The quaint Indian bazaars are huge treasure troves for many a bargain hunter. You have these wholesale markets in every city that sell everything under the sun. So we have big sabzi mandis, markets for computer parts, hardware, garden equipment, furniture, home improvement, cloth markets and what have you! I have heard people reminisce about shopping in these spaces. But I have never understood the romance of shopping though I can understand the practical element of saving and choice.
And so yesterday, my husband and I spent the entire day doing some shopping in one of these bazaars in Bangalore. Also to do with the fact that one of our modems was malfunctioning, and we need to get to the customer care center (if you can call the hole in the wall that) located there. Even when you are standing right underneath it, you could not locate the place. The shops are a myriad array – row after tiny row of shops selling the same ware. Parking is a hassle but one can find spaces. And then walk the streets for miles on foot. The footpaths were quite okay and wide but there is the problem of garbage and a huge number of flies everywhere. While I waiting and watching, I saw that everyone spits – the people who spit from the bus, the traffic cop, the shopkeepers, the drivers, people from their cars. Gosh, what is it with Indians and spitting?
And most of these places are male domains – the shopkeepers and shoppers mostly male. It sort of makes a female uncomfortable and exposed even though clad in a churidar kurta. People make eyes at you, stare at you mercilessly, gesture and just make you feel very nervous inside. And the husband held my hand to make sure that I kept with his pace and also to ensure that people did not run into me :). Everyone is just running around in a hustle bustle. There is so much filth all around – garbage on the road, overflowing drains with excreta that people are avoiding and walking, and an overwhelming smell of urine.
And all that walking was making our stomach growl as well. A quick ask and we were pointed to a Kamat just a little distance away. All this walking reminded me of my Bombay days where walking is simply the norm. People just walk! Kamat’s is a typical eatery that serves thalis at meal time; it was my best friend. They had a clean restroom for which I gratefully blessed many generations of Kamat owners. The food was passable, but hunger can do miracles to your appetite. And we finished everything on our plates. We were on the streets again finding other stuff that we were looking for. Oh yes, our modem was working again too. And then get into the car and struggle with crazy traffic.
It was tiring both physically and mentally. The traffic, the noise, the sea of people all drain you physically and mentally. And I was so glad to come back home. I shudder with the memory of the trip I made to the vegetable and fruit market of Bangalore – KR Market. I have since then decided never to venture there. So, for me folks, I just have never understood this romance in shopping in badly laid out wholesale markets.
Do you enjoy shopping in India’s large wholesale spaces?
Pic courtesy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rualthan/with/3735285973/
Nice recount of experience but what else can you expect when you want huge bargains Rachna! These markets are places where an ordinary person buys and subsists!!
Nah Rahul! We didn’t want bargains. Like I said, the Customer care center was in that godforsaken place so we had to go. It makes me sick every single time I go to such places!
I somehow enjoy going to such places Rachna. You can merge with the crowd and observe. Of course it helps that I am not that attractive and no one notices me 😛
Merging with the crowd is the terrible part along with the squalor and the stink. All women are stared at, no matter how you look and what you wear :).
these markets are easy targets for terrorists.poor and middle class people can’t afford a visit to posh shopping malls, so they risk their lives for saving money.these markets don’t have any metal detectors or security.most of bomb blasts in hyderabad has happened in these kinda markets.you call it fun or saving money by visiting these markets,living without limbs and your loved ones after a blast is a scary thought.anyways these markets don’t sell quality goods like we get in shopping malls.
I am sorry but what you get in these places is not what you get at malls, shivai989. You can get hardware or electricals even in retail stores. I don’t call it fun at all. It is a distressing experience. And about the quality, again you are mistaken. They are good quality. Most retailers pick up their stuff from here. It is just the condition that gets to you.
i want to highlight security issue in these markets so i wrote above stuff,its not related to your particular experience.when it comes to social manners and indian hygiene,most of indians are unbearable.
let me give example of inox multiplex in hyderabad,even after paying 250 rupees for ticket,you can’t watch a movie peacefully.there are ill-mannered guys who chat and speak on phone all through the movie causing inconvenience to others.there are people who keep legs on front seats and there are people who spit on isle inside multiplex.people behavior is same from single screen theatre where ticket price is 50-70 rs to 250 rs multiplex.
to be frank,i don’t like indians from my childhood coz they irritate me all the time with their stupid behavior.
isle=aisle,typo err
My all time favorite Bazaar is Chadani Chownk in Delhi. But it is tiring to make your way through the throng of people and the rickshaw wallahs, The food is to die for though !
