Farmers Market (Raitu Bazaar)
From bazaar to the table
Its been a few years since I have been to a bazaar in India to buy food items needed for a meal. While the prices did increase a few-fold, the core shopping experience including the fine art of bargaining remained same.
On a humid summer mid-morning we headed out to a local farmer’s market (raitu bazaar) in Vijayawada. We didn’t need to worry too much about parking as we coupled the shopping trip with the morning walk activity.
We were greeted at the entrance by a flower lady and got rejuvenated by the unique sweet smell of Jasmine, a summer special.
Once inside, for a moment you may feel claustrophobic — especially if you have only been fed by the produce from the isles of Walmarts and Targets back in US. Once you get past that feeling and ignore the steady stream of questionable smell and allergy signals being sent to the brain, what you experience is a microcosm of India — a snapshot of the interaction between middle and lower class Indians on a daily basis.
The veggies are fresh, the colors are vibrant, the noises are dynamic and the interaction with the customers is genuine. There is a healthy dose of banter amongst the competitors providing that unique midlevel town flavor. Bargaining was fun — we did blink first in the poker war to a better player at the cash register though.
After about half hour we did walk out of the vegetable area with a healthy looking moderately heavy output — costing about Rs 200 ( less than $3.50) — not a bad bargain or so I thought.
Now its time to get some fruits. Some of the best fruits (the taste of which I forgot for a while) will be available only during the hot summer months. The chikoos, palm fruit seeds (taati munjelu), guavas, Indian dates (eetha kiaayalu), mangoes etc. to name a few.
Now that we are done with the veggies and fruits lets go to the fish market area. So far we have been just warming up to the controlled chaos, noise and smells. What followed next is not for faint hearts and or for weak noses. Once you manage to adjust to the aroma around, you will see another face of Bharat, the one that has not yet warmed up to the idea of “Swatch Bharat”.
We did end up buying a version of cat fish (korameenu) after debating whether to go with carp (bocche ) or small fish (matta gudiselu). The lady was ready to give the bocche fish for about Rs 150 (one kg). We chose to go with the cat fish (korameenu) which is expensive even by US standards (Rs 700 for 3 pounds). My dad was mad at the other buyer who did manage to increase the price in a bidding war.
Now its time to have it cleaned. Just like any other smart business establishment, ancillary services are provided on site. Vendor suggested us a lady who would do the cleaning job. What a job she did for a moderate price of Rs 50. Her tools inlcuded an ultra sharp fastened knife (katti peeta), coarse ash (boodida) and some re-usable water.
Elsewhere a nun and a cow patiently waited while the fish was getting dressed for the evening dinner.
After a hectic hour of shopping in the not-so comfortable environment its time to wrap up and go but not before a glass of sugar cane juice (cheruku rasam) or a heartening sip from an young coconut (kobbari bondam).
Can’t wait for the evening to enjoy the dinner.
-Suresh Kaja
