Bazaar: Mapusa Market on Friday Before Christmas
Cinematographer: Avijit Mukul Kishore
Duration: 00:59:56; Aspect Ratio: 1.333:1; Hue: 18.304; Saturation: 0.170; Lightness: 0.360; Volume: 0.169; Cuts per Minute: 30.617; Words per Minute: 1.535
Summary: Indian bazaars are a much exposed phenomena. Sometimes it is associated with the oriental exotica, yet another time it is quoted as a symbol of the indomitable spirit of the Indian masses. We explore some well known and some not so well known characteristics of the bazaars to explore the regional and cultural specificities of each. The quest was part of documenting public spaces and public cultures.
This bazaar was shot in Goa during Christmas season. Goa was colonized by the Portuguese till 1961. A large part of the population of Goa is Christians and some still speaks in Portuguese. Indian Christianity is as much a post colonial reality as it is an indigenous social and cultural form. Layered with various local and regional cultural forms Christianity exists in India in many forms and hues. Study of this market is only a slice of that plurality. Though Mapusa is a daily market the large weekly bazaar, with open air stalls, takes place on every Friday. The informal part of the market – selling spices, flowers, vegetables, fish, cane baskets and also Christmas articles in small stalls and on the ground are mostly women. In some cases the women represent the entire cycle of the trade such us growing vegetables or weaving baskets to selling them in the market. In other cases they buy from the wholesale market and sell it in retails - such as fish market or Christmas accessories.
This video was shot on the Friday before Christmas of 2001. Shot by Avijit Mukul Kishore.
Friday market in Mapusa, three days before the Christmas. The regular weekly market is more pepped up in preparation for the celebration. A tall lanky man sells mirror balls, ideal for creating reflection and refraction of lights during festivity. The mirrors shine in the sunlight and create abstract pattern of lights and shadow on boney dark face of the vendor. Unlike most hawkers in Indian bazaar this man does not call out for customers. He stands silently in the middle of the crowd – creating patterns on his own face and body. He looks iconic for a moment.
Panjim market, Goa
advertisement
bazaar
body
boney
christmas
dark
decoration
design
display
face
festivity
hawker
iconic
indian
light
market
merchandise
mirror
pattern
reflection
refraction
sell
shadow
strategy
sunlight
vendor
Mapusa market, Goa
Another man sells decorative paper sequences. He hangs the colourful chains from his neck and hands. His body becomes the display board. A few women gather around him, bargain. The customers first speak in Konkani – the language of Goa, the vendor replies in Hindi- language of migrants from North India, finally they speak in a mixed of Hindi and Konkani.
bargain
bazaar
chain
christmas
colourful
customer
decoration
display
festivity
glossy
hawker
language
market
merchandise
migrant
… ok, ok, don't take it.
-How long is this?
-One and a half meter.
-One and a half meter?
- I am giving you the right one. Just hold this. .. It is measured…
- How much?
20 Rupees. Don't take if you don't want to.
-How much is per meter
- One and a half meter – 20 rupees.
-How much?
-This one – one and half meter for 20 rupees. This one for 10 Rupees.
- See this one for 10 rupees. This one Rs.100 for six pieces.
paper
sell
sequence
strategy
vendor
The flower market. Indoor – women sell flowers arranged on small platforms. Predominant colours are red, white and yellow – versions of Jasmines, marigold, roses and tube roses. The customers too are mainly women. Garlands, loose flowers and petals – no bouquets though. Obviously these are meant for daily rituals and not for fancy gifts.
Long shot of the bazzar. Women sitting with their merchandise in a row. Some are stitching garlands, some arranging the flowers in baskets – the presence of fresh flowers, slit of sunlight through the door in long shot, create a ritualistic ambience around the women. The mundane of the close shot though breaks the trance.
Outside the indoor market some women stand with the garlands in hands. They obviously are the lesser mortals who do not have a fixed space in the market. They stand in a pose of a strange mix of offering and hawking. A white woman bargains '… not 10, it should be 8 Rupees'. The seller mumbles in broken English '… it smells lovely'. Tourists are main economy of Goa. Camera goes close to some of the women. Dry cracked skin of the working class woman against the fresh flowers. The tourist tries to be democratic… 'one from you and one from her… '. Some men flirt with the flower sellers.