I have heard so much about Chandni Chowk. I am next trip to Delhi, old Delhi is going to be a large part of the itinerary! But yes, crowds unnerve me.
There was a time when I use to enjoy them. And few years back I went back to relive the memories but alas came back vouching to never ever go there again.
Too crowded, can’t walk, can’t breath forget about shopping but I do believe that you get the most fresh vegetables and fruits in these markets…so some day – way way down in the future I do hope I get the courage back to go there…till then Malls it is for me 🙂
Yes, every single time I’ve gone, I repent it. Of course, it is normally when someone else wants me to go with them or it is unavoidable that I go. But I absolutely hate the experience.
I too don’t enjoy such markets at all Rachna! I’d rather pay more and buy something in a cleaner, friendlier environment then go to these places.. I remember visiting Chikpet once..It was just a few months after I had started working and wanted to get a saree for my mother.. I went there because all my friends had also shopped for their family from there… So off I went all the while thinking that Chikpet was not the place where my family and I used to shop during our earlier visits to the city.. But still the joy of purchasing something for the family with my money led me there .. But honestly I couldn’t relate to the hullabaloo people make about Chikpet… I did find cheap sarees there but I never liked them..So I returned exhausted without buying anything at all from there.. And it has been five years since and I have never gone back!
Exactly Nabanita. I remember that a bunch of friends said that one can get good return gifts or Diwali gifts in Chikpet. How stupid I felt when I went there and found everything cheap and tacky. I could have bought better stuff at Big Bazaar. I am completely off these places. I would rather pay more but shop in peace.
Love visiting these markets – not to shop though 🙂
Good for you :). With your camera, of course.
There is the internet for those who don’t prefer the hustle bustle outside. Nowadays you can buy almost anything there. You can also get the best bargain also. KR Market is not a clean place. I am sure you have visited the wholesale markets in Mumbai also. They are the same everywhere. Better to walk your fingers than your feet!
Unfortunately, you can’t buy everything online. Like I mentioned in the post, the customer care center was located there. And there are specific places that one must go to for very specific electrical items or consumer hardware. Otherwise, I do shop online and in neighborhood kirana stores or malls.
I like shopping in Crawford market in Mumbai. There are so many things you can buy in one small area plus you get such good bargains. I avoid the rainy season for such shopping.
And I remember going there once when I was way younger perhaps tagging along with mom. But don’t really remember how it was :).
Rachna I can understand how you would have felt walking through that filthy place. I never went to such markets even when I was fit. A friend once told me that he went to a market where they sell car parts. He went to purchase a tyre for the car..He bargained and got a tyre at a very cheap price. He was very happy about the purchase. Now comes the funny part of this deal. While opening the car door he noticed that a tyre was missing sand the car was resting on bricks. A crowd gathered. Someone from the crowd said “Sahib jis se aapne kharida hai wahi doosri taraf ka utar kar le gaya’. And do you know the name of the market ‘Chor Bazaar”!!
hehe Now that is an incident that brings a smile to my face, Ushaji. I agree, I am better off staying away from such places.
You need nerves of steel and a blocked nose to survive these markets. And the leery men are a different ordeal all together.
Absolutely Purba! The experience leaves me unnerved and feeling sick.
liked the post
thank you!
You have to visit Sarojini Nagar and Lajpst Nagar in Delhi to see for yourself what chaos one goes through
I think all markets are same in terms of chaos.
It was bad for you. I enjoy it. The thing with wholesale market is you need which shops to hit and you must have company.
And not only this time. I hate most such markets. And I did have company — the mister :).
There was a time when we used to haunt those crowded bazaars like Monda, Sultan Bazaar and Charminar area during Ramzaan. Now if I sped hardly half an hour there, I feel so tired, just wish I am home. The jostling crowds and the unhygienic conditions puts us off. The bazzar are same. But we expect better conditions now.
