The markets are ‘life-center’ of Kolkattans. If there are no markets, half the city’s life is gone. If you’re new to the city and haven’t been to its markets, especially the fish markets, you haven’t seen a vivid image of the city. Fish markets there are plenty. Having been to many places in the country, […]
A hawking day starts
Without them the city lacks charm, or so we the Kolkattans have come to believe. The street hawkers are a tough lot. For each rupee they earn they’ve to toil hard. There are many pay-offs to be made including at least a decent something to arrange for food, cloth and shelter. The hawkers are seen […]
Fruitsellers
They are the poorer lot. They don’t have a permanent place of their own. If today they sit in the front of a saree store, tomorrow the place of hawking may as well be adjacent to the bookbinding shop. They are rarely part of unionized hawkers, and so they lack collective bargaining power. They however […]
Selling vegetable on street
Kolkattans love their vegetables. Every morning scores of vendors arrive at the city’s various markets from the suburbs with their wares, sell them by noon, and go back home by late afternoon. It’s the routine they follow every single day except during heavy monsoon when communication becomes difficult. Incidentally, when the large retail stores of […]
Stalemate at Metro Cash-n-Carry
Retailing is the loudest buzz in today’s Indian economic progress. Keeping with the rush of setting up large format stores, the German retail giant, Metro Cash-n-Carry started its first serious foray in Kolkata bang on EM Bypass about 2 km south of Ruby Hospital at Singhabari. The construction of the outlet began over a year […]
Big Bazaar, Hiland Park
The apparent calm at Big Bazaar early in the morning in the photo below belies the dramatic turn of events in the evening. Then it is choc-a-bloc with buyers, onlookers, and yes thieves as well (see my article, Trouble at Big Bazaar). The outside resembles a mela with people jostling for space with honking cars, […]