Indian mythologies have so many references to flowers that it had created some linear associations with feminity and flower. In Panjim market women of different ages stand near the entrance with garlands in their hands and the associations bring up images of devotees (bhakt) or courtesans. But it is only a daily market.
ambience
arrangement
association
bargain
bazaar
colour
courtesan
devotee
display
feminity
flowers
foreigner
garlands
hands
hawker
indoor
jasmine
light
marigold
market
mundane
mythology
offering
open air
petals
platform
ritual
rose
rose tube
skin
tourist
vendor
women
working class
Open air dry fish market. Sea fish dried in sunlight on one hand is connoisseurs' delight and on the other hand poor people's staple food. It was first invented by the coastal people as stock food while fishing away from home in the deep sea for long period of time. Visually this market is a complete contrast of the flower market. Rigid shape, slate colour and the fossil like feel of the dry fish under the harsh sun make it far more rustic. Here too vendors are all women. Selling fish is customarily women's profession along the western coastal region of India. The fisher women are known for their vigour and strength. Their full bodied charm is very different from the sublime quality of the flower sellers.
Some women sit under umbrellas creating interesting patterns.
basket
bazaar
charm
coastal
connoisseur
cuisine
dry fish
export
fisherfolks
fisherwomen
fossil
market
open air
pattern
sea fish
sell
slate
sun
sunlight
umbrella
vigour
A hand held track shot through the corridor of the organized section of the market. Camera enters a store which can be called a general store or a variety store. Variety store is the generic name for the stalls who sell anything between cosmetics, kitsch decoration pieces, household articles to plaster of paris Santa Clause. The shop is full of women customers. Hanging in display are handkerchiefs, hair bands, bindis etc. Trayful of cosmetics on the counter.
accessories
bangles
bindi
cosmetics
customer
display
flower
general store
hanging
kitsch
lipstick
plastic
santa clause
sell
stall
variety shop
variety store
Camera continues its exploration through the market. Plastic flowers, table lamps, other decoration pieces including Santa Clause. Plastic pink roses and green leaves in glazed ceramic vase in blue and white, plastic butterflies in pink, green, blue and yellow next to brown metal lamp – it is a kitsch collectors' delight. In some other parts co-exist the real of the fresh vegetable and the artificial of the plastic roses.
artificial
blue
bouquet
butterfly
case
ceramic
colour
commodity
decoration
display
fruits
green
kitsch
merchandise
pink
plastic flowers
real
roses
santa clause
shade
shop
stall
table lamp
vase
vegetable
white
yellow
Essential part of an Indian market – roaming vendors. One sells colourful feather dusters on bamboo sticks. Another man stands in the middle of the crowd and display his ware – a jumping plastic toy. The red and yellow of the jumping toy looks surreal in the middle of the sea of legs passing by and their long shadows.
bazaar
colourful
crowd
display
duster
market
merchandise
plastic
red
roaming
shadow
sunlight
toy
vendor
ware
yellow
Long shot of the back alley of the market. Earthen pots are being sold. One vendor sells plastic flowers and wooden spoons. This part of the market is less motivated and sort of lazy in attitude.
alley
bazaar
casual
earthen pot
lazy
market
merchandise
pace
plastic flower
sell
slow
vendor
Open air stalls of earthen pots and terracotta objects. Goa has its own style of terracotta. Being a coastal place the traditional motifs are often influenced by sea life - Crocodile shape wall hanging, crab shape ashtray etc. There are also objects made of Hindu religious motifs, African masks and contemporary laughing Buddha. The so called art objects are being sold in the same space as the daily articles such as pots and pans.
