Thursday, January 04, 2007

a few questions on Bazaars

How have our needs changed and what kind of market do we want?
How should a one-stop shop be planned to have the character of an Indian bazaar?
Is it possible to make our marketplace also a meeting point for social interaction? Do we want that?
Must the Indian Bazaar continue to be dirty if it is to be a vibrant place? OR Is a shopping mall the only answer to having a clean market environment?
Are there policies that can be introduced in marketplaces that will remove some or all of the negative aspects of the Bazaar? What are these?
Is it possible for one organisation to take over and manage efficiently an entire marketplace in a city?
How to create an awareness amongst the planners & administrators about the aesthetic contributions of the vendor?
How will new commodities and new ways of marketing be reconciled with traditional design?
How to create a changing, dynamic system, how to implement it?
How can design interventions enhance livelihoods in a bazaar?

2 comments:

  1. Interesting questions, I would like to think we can live in a world where a bazaar and a more organized form of retail can exist side by side - feeding on their niches. People think Indian Bazaars are haphazard, I disagree each market has a finely planned out anatomy. Just like when you're in a department store and you find the Womens section on the first floor, childrens on the second, and mens wear on the third or sometimes on the fourth depending on where they want to put the lifestyles stuff. This design has not evolved by my the administration but by the market itself. I think the Bazaar itself will bring about changes in itself to survive.

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  2. Akshay, thanks for your comment. I like the comparison you make between the bazaar and the sections within a department store. These questions arise because there is on one hand, the need for revitalisation of our traditional bazaars with modern infrastructure & services built into them and on the other, to develop a new building typology based on the organic nature of our bazaars. Today, we look at the western models of malls as new shopping centres are planned all over the country. There is no documentation available of our existing bazaars. I hope that as more and more people take interest in the bazaars and research is made available, we will be able to conceptualise and build "indian malls" that may be even more vibrant than our present-day westernised models.

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