Wednesday, February 07, 2007

the Bazaar grows

In Varkala, as elsewhere, the bazaar grows, it flourishes. It responds willingly to every dynamic change in interest from those who come here to buy. The bazaar sells only that which people wish to buy. Now, there are also little convenience stores that sell cigarettes and shampoo and potato chips. These come up within this cliff bazaar like ‘pan shops’ do in our street corners. They sell mineral water too. Sometimes, there is a “supermarket” that has within it the cigarettes and the shampoo and the german bakery plus a bookshop selling second-hand books. The second-hand books are the ones that tourists have left behind in Varkala for other tourists to read.

One looks at the shops and the tourist cottages in Varkala and one is reminded of Goa. There is also an organic growth of resorts, craft shops and cafetarias in Goa, especially on the way to Calangute beach. The use of natural materials in the building of shops and cafes is common to both – Goa & Kerala.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Fantastic site - your insight was of great interest. I notice in one of your earliest posts you mention that in moving a market to the periphery of a city it will destroy the market. That says something about the experience; though I am not sure exactly what. Obviously there are the aspects of convenience - public transport, centrality etc. I wonder if the place itself has something to do with the experience of shopping - familiarity with surroundings, the people you meet etc. Shopping in a sea of humanity might be the therapy of which was written in Korea but I wonder if community is what comes of shopping in India? Mick