The Ritual of Bargaining

“The rhetorical exchanges go on between shopkeepers and prospective customers in the bazaar every day. The shopkeeper usually talks to the other person like a member of the family, calling him or her brother, mother, father or uncle to suggest intimacy. By mentioning that the shop has been recommended by a mutual acquaintance, the prospective buyer intimates that he could become a regular customer.

If he moves on to specifics and asks the price, he is given a politely non-committal reply. The aim is purely to create a friendly atmosphere. It is only after long hesitation that the salesman names his price, which is invariably refused. In the meantime, he – an expert on human nature – has deduced the customer’s status from his name and accent, clothes and various remarks. He soothes the ‘indignant’ customer by saying that other people of the same calibre – which of course, he exaggerates flatteringly – have bought the same thing. For tourists, a pile of postcards from America or a visitor’s book with tributes from satisfied customers is always brought out at this point. When the deal is concluded, he emphasizes his own selflessness by protesting that he has made nothing or has even made a loss.

The customer’s aim is to establish a lasting contact with a reliable dealer, so that he can save time in future by avoiding lengthy negotiation. In Yemen, for example, they use gestures to prevent anyone else overhearing. Both hands are covered with a cloth. They communicate by moving their fingers, each finger symbolizing a number, and express refusal or agreement with their eyes. Iranian carpet dealers usually mention how much they have – allegedly – paid for an item, establishing a minimum price in advance.

Sometimes buyers send their wives to bargain, in the (usually justified) hope that gallantry will make the shopkeeper more generous. The time of day is important too. In the early afternoon, the shopkeeper’s enthusiasm for verbal sparring is blunted by the heat and often also by hashish or qat. But the best chance of a bargain is just before evening prayer. According to an old convention, the last customer has to be given a discount. Once a deal has finally been concluded, the shopkeeper still has one last trump card: he suggests that the customer might pay another time, indicating trust in his creditworthiness. It is a gesture that seldom fails”*.

*Weiss, Walter M. & Westermann, Kurt-Michael, The Bazaar : Markets and Merchants of the Islamic World, Thames & Hudson, 1998

the Gateway & its small enterprises

At the Gateway of India in Mumbai simply watching who were the small vendors here. There was the man who sold you a picture of yourself in front of the famous Gateway of India, as soon as you ordered one.



The old man looking out for customers who wanted to buy bird feed, for the pigeons.












































The ever-so-happy-go-lucky man selling warm, roasted peanuts that have always been nicer bought at the street corner than when bought in a packet at a supermarket.

Things Indian and Mauritian

You walk in a Bazaar in Mauritius and you can't help feeling you are in an Indian Bazaar.

Of course, suddenly, you see 'Le Maurice' on a hand-crafted shopping bag or posters that say 'Isle de France' or a picture of the Dodo pasted on a shop window and you are reminded that you are in Mauritius!




You read boards on shops such as 'Pooja ke Samaan' with the coconuts, the agarbattis and the brass lamps or the 'Wedding gallery' with the latest fashions in Indian sarees in the window displays.



And, then, you see the colourful skirts at a shop in the 'Grand Baie Bazar' and you recognise it to be the "Thing Mauritian" because you've pictures of Mauritian women with similar skirts dancing the Sega - the Mauritian dance and musical form introduced by the Africans who were brought to the Island during the French colonial period.



Its actually heart-warming to see the push-cart seller with coconuts and the pineapple, right here at the beautiful Grand Baie.

So, this is tropical Mauritius, a country off the South-east coast of Africa, to the east of the island of Madagascar, so far away from India.



You can bargain here just like in an Indian Bazaar. "I give you good price" is what you hear. These are Indo-Mauritians who form about 70% of the population of the island. Most of the Indo-Mauritians speak Creole. Many speak Hindi, Tamil and Bhojpuri.

As you approach a vendor, she first starts to speak to you in French or in Creole and then, as you start to reply in English, she says "I thought you were Mauritian, you from India, then?"

You still get very good price and you just stroll along on to the next shop, the colours of the Mauritian crafts reminding you of bazaars in India more than ever.

Related Posts:
Street Food in Mauritius
Mauritius Bazaars

Photo Essay - Flower market in Madurai

Walking through a flower market almost anywhere in India is quite a fascinating experience.

There's sackfuls of flowers - the centre of all the trading activity between wholesalers and retailers.

You can buy them in kilos. They are picked up in handfuls and weighed in the most simple scales.

This flower market in Madurai is a relatively new construction, quite different in its ambience from a traditional flower market, which would often have a thatch or tiled roof and would invariably be in the centre of town. The old flower market which is now shut down was located close to the famous Meenakshi temple.











The loading and unloading of nature's bounty as people live their daily lives in prayer and in work.




The new brick and concrete construction offers spacious stall space and rooms for storage. The old market spaces had their own charm and organic planning.

I am including below a link to an article in the Times of India, June 24, 2012 on: Madurai flower market exploding in colours


Bazaar tours in India :
Bazaar Tour 1 : Dadar Flower Market, Mumbai
Bazaar Tour 2 : Antique market, Mumbai
Bazaar Tour 3 : Varkala, Kerala
Bazaar Tour 4 : Gandhi Bazaar, Bangalore