Today was my tryst with Market Building, a local shopping complex strewn with street food vendors. My trip would be incomplete without visiting a place, as a trip to New York without seeing the Time Square - for the Market Building can very well ascribed as the Times Square of Bhubaneswar.
Centrally located when the city was still a sleepy township governed by a Municipality, it used to hangout place for both young and old. And still is, apparent from the huge crowd I encountered there, jostling for every inch of space available.
At one of its entrances, a GUPCHUP (as Golgappa or Panipuri is called in Odia) vendor was busy perforating the large, crunchy, puffed shells using his long, uncut thumb nails looking dark from the dirt inside it. Instantly inserting mashed potato and chickpea paste into it, he dipped the shell into the spicy water stored in a large, earthen pot before distributing it to the surrounding buyers.
The vendor's customers, almost all of them girls holding tiny plates made of leaves (more eco friendly than plastic plates) were taking their turns extending their hands to the man, demanding - "MATE AU TIKE PANI DIA. MATE SUKHA GOTE DIA" (Gimme more spicy water, gimme a dry one). The multitasking man was super busy catering to their needs and counting the numbers consumed by each individual.
Done with their rounds of GUPCHUP munching, the girls left their leftover plates strewn around, as couple of pariah dogs started licking them, polishing off whatever they could in the narrow window of the timeframe they had before being driven away.
They were soon to be vindicated. The irritated vendor shooed them, as the hapless mongrels fled with tails well tucked behind their hind legs. The monsoon showers left puddles of water all over. Feeling secured and safe at a distance, the dogs started slurping from one of the puddles to quench their thirst post feasting on the spicy GUPCHUPs.
I bought a few goodies from UTKALIKA, a government owned shop, popular for selling gift items, mostly handicrafts related to the history of Odisha, its culture and traditions. Had a nice shopping experience, found the items quite reasonable. No vacillating prices and inconvenience from bargaining with touts.
Not so friendly was a staff at the age old garment store KALAMANDIR. When I asked him to show me some shorts to pick, he pointed me to a few hanging at a corner. With a "take it or leave it" attitude and without making an eye contact he uttered - "this is all we got", as he looked elsewhere.
I walked out to look elsewhere and stepped into the NARULA cloth store next door. What a contrast it was ! Their user friendly staff showed me a plethora of shorts from various colors and stripes to chose from, never short handed with customer service. Like a SWAYAMBARA SABHA (Assembly of grooms) where a princess choses her own groom, I had plenty of choice on hand, feeling like a customer treated like a King.
Stopped by at "Cuttack Sweet Stall" to pick up SITA BHOG, one of my favorite sweets to end a sweet day with a sweet note. More later....
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