I have been to Monda many times with my mil. It is extremely dirty too and then finding an auto to come back is a nightmare. Carrying huge loads is also so dismaying. My sil went to Charminar to buy glass bangles and was robbed. Such places are notorious for pickpockets. In the end, it feels like it is not worth it.
I have lost the little appetite I had for window shopping and causeless market-walking, Now I prefer air-conditioned malls as I get tired easily. Malls have somehow become part of our everyday existence…
Enjoyed reading, Rachna. 🙂
Me too, Panchali. But there are times one has to go like in my case because the stupid customer care center was located there. Else, I am done with them :).
Hahaha….I can imagine how many times you must have scrubbed your entire body after coming home…LOL…:P I don’t like such places either..But always enjoyed shopping in Charminar, where the shops are next to each other, but not as sick as you mentioned. In Pune too, there was this place called Fashion street..where you name it, you get it. Any brand on earth 😉 Hubby and me used to frequent it…newly weds at that time na…nothing matters much then 🙂 But now, it’s been so many long years that I have frequented these places.
haha Don’t talk about Charminar. My sil was robbed there. She lost money, even documents and cards and it was harrowing for her. I went once to Charminar to buy some pearl jewelry. The bargaining also gets on my nerves. I guess I am not cut out for these places :).
Such markets are really messy in every city, specially for ladies. For us boys, it’s fun!
Glad that you find them fun.
Actually i like going to such markets. You get to observe and see a lot of activities. The ones I have been to, I never felt being stared at though. Of course the cleanliness wont be there but thats real India I guess! 😀
Good for you, Jaish! I remember Fashion Street and Linking Road in Mumbai and those are reasonable. But most times these places are really filthy and dingy.
I am also not a fan of shopping in such kind of bazaars. But many people go there, fight the heat, the people to buy stuff and it just baffles me. But one such bazaar I want to go to is Chandani Chowk… heard a lot about it.
Yep, I have heard a lot about Chandni Chowk as well. I have heard of people who swear by the “experience” of shopping in such places. And mine has always been horrid.
You haven’t shopped until you’ve done so in Calcutta’s New Market! Believe me, its an assault on all your senses, but mercifully no one gropes you
Haven’t been to Calcutta, but the place you mentioned sounds like a riot.
Karol Bagh in Delhi is another place that comes to mind 🙂
:).
I like such trips if it’s not for shopping but just walking and observing. I am not cut out to enjoy the haggling and bargaining. I remember my horrible trip to Majestic, Bangalore with cousins who said it was a great place to shop. The place seemed to be teeming with lechers and creeps. And even the stuff we bought was not that great. I can imagine what you went through!
I love to observe too but not when so many are observing you idly. I hate the haggling and bargaining. It makes me uncomfortable. And I know what you are saying. Some of these places have cheap stuff and yet take so much pain to go all the way. Serious waste of time and money, I’d say.
The answer to your last question is No. I hate crowds especially when they are colliding with me. I will prefer shopping in a mall any day. 🙂
In Delhi, we have all those Rajouries and Karol Baghs but I hate those places.
Happy to find a kindred soul :). I’d rather pay a little more but shop in a decent place where I am not mauled.
Oh! I love such bazaars!!! There is a charm in them and awesomes bargains!!! The crowd does become daunting once in a while but the stuff that you find in these places is worth going for!!!!
I used to love Fashion Street in Bombay, even Linking Road but these markets are clearly dirty. Glad you have found good ones :).
I can imagine how horrible you must have felt. The crowds are getting worse these days. I have also gone there but it was not so bad that time. Still unless one has to really go, one would not like to go to such places at all.
Yes, it was bad. Most of these markets in Bangalore including Chikpet are quite dirty I feel. I would rather avoid venturing there at all.
Your title totally threw me off track. I thought you were going to wax eloquent about your experience. My feelings about this are mixed. I wouldn’t go to these kind of places for bargains. But I like chaotic places where they sell exotic things like books, coins or antiques where I hope to pick up something really valuable for a throw away price amidst the chaos. But don’t like food and clothes Bazaars.
I am somehow off anything that dirty and crowded no matter what ware they peddle. Just don’t have the stomach for it I guess.