art
artisan
ashtray
bazaar
clay
coastal
contemporary
crab
craft
crocodile
culture
earthen
fish
fusion
indigenous
laughing buddha
market
masks
motif
objects
pans
pots
sea life
terracotta
wall hanging
ware
This part of the market is meant for small informal traders. Women sell small quantity of spices – kokam, chillies, tarmarind, herbs or even berries and oranges. These women sell a small basketful of one item only. The singularity of their ware and the small quantity indicates the fragility of their business. A day's sell must be barely covering the seller's daily need. It seems the women sell their meager ware through the day and then buy the essentials in the same market before going home in the evening. These women again are characteristically different from their counter parts in flower market and fish market. Those markets are organized and the women look like part of a community. Whereas the women in this part look more lonely and vulnerable. Though Goa is much celebrated for its herbs and spices, these women show no sign of being part of a successful vocation.
basket
bazaar
berries
fragile
herbs
informal
… it is 10 Rs., that 20 and this one is 22 Rs…
lonely
market
meager
merchandise
modest
need
quantity
sell
spice
trade
vendor
vocation
vulnerable
ware
women
wrinkles
Christmas market - makeshift stalls with colourful decoration pieces. Multi-coloured stars (as lamp shades), golden and silver glossy paper decorations, long colourful sequences, rustic huts hang on the canopy, creating a dizzy pattern of textures, colours and shapes. Both the sellers and the customers, are bursting with concealed energy of the festive season.
bazaar
business
christianity
christmas
colourful
crib
customer
decoration
display
energy
festive
gay
glossy
happy
hut
lamp shade
makeshift
market
pattern
seasonal
seller
sequence
shape
stalls
star
texture
Camera concentrates on a particular stall handled by a woman. It appears to be one of the busiest stalls in the market. The woman doing brisk business. She puts a small towel on the head to get some protection from the heat, a slight but definite smile appears on her sweaty face. Clay figurines of sheeps, wise men, Jesus Christ, baby Jesus on crib, Mary and Joseph etc jostled for attention. Paper lamps, stars and huts swing in the mild breeze. Post colonial Indian Christianity in its full glory and ingenuity. Somebody here is doing good. Baby Jesus lies in a bright pink hut – is he smiling?
baby jesus
brisk business
celebration
christianity
christmas
clay
cribs
customer
dark skin
decoration
display
festivity
figurine
fusion
heat
huts
indigenous
ingenuity
jesus christ
joseph
lamp shade
mary
post colonial
seasonal
sell
sheeps
stall
sun
sweat
terracotta
three wise men
trade
woman
A few open air stalls of spices.
bazaar
chili powder
garam masala
market
sell
spices
tarmarind
vendor
women
Wide shot of a clock shop. A few customers are standing around. Their body language signals that the interaction is more social than mere business. There is something very old worldly about this shop – the wide empty space, old fashioned merchandise, the afternoon pace, the relaxed visitors – somehow make it more than a shop. Clock shop and its displays with many clocks showing different times always invoke some nostalgia and also wonder lust. Eminent artist Bhupen Khakkar had immortalized the ordinary clock mechanic in his painting titled Janta Watch Repairing in 1972.
afternoon
bhupen khakkar
body language
business
clock
customer
display
melancholy
nostalgia
old worldly
repair
shop
small town
social
still life
time
tranquility
wonderlust
Outside the clock shop quietly sits a man under a large black umbrella. He has hanged his merchandise of glossy paper sequences from the umbrella. He becomes an installation artist and a shrewd vendor in one. The sequences fly in the breeze creating patterns. The green plastic handle of the umbrella seems part of the installation. Is he vendor or artisan? Or an artist? Or a subversive survivor?
bazaar
black
capital
chain
colour
display
glossy
market
multi-purpose
outdoor
paper
pattern
sell
sequence
shadow
space
strategy
sun
survival
umbrella
vendor
wit
In another part of the market women sell cane baskets. By now they have finished their day's job and waiting to get back home. Looks like they are waiting for the transport with the left over commodities. Mats, colourful rice baskets, ordinary baskets, fans and earthern pots are the main merchandise. These women though quiet sorts display a sense of community and the confidence of artisans. It is obvious that they weaved the baskets and the mats themselves and they are proud of their works. The day's business also must have been good.
afternoon
artisan
bamboo
basket
bazaar
business
cane
clay
confidence
fan
indigenous
journey
market
mat
old women
peer group
pride
retailer
skill
straw
wholesale
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