1.
It’s
chaotic.
Chaos is like a
second name to an Indian bazaar. Not only is it full of people, it is also full
of various other species like cows, dogs, cats, rats, pigeons, monkeys etc. stagnant in or moving from different directions. People giving way
to holier than thou cow or hearing monkeys jump on a tin roof are some of the very
clichéd imageries of an Indian bazaar. With species coming from all directions,
some running, some swinging, one better watch out their steps. It is all the
noise and crowd in the midst of a narrow valley surrounded by old tarnished
buildings and you standing in the middle of a land reaching everywhere.
2.
It’s
music.
Maybe not your
genre but music nonetheless. Shopkeepers
will wave and call you from a block away, autos and bikes will reverberate,
bicycles will keep clinking and your ears will become accustomed to the
clattering sound. The sound of burning stove of a chai wallah, the whistling
song from the guy in govinda alike attire, the argumentative bargains, the
prayers at the nearby dargah(mosque) et al blends dramatically to generate a
high end, dynamic and complex music score. Something that will make you move on
it and move faster.
3.
It’s
a vicious loop.
As soon as you
start to believe that you’ve reached the end of bazaar, there you’d see this
narrow lane going all the way down to a new market. One market leads to another
and it is so beautifully connected that newbies would relate the experience
with ‘walking in a maze’. Why wait for famous twin separator kumbh ka mela? If
twins have to get lost, they can do so in our ever present Indian bazaars.
4.
It’s
skillful.
Some of the best
marketers, brand managers, cooks, artists, and designers reside here. Degree no
bar, these guys have years and years of experience that makes them rarely
falter in their profession. The tailors from big boutiques take up small
projects in their area, the chai wallah or the street food vendor takes pride
in quickly serving the big line of foodies at a small booth, the sculptors or
the potters keep themselves occupied with all the work while displaying their
creations at a humble store. Indian bazaars are full of people with oozing
talent. They are confined to their roots but still manage to put strong faith
in people who have seen them working there for ages. And talk about bargains!
The bazaar runs parallel to it. Every shopkeeper knows on what price to sell
and how!
5.
It’s a
treasure hunt.
With so many
options in a line, it is a bit of a treasure hunt to finally get what you
desire. If a gol gappa booth (let’s say pandit gol gappa) gets famous for its
delicacies, next day you’d see multiple number of booths with same name. And
then the game starts. It is always good to keep picking clues from your fellow
strollers as to which one is the real “pandit gol gappa wallah”. That’s not it;
if you need to purchase bangles you’ll have 10 shops in line. Some lanes of
bazaars are cheaper, some not so much. So if you want to get what you want at a
reasonable price, you will have to dig in more.
6.
It’s
delicious.
It is not
uncommon for a bazaar to have its own famous eating joint. While a chai(tea)
stall always remains shopkeeper’s gossip stop, a juice hawker or a street food
vendor will always be flooded with hungry customers after all the tiresome
shopping. These guys are angels in modest attire serving starving souls bereft
of energy robbed by scorching sun. Some of these joints become so popular by
word of mouth that they have “a must see certificate” in every traveler’s
itinerary. For example – “khan chacha” of khan market, Delhi, “Lassiwala” of
Jaipur etc. And yes! Don’t forget to have our favorite gol-gappas when
strolling through bazaar, especially when in north.
7.
It’s
an exercise.
Need to awake
all your senses? Put them all onto use? Go have a little trip to the bazaar in
prime time. So exercise no.1 – find a parking spot. You would most probably be
driving in second gear(considering the rush) and if a holy cow or respected
aunty walks right in front of you, don’t try to beep horn. Everyone is doing
that. It is so mundane that it’s not audible. Wait for them to move a little
away. Lesson learnt – patience! You would most probably find a parking spot
blocks away from your destination. It encourages you to walk that helps in reducing
blood pressure and improving endurance. When walking, watch your steps you
might step on garbage while protecting yourself from a fast paced auto that
sees every road as an empty highway. Then a man spits and you jump and look if
all your belongings are safe. Extra alert alarms for women as the street is
full of Romeos. To be true it is not really an exercise, its meditation… of a
higher level.
8.
It’s
colorful.
That is the most
attractive feature of an Indian bazaar. It’s just too colorful, vibrant and
kaleidoscopic. Notice how sarees are draped and neatly hung to the shop’s window
or a showroom with mannequins decked up with the best of dresses shop has to
offer. Kites during kite festival fill up the market with different colors and
on the other hand artificial jewelry shops/stalls (especially for bangles)
bring all the glitz to the streets. And during diwali, some bazaars in north
like Jaipur are a treat to the vision. These bazaars are like a microcosm of
India in general – a potpourri.
9.
It’s
a no parking zone.
Whenever I do
the silly mistake of driving in a bazaar, I recall the last lyrics of ‘Hotel
California’ – “you can check out anytime but you can never leave”. And it is
true. If you don’t learn the art of pushing through continuously, you might
never leave this place…on time! Why do you think most of the people walk
through bazaars? Because that’s all the space they have for the riders. They
don’t let the vehicles to move, the vehicles don’t let people to budge. It’s an
everlasting give and take war. And if you are too optimistic to hope for a
parking space, you have my blessings. Parking space is for the lucky ones. Go
test the luck meter today!
10.
It’s cheap.
If you loved something
from Louis Vuitton and its purchase could have burned a hole in your pocket,
then they say you can get exactly the same model at a much cheaper price with
probably the same tag but not so much of same quality. Being economical is in
nerves of Indians and hence bazaars can never go out of fashion for the very
patriotic. Also these bazaars are famous for our favorite marketing game – “the
bargain game” and we are excellent at it.