Your experience assures its the same walking on the busy mandis and age-old bazaars of any city of India.It is like playing a computer game practically where you got to save yourself .. from crashing into someone .. and saving yourself from filth on the road already being stampeded by millions and from the spitting super-men who frequent those markets.
If you are a woman .. u need to save your eye contacts with few pervert eyes .. and your skin from few pervert passerby.
We have Bara Bazar in Kolkata,its the biggest and the best place to shop anything you wish to, for the cheapest rate … but walking on those streets half covered by moving traffic and stranded human bodies .. and rest by street hawkers and parked vehicles ..open drainage system.. makes life suffocating.
There are thousands for whom thats no matter , men and women both..
Somethings about India is so peculiar .. no matter which city you enter !! 🙂
Absolutely MySay! India is so peculiar in that sense. And every city has these hot spots; some people even say that you don’t know the pulse of the city unless you have visited these places but I find nothing romantic there. To me, it is a repulsive experience and even foolish sometimes considering the time and energy one may waste in traveling to these far-off places.
Your post AND the comments made an interesting read Rachna.
Frankly i am not much into shopping but when i have to do it i prefer the in-between—-neither the filthy crowded markets nor the expansive & expensive malls.
Thank you India. I love the comments too :). And I like the malls as well as the neighborhood stores and online shopping too. Not all superstores are expensive. As a matter of fact, we get cheaper veggies and fruits in Hypercity. Then Big Bazar is a great place for good quality stuff at bargain prices.
Sounds horrendous. I am going to say a silent prayer to the West for giving us The Mall!
Amen!
Although I don’t really like shopping these markets are a big draw for me – I love the hustle and bustle and the very ‘real’ stuff that goes on in them as opposed to the sterile malls! Nice one, Rachna.
Thank you Corinne! There is a charactet there and lots to imbibe but the conditions are really filthy that act as a dampener.
Crowds and cramped markets are not for me, unless absolutely necessary. Given the Delhi heat, I would rather go to a mall.
Glad to meet a kindred soul Alka :).
It is ironical how things like a weekly ‘Farmer’s Market’ is a tourist spot in so many foreign countries. In our country, where every corner is a farmer’s market, we see more of lecherous men, houseflies, dog poop and paan coloured walls.
How I wish we had more civic sense. Every visit would have been a pleasure.
Exactly Nisha! I wish we could approach our markets the same way, absorbing the sights and sounds instead of thwarting leches and the dirty, overflowing drains.
I love shopping in such bazaars! You must shop in the wall city at Jaipur. It is so much fun, there is so much variety and so many new things… Surprising to see only men in the market in Bangalore.
If I come there, I will give it a try since you recommend it so much. This particular market had too many men since it was more of computer, hardware, sanitary fittings kind of place.
I have gone to two wholesale markets in Delhi — Bhagirath Place and Sadar. The first one was a nightmare. The lanes are so narrow that the balconies of buildings almost touch each other above the lane, making a canopy of sorts. And being an electrical parts/ware market, it was like the one you went to. I couldn’t find my way out of the place and to the main road though I had not gone a few streets into it and paid a rickshaw wala to get me out. And he just turned a corner and lo! we were in the main street! I didn’t even want to argue with him for not just guiding me out and made my way post haste out of there. Sadar is the place for buying anything — from undergarments to party favours — in bulk. Don’t go there otherwise. It makes sense when you have to buy in great bulk, not otherwise. The last is the reason for me to avoid them. I shop in smaller supermarkets and avoid the malls. they are too pricey for me.
I have heard about Sadar but have never gone there. What you describe of Bhagirath Place is exactly what SP Road was to us. Everything was chaotic. We got what we were looking for but after a lot of walking around. A terrible experience. Your Sadar seems to be like Chikpet here. One can buy stuff in bulk but like you pointed out we hardly need anything in bulk and besides one should know where to look for what. I prefer to shop in the malls especially the hypermarkets. They are sometimes cheaper than neighborhood kiranas because of the deals they offer. We get most of our groceries and veggies from there. For clothes too, sales are a good time to visit. I do prefer to shop in neater, cleaner places. Even a small store with friendly staff would do for that.