Akash Vaid is already halfway through his workday when I meet him outside the “Bikanervala near the metro station,” as he had specified. A delivery person for Amazon India, Vaid had agreed to take me along on his daily route at the behest of his superiors. When we meet, 25-year-old Vaid, smartly dressed in his company uniform, has six packages left for delivery in and around the residential west Delhi neighbourhood Rajouri Garden.

“I’ll go ahead and you can follow me,” he says after the initial chit-chat. This was easier said than done as Vaid zipped off with the confidence of a person who clearly knows his way around town. He would later tell me he is from “proper Delhi” and “just needed to know a landmark to find any house or office in the city”. The son of a readymade garments salesman, he began working right after class XII to support his family. His first job was at a call centre, followed by stints at a wholesale shoe supplier and pizza franchise, before joining Amazon India eight months ago.

“The company itself is only one-and-a-half years old [in India]. I wanted to join them ever since I heard of them,” he says. One of thousands of employees who have the most demanding, yet least appreciated job in the e-commerce and logistics sector, Vaid usually delivers 15-20 packages a day, and nearly 25-30 packages around Diwali. Setting out at 7am, he finishes only after 5pm. His daily route passes through neighbourhoods that are within 5-7km of Rajouri Garden, including areas like Mayapuri, Tagore Garden, Subhash Nagar, Hari Nagar and Janakpuri. On some days, his work also takes him to the ‘sub-city’ Dwarka.

“We load all the packages from our fulfilment centres in 15 to 30 minutes and are on our way soon after,” he says. These ‘fulfilment centres’ — places where packages arrive to be distributed to delivery persons — appear to be a closely guarded secret in the e-commerce and logistics sector, with everyone from Amazon to the rest declining to divulge too much information about them. Once the packages are picked up, Vaid embarks on the ‘last mile’ to deliver the products to buyers who have ordered them online.

Outside a blue house in Tagore Garden, Vaid rings the bell, a package and receipt in hand. He had earlier used the company mobile phone loaded with the buyer’s information, directions and other relevant details to locate the house in this maze-like neighbourhood. As it’s a cash-on-delivery order, one which most residents of the house seem unaware of, a few phone calls have to be made before the cash is finally handed over and the package delivered. The next stop is at Green Apartments, located opposite the Red Apartments in the same area. This group of DDA, middle-income flats are distinguished by their external painting. From the blue house to the Green Apartments, we follow Vaid through the warrens of west Delhi, but not once does he look lost. Handing over the package, we get helpful pointers from a resident for the shortest way to our next destination. After that, it is time for a short break.

“We usually form a mental map before heading out of the centre, so we won’t need to backtrack, and can make deliveries more efficiently,” says Vaid. “Sometimes I break for lunch in between deliveries and sometimes afterwards. It depends really on how the day is and the number of orders. Also, the company has a reward and recognition scheme for the person who delivers the most and we get prize money and certificates.”

Vaid’s future plans too seem to revolve around Amazon India. “I have gotten forms to pursue my undergraduate degree, after which I want to do an MBA and hopefully rise up the ranks in the company,” he says. For now though, even as we are talking, Vaid’s attention is mainly on the packages he still has to deliver. In the midst of all the heavy Diwali gifting deliveries, I ask him what his Diwali plans are. “Well, it is a very busy season, but I’m thinking of asking for leave, and maybe my supervisor will give me an off on Diwali,” he says, before bidding goodbye and setting off for his next delivery.

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