My online diary- this blog keeps calling out to me in my mind. “When are you going to write the next blog?”. And almost always, there’s something else that takes priority. Adulting is hard with multiple things pulling you in different directions. I started this blog in 2015. Since then, every year, I have a few entries, except 2021 and 2022, where I have just one entry each. I try to put in efforts to maintain stuff once I’ve started them, especially things that I like to do, or add meaning to my life-writing, fitness, maintaining friendships/relationships to name a few. And it would pain me to let a year go by without a single blog entry here. So, here I am, typing away, as my baby boy sleeps soundly in the adjacent room. This year is special as I had the boon of motherhood granted to me (sounds so cliché, but trust me, I mean it!). However, more on me as a mother in later blogs. In this blog today, I want to reminisce some of the bustling bazaars/ markets I’ve been to in India.
By bazaars, i mean the actual local markets, with shops spread over a few streets or an area, and not the fancy malls of the metropolitan cities. The most recent one I visited was ‘Navi Peth’ in Solapur, Maharashtra, my current place of residence. I’d been with my mother-in-law and my then 8-month young son. We were hunting for accessories to dress him up for the Hindu festival of Krishna Janmashtami which celebrates the birth of the god- Lord Krishna. We very easily found a store that actually gave us different size options for handmade crowns, flutes, peacock feathers and artificial pearl-studded Jewellery. Many young boys are dressed up to resemble the god for the festival and you get to see these cute pictures on the WhatsApp statuses of their mom’s, thanks to the advent of technology. The kinds of things you would kind in local markets in India, is fascinating. The colour, the paraphernalia, the crowds- it gives me the thrills. Shaurya, my son (it still feels surreal to refer to him as ‘my-son’) nevertheless, was observing the different things in the market and seeing him look around with his curious eyes, made me think of writing this blog. Trying to dress him up with the Lord Krishna stuff was a major flop though, he hated it and tore away the crown, so we gave up, fed him and put him to sleep :-D!
As I think back, my early memories of going to bustling markets, was in Bengaluru, Malleswaram 8th cross and commercial street. My mother and I, sometimes accompanied by aunts and cousins would go shopping for clothes and accessories. Each area would have a special eat-out point and a specific dish—like a visit to Malleswaram would be incomplete without eating dose at Janata hotel or drinking ‘Badam milk’ at Asha sweets and a visit to commercial street would be incomplete without eating the piping hot Gulab jamun at Bhagatram sweets. There was a point while growing up, when I had been shamed by an elite classmate for shopping for sports shoes at a ‘local market’ like Malleswaram and not picking up a branded shoe at a mall. I was hurt back then, but now, I think I am beyond this pretentiousness. Who we are is defined by stuff that is way more complex than what kind of clothing/shoes we wear. My parents have now moved to the other side of Bengaluru and visits to Malleswaram have now been replaced with those to Jayanagar 4th block market as it is closer. Here our food favourites are Sreeraj Lassi bar and a ‘thela-wala’ bhel opposite to it.
Visiting the ‘Russel Market’ in Bengaluru, with my maternal grandfather is another memory from my early childhood. Crazy busy with loads of shops selling fresh vegetables, fruits and meat. I had felt nauseated in the meat section, and my aversion for the meat, fish cooked at home had increased after this visit.
The first time I stayed away from home, more or less on my own, was in Mysore, for my undergraduate studies. The famous Devaraja Market was a delight, but as a hosteller, we visited the less known ‘Mannars Market’ more frequently. This place was a treasure trove of craft supplies and small cute trinkets which we picked up for our various events at college and hostel and friends’ birthdays. I even got nameboards for our renovated home, a framed collage for my parents’ 25th wedding anniversary and rubber stamps for office seals from this market. Close by, Devaraj Urs Road, was another place we frequented. There, we would make a pit stop for the yummiest ‘paddu’ and chutney. Ahh, those were the days! We would walk through these crowded streets with great ease and lots of leisure (a rare thing to come by now in actual adult life!).
Transient bazaars, if I could call it that are my thing as well. The Mysore Dasara fair, little flea markets at Bengaluru, Mumbai, Goa, Dilli Haats in New Delhi, the local fair at Vellore with a ton of small pop-up stores selling the most colourful and cute knick-knacks, accessories, arts and craftwork. These places generally have additional attractions like ‘fun-rides’/ mirror-plays, magic shows, open mic arenas, local craft displays like pottery, bangle making etc.
The last set of bazaars that come to my mind are the ones in Mumbai- colaba causeway, linking road, Crawford market and Chor Bazaar (there’s actually a thief’s market! and I don’t know if the stuff there is stolen or not!). The Kala Ghoda annual festival would have exceptional merch too
Well, sitting here in rural Maharashtra, my mind just travelled to most of the bustling bazaars I’ve been to! I enjoyed going back in time, visualizing these artsy hubs. I hope you enjoyed reading this as well!
P.S.: The market in the photo was taken by me in 2019 in Goa. It is the Saturday night Market in Arpora!