A day at Vegetable market - India trip 2014

Incredible India, full of sights and sounds with wonderful imagery. One fine morning I went to a local vegetable market to spend some time on shopping and catch a glimpse of the milieu. As I finished my purchase from a vendor, I heard someone shouting MAHADEB MUNDIA ( Salute, O Lord  Shiva). I turned my head to notice a bull sniffing vegetables hardly couple of feet from me. The mountain sized bovine acknowledged my neighbor's greetings by nodding its head while happily munching the veggies offered to him.

A guy suddenly arrives, scratching his private parts in public ( blame the hot and humid weather for that) and asked the lady vendor " ALO BAIGANA KETE NEKHA meaning "Hey, how much is the Brinjal ( Eggplant ) ?" Then from nowhere comes another woman in rags shouting explicit at someone who refused to part her with vegetables. Immediately she started cursing the vendor's whole family to die from BAADI (cholera). Not sure if anyone dies of cholera these days which is mostly curable. She could have cursed her cancer or AIDS from which one has a better chance to perish. She also went on accusing the lady vendor of soliciting illicit relationship with her mothers and sisters. I couldn't understand why she didn't direct her anger towards her father and brother rather than mother and sister. Apparently ours is still a male dominated society.

 

After being content from covering all the 14 generations with her curses she finally relented. The lady selling the vegetables ignored her and went on shouting BAIGANA BAIGANA (eggplant eggplant). I asked the lady vendor the reason behind the other woman's sudden outburst. Before she could answer my query a man in loin cloth and unkempt hair told me "She is a mad woman. Nobody takes her seriously". As he walked away the vegetable vendor started giggling. I asked her what's so funny ? She said " Babu ( Sir ), this guy just told you that the abusive woman is PAGELI ( she-mad), right." " Yes, it appears so" I replied. She continued giggling "He he he. He is no different. He is a PAGALA (he-mad) too." Now trying to make sense of the madness surrounding me I swept off sweat from my forehead as the sun was peaking. It was time to rush back home, far from the madding crowd.