Mandeep Kaur Puri ( 2nd year, Miranda House)
We live in a shopaholic world. Shopping brings an instant smile to our faces. The excitement and enthusiasm are not restricted to females; [as the prejudice says: women are obsessed with shopping] even men love shopping. We have a wide variety of markets in India- seasonal markets, weekly markets, haats, floating markets and so forth. The market areas are jam-packed with people round the year. Online market platforms have made things even more convenient-just a click and your favorite item will fall on your lap. But did these market areas and platforms emerge out of the blue? Of course not, everything has a history; so do these markets. Now fasten your seat belts for an adventurous ride on my time machine where I will take you back in time to witness the journey of the transformation of bazaars into modern-day markets. Let us see how did this larva develop into a butterfly.
But before commencing our journey let us get a glimpse of the origin of the word ‘BAZAAR’ . It is derived from the Pahlavi word ‘Baha-chaar’ which means ‘the place of prices.’ The concept of a bazaar i.e., a formal place for the sale and purchase of commodities- emerged around 3000 B.C.E. in the global context. But when did the roots of these bazaars emerge in India?
Henceforth, the passengers are requested to be prepared for an entertaining journey. It would be a promising experience. The journey to the first destination is going to be long, do you know why, because we are entering the era of ‘Indus Valley Civilisation.’ We all have heard about Harappa being an exporter as well as producer of various goods; but so far, the word market or ‘bazaar’ has not been associated with it. Yet Ernest Mackay interpreted the southern portion of the Great Bath as a ‘Marketplace.’ Although, this cannot be concluded with certainty because scholars have disparate views regarding this. Thus, we can assume that the germination of market areas began with this period. Yet, the manifestation was witnessed around c.1000 B.C.E., due to the emergence of urban centers in the Indo- Gangetic belt. With a spurt in production, surplus goods were produced- this paved way for the markets in urban areas. Gradually, local markets known as Nigama came into the picture. These markets flourished during the Mauryan Empire with a rapid increase in long distance trade and production activities. They were organized in a manner in which the streets separated markets that were specific to a particular commodity like flowers, perfumes, and toiletries and other items. With the passage of time, small markets began to sprout in rural regions also.
But what was happening in the southern part of India during this time period? Let us proceed in that direction. Here, temples gained dominance. These temples became the focal area and subsequently markets emerged around them. Still, These bazaars were at a very nascent stage. Nonetheless, an interesting development aided in the process of evolution of these bazaars. In the post Chalukya phase, a concept of weekly markets, gained prominence. Another captivating phenomenon changed the course of the progression of bazaars; in our capital city-Delhi, around early 13th century-during Alauddin Khalji’s (the character played by Ranveer Singh in Padmavat) regime. He implemented reforms to set up markets in each locality. Moreover, he also established Mandis during his reign. Parallelly, in Southern India during the great Vijayanagara Empire, ‘the Hampi Bazaar’, in front of the Virupaksha temple came into limelight. The market had organized pavilion structures, some were even two storey. It even constituted the residence of elite people of that era. Today, the market serves the essential requisites of the local people and sells embroidered shawls, textiles, traditional costumes, antique coins, jewellery, colourful bags, stone figurines, carved artefacts, handicraft items, clay dolls, and others.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the era of the Mughal empire. As we all know, this phase is credited with the creation of the famous ‘Meena Bazaar.’ The Bazaar usually commenced on the New year festival (Navroz) and lasted for about 5-8 days. It is believed that this was conceptualized by Humayun. Later on, his successors made certain additions as well as alterations to it. The bazaar was especially dedicated for the royal elites (mostly females) and was not meant for the common folk. It mostly dealt in goods such as Silks, exquisite jewellery, Carpets, velvets, embroidered clothes, precious stones, rugs etc. Meena bazaar continues to hold an eminent position even today.
While traveling through the memoirs of Delhi bazaars’, it is impossible to evade the discussion around ‘Chandni Chowk.’ Let us hear ‘Chandni Chowk’ reciting its own story of evolution. “Hello everyone, I am Chandni Chowk. I was established in mid-17th century by the great king Shah Jahan’s daughter- Princess Jahanara. I was planned in a manner in which I could incorporate a network of three bazaars, havelis (mansions), kuchas (streets) and katras (houses). My shops were extensively famous for the silver work. Over these years, I have witnessed every thin and thick that Delhi gone through, be it the british rule, the 1984 riots, the development of Metro, the British commonwealth or the farmers protest- I have witnessed everything. My streets are crowded round the clock.
Nevertheless, people enjoy the wide variety of goods that my shops provide them-ranging from tiffin tins to saris, spices to gold jewellery. But people are feeling that with the coming up of massive shopping complexes and online platforms, I am losing my charm. Hence, they are preferring the former option over me and this is extremely disheartening.
With this we mark the end of our journey from Bazaars to BIG BAZAAR. The purpose of this journey was to highlight the importance and significance of our bazaars. As pointed out by Chandni chowk in its recital that with the emergence of these modern forms of shopping the legacy of the old bazaars are being disregarded. India has a very rich variety of bazaars- Johari Bazaar (Rajasthan), Zaveri Bazaar (Maharashtra), Ima Keithel (Manipur), Laad Bazaar (Hyderabad), Devaraja Market (Karnataka) and many more. Yet the responsibility lies in our hand to preserve our culture and heritage. We must realize that we must adopt the modern strategies but at the same time we should not neglect our legacy.
References
The Indus valley civilisation; A contemporary perspective by Gregory Possehl
• History of early India from origins to 1300 AD by Romila Thapar
• Visittnt.com
• Karnataka.com
• Urbanupdate.in • Tripoto.com
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