Yesterday (the 4th) we went to the craft bazar, which is a craft market controlled by the government. It is a tourist trap. But, it is also a place you can buy crafts and art from artists from around India. The government takes applications from artists and artisan families and offers temporary vendor space to those who qualify (primarily artisans and families that want to sell their own wares). It was a neat place to see. And, it was my first time in a market with a large amount of crafts. It was hard not to buy everything I saw, it was all so beautiful. The shopping experience was also a lot more calm. Because the market is controlled (you have to buy a ticket to get in) there are no beggars and most of your fellow shoppers are tourists. Here I felt a little more comfortable leaving Lavanya and Dan to do my own shopping. I even did a little bargaining. I did not save much, but it was pretty cool to try. In the end, the merchant insisted on R225, which seemed silly since my suggestion of R200 would have been much easier to make change for and would not have led him to ask the woman in the next stall for R15. Either way I got my souvenir and touristy experience and was happy with them.
There were so many large items that I wanted to buy that I would never be able to bring home. Large pieces of painted art and sculpture. The picture below of the man lacquering a painted carving of Ganesha is an example of some of the work I longed to buy. His carvings were a little out of my price range R25,000 (around $500). So, I had to settle for a few smaller pieces. I wish I had bought some more, but I am sure I will have more opportunities when we go to some of the more touristy areas later.
We also ate at the food vendors at the craft bazar. It seemed a little safer to eat at these outside vendors since the market catered to tourists. I apologize for not remembering the names of the foods I ate. But, I do know that Lavanya and I ate at a stall that served food from Bombay. We had fried tapioca fritters that were pretty good. And a mashed vegetable stew (with masala) and what looked and tasted like Texas toast. It was real good. And, neither of us got sick!
[P.S. I got to use my girl scout camping skills and use the public toilet. It was an open aired bathroom with stalls. But, the stalls were equipped with a porcelain hole to pee in. It was flush, but there was no toilet paper. But, I was prepared both in skill and with paper--my girl scout leader/mother should be proud.]
After the craft bazar we made like true "Delhiittes" as Lavanya says, and crossed a few very busy roads by making sure someone else ran between us and the coming traffic. Across from the craft bazar was the Mohan Singh Market where many of the military families shop (we were very close to the military housing). This market was not a tourist market. For sale was everything from kitchen supplies, to shoes and shawls, to vegetables. This market was indoors with small passageways between the stalls. The occasional shop owner would say to one of us "miss, Kashmiri shawls," "sir, fine shoes." It was an interesting place, but since we did not have much need for any of the goods available, we decided to head back across the street and wait for the driver.
The highlight of the day was seeing the elephant slowly walking down a busy street. The worst part of the day was the ride home when the driver hit spikes in the road and blew out the right two tires. We spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening figuring out what to do and waiting for a family friend to bring us another spare tire. Everything worked out. I watched people out the window and felt myself developing a cold.
The remedy, lots of sleep, Harry Potter, and one of the most classic Hindi films.
No comments:
Post a Comment