With the faint light from the headlamp, he looks around and rings the tiny golden bells hanging from his trusty motorbike’s black basket.

The bells serve as an indication that he is nearby, and this seems to work as his last customer finally emerges from the porch and waves him down.

At this, Kesavan hits the brakes, deftly hops off his motorbike and whips out a plastic bag. His customer prepares to watch a short yet intriguing display of the milk master at work.

Kesavan expertly lifts the cone-shaped lid of a stainless steel canister perched atop the back of his motorbike and flips it upside down — turning it into a makeshift funnel for fresh milk to flow into the clear bag.

Having done this for almost two decades, Kesavan finishes his job with grace and ease and finally greets his smiling customer while handing over a packet of freshly squeezed milk.

Thirty-eight-year-old Kesavan might be young, but he is one of Penang’s last few milkmen.

Kesavan’s trade was once a common sight on the busy streets of George Town, but sadly, it has now been reduced to near history and mere nostalgic memory.

Since remaining milkmen now only cater mostly to elderly customers — the only group familiar with the sight of the friendly neighbourhood milkman and his silver canister full of milk — the younger generation will never know what it’s like to have a bag full of freshly squeezed milk delivered to their homes.

Dressed in a blue shirt and shorts, with sacred ash streaked across his forehead, Kesavan tells FMT that he has been a milkman since 2002 and originally started with his own dairy farm at Penang Waterfall.

“I even hired my own milkman back then, and he would collect milk from my farm every single morning,” explains Kesavan.

“However, due to unexpected circumstances, I had to move my dairy farm to Balik Pulau. My usual milkman felt that it was too far a distance to collect the milk and quit.”

Since then, Kesavan was left to do everything on his own, and despite having no experience whatsoever in milking a cow the traditional way, he persevered.

He recalled the way his former milkman carefully milked the cows and attempted to imitate him. In fact, he took it a step further and learned how to pack and deliver the fresh milk to his customers’ houses himself.

“Honestly, it wasn’t easy. Everything was a step-by-step process. Thankfully, I had a friend who was kind and patient enough to guide me through it all and I’ve been a milkman ever since.”

Though Kesavan currently has 15 cows of his own that he milks, he also relies on his friend’s dairy farm, N.S.G. Freshmilk.

His work officially starts at 5.30pm, whereupon he hops on his motorbike, trusty canister in tow, and starts the long journey of delivering fresh milk all over Penang.

Kesavan says he does indeed deliver “all over Penang” as he drops off packets of fresh milk to areas in Balik Pulau, Bayan Baru, Bayan Lepas, Sungai Nibong, Sungai Dua, Batu Uban, Gelugor, Greenlane, Farlim, Air Itam, Jelutong, Sungai Pinang, Dato Keramat, Karpal Singh Drive, Macallum, Penang Market Street, Jetty and Pulau Tikus.

According to Kesavan, he is able to sell roughly 20 to 30 packets of fresh milk a day, and used to charge RM4 per packet.

These days, however, he has no choice but to raise the price to RM6 as the recent pandemic has led to an increase in cow feed prices.

On top of that, Kesavan also needs to cover the cost of maintaining his cows and dairy farm.

All these factors have made Kesavan’s job much tougher, but nothing affects it more than the fact that customers are in short supply.

“Most Malaysians seem to have forgotten about milkmen. Day by day, the knowledge of our existence is decreasing and this makes it tougher for me to get customers,” sighs Kesavan, as he wraps up for the day at exactly 9.30pm.

The milkman trade is a “dying one”, laments Kesavan.

“I believe there are only 10 of us left in Penang, working rain or shine to deliver fresh milk on our motorcycles,” he adds, ensuring that his canister is secured and strapped tightly to his motorbike as he gears up for the long journey home to rest.

Though the Covid-19 pandemic has put Kesavan’s livelihood in a rather precarious position, he’s not ready to throw in the towel as he still has customers who look forward to his nightly milk delivery.

After all, there is no use crying over spilled milk. The best thing Kesavan can do is keep working hard and hope for a better tomorrow.

To support Penang’s dying trade of delivering fresh milk to customers, you can contact Kesavan at 019 4320336 to place your order for fresh milk.