to eat these delicious dishes. The business has changed the fate of Marjina Begum. She earns Taka 700 to Taka 800 daily from her shop. 

Marjina Begum, a resident of Dakkshin Gorasthan Para in the municipal area, has been running the shop for the last 20 years. Currently, with the arrival of winter, she is also selling 'pithapuli', 'chitai pitha', 'pakana pitha', 'egg chops' and other delicious items. 

Marjina Begum's younger sister and her daughters help her in the shop. She is selling worth an average of Taka 4,000 to Taka 5,000 every day. 

She said that after excluding all expenses, she makes a profit of about Taka seven to eight hundred a day. 

Every day, she sells about 12-kg of piazhu, 50 pieces of egg chops and 8-kg of chitai pitha. Each piece of pakana pitha is sold of Taka at 10, chitai pitha at Taka six, egg chop at Taka 10 and piazhu at Taka 5. 

Eight persons of her family are dependable on the income of this small shop.

Hardworking Marjina Begum said, "I have been running this business for the last 20 years. Now in the winter season, I have also started making different types of pithas. This shop runs from 3 pm to 10 pm every day."

She said the crowd of customers actually increases after evening. "I am getting a good response from the customers by selling 'Pakan Pitha', 'Chitai Pitha', 'Egg Chop' and 'Piazhu'. Many customers come here from far to eat. I get up early in the morning and go to the market and buy potatoes, onions, green chilies, flour, eggs, oil and other ingredients and return home. Since then, I started working on the machine to collect the ingredients for making 'Piazhu' and 'Egg Chop', she said.

Marjina said, "Around 3 pm, I went to my shop with those materials. Then I started making those items. There are also four members who help me in my work. The pressure of selling is high from 5 pm to 8 pm. However, the customers wait patiently to eat my 'Egg Chop' and 'Piazhu'. It would be better if my shop was a little bigger, then it would be more convenient to entertain customers. I can't accommodate many customers."

Rakib Hasan, a customer who came to have pitha, said, "This small shop in the city has created quite a stir. Although the shop is small, the taste of the food is quite good. I came here from Jafarpur to eat pitha and chop. I really like the taste of the pitha and chop here".