While going to or coming from deep South, I make it a
point to make a prolonged halt at Chennai to corner some comforts at my younger
brother’s place. Apart from my rendezvous within and around the city with a
chauffer driven vehicle, I enjoyed going to the market with my sister-in-law and
my niece as well on few occasions. I am not talking about the Super Bazaars or
Malls but the real Indian market selling vegetables, fruits and flowers. Did I
mention that my brother stays in the SAF Games Village in Koyambedu (an upcoming
suburb), perhaps I forgot in my anxiety to let you know the kind of treatment I
had. So there I was and very close to the largest Market in Asia.
Koyambedu is a wholesale vegetable/fruit/flowers
market on which the whole Chennai city depends. The market itself is spread out
in 295 acres (1.19 km2) and is named as "Koyambedu Wholesale Market
Complex (KWMC)". The market has two blocks for vegetables and one each for
flowers and fruits. In fact the activity begins here with the arrival of
lorries/trucks with perishable goods around 3.00 in the morning and by 4 or
4.30, thousands of retailers from the city come and get the stuff for their own
outlets within the city. There are more than 3000 shops within the complex and
during the day time, it’s the retailers there who take over while wholesalers
have a nap. On an an average some 1,00,000 people visit this market
everyday.
Some kind of religious function was organized at
home and a variety of vegetables, fruits and flowers were needed. This
kind of shopping is generally in the domain of the 'Lady of the House' but she was kind to take me along. I was also too eager lest the opportunity of taking some
photographs gets lost.
To begin with, we entered the sprawling complex
(not in terms of imposing structures but area wise), from its left side which
was closer to the Vegetable blocks. I was just amazed. I could not believe that
there could be such a large area only for vegetables. I got reconciled soon for
they needed space for parking trucks in the morning and in fact some were still
there. There were rows of shops outside as also within and you need to seek
directions for a particular item because they seem to specialize and feel
comfortable in dealing in a single item as the photographs here would
suggest.
Pumpkins of various kinds |
We needed pumpkins but not as large as those displayed. They were also reluctant to make a piece out of one to serve our limited purpose. We moved out and saw watermelons at one place but here again they were too big.
Then we sought directions and finally reached a place where we could get in smaller quantities.While finding our way we had to pass through a line of shops where the pathway was full of filth. They are the left overs after the morning sales. I felt too bad for this kind of littering but later on discovered some information which consoled me.
When I talked to the people sitting there, they apprised me that the collection van is yet to come who will collect the waste and clean the pathway.
A bio-methanation plant at the market complex set by Chennai Metropolitan
Development Authority generates power from vegetable and fruit waste collected from the wholesale
market. The plant has the capacity to convert 30 tonnes of waste per day into 2,500
units daily. About 150 tonnes of waste is collected daily and after meeting the requirement of power generation, the rest is converted into manure for which a separate area of about 1.75 acres is made available. Some of the waste like banana stems gets recycled.
After making our purchases we summoned our vehicle and drove to the other side where the fruit market was located. Since it was midday there were not many people around. Although many photographs were taken, I am placing them selectively. The fruits follow.
When we came out of the fruit market, there was a
person selling the above stuff on the outer pathway. We could not understand what it was and the
explanation given was too inadequate. On a reference being made to one of my nieces
working with All India Radio, Chennai, she advised “they are the roots of the
palm tree. People generally dig under the roots of the palm or when the palm is
cut they take out the tuberous roots. Palm roots are tuberous as tapioca etc.
and they sell them. I my self have eaten them. It is said the palm roots are
cheaper but richer dietary supplement, richer in in fibre. It is steam-boiled to
cook.The outer layer of the skin is peeled off and is taken. Not particularly
delicious, but ok. In Tamil it is called 'panam kizangu' ”
The vendor is hiding his face |
Now it was time for us to move out and stood outside waiting for the vehicle to come and fetch us. My niece trying to shield her from the scorching Sun with that piece of cloth known as Dupatta. Probably she did not relish being photographed in that attire.
We did not venture into visiting all the wings as it seemed to be formidable at that time. May be we were hungry.
जब मैं चेन्नई जाता हूं तो समुद्र तट पर घंटों गुज़ारना मुझे बेहद अच्छा लगता है। किंतु पिछले हफ़्ते न जा सका।
ReplyDeleteअगली बार जब जाऊंगा, तो इस सब्जी मंडी की भी सैर कर आऊंगा।
Dear PNS Sir
ReplyDeleteThat's a fantastic write up along with superb pictures - Koyambedu market is such a huge sprawling market with a mind boggling array of vegetables & fruits. I have been in and out of Chennai so often & crossed the Koyambedu market on dozens of occasions but have never ventured inside.
It was long ago that I visitied this unique place..your pctures have kindled me interest..Very well covered PNS..
ReplyDeleteBrilliant post. This is one huge market. Loved the virtual trip.The pictures are very inviting ,wish I could be there right now .150 tonnes of waste daily ! Good that they have a bio-methanation plant to utilize this waste .
ReplyDeleteYour niece is looking cute with that expression on her face :):)
wow that was amazing and delightful!!
ReplyDeleteI have gone there a couple of times, but its been years since I went inside. I went when the complex was quite new, and was stunned to see it being maintained so neatly. Of course, the timing when I went might have made a difference as well. When we look at this, we are forced to think how so many vendors were managing in kothawalchavadi earlier! The complex is definitely big, but not best for small purchases, I guess. And besides, all roads leading to koyambedu market are pathetic.
ReplyDeleteDestination Infinity
Woooow, Koyambedu market looks so exciting and huge! I really want to visit there some day.The various pumpkins are new for me. They are sweet??
ReplyDeleteRedRose,Tomoko.
@Red Rose:
ReplyDeleteThanks Tomoko. The light brown and yellow ones are sweet but not all.
@Destination Infinity:
ReplyDeleteDear Rajesh,
Because of the Construction activity for Metro the road conditions have become very bad.
am simply loving the colorful images of fruits and vegetables!!!
ReplyDeletehttp://sushmita-smile.blogspot.in/
What a wonderful documentary! very good snaps to tell the story of this amazingly busy market!
ReplyDeleteOooo, wonderful market!!!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for the interesting tour, with beautiful photos!!!
Many greetings
Namaste....
ReplyDeleteThe share volume of vegetation and fruits is formidable and made me think of the magnitude of work it would take those farmers to load, off load and reload, woo it makes me want to give them a ice cold drink of lemonade and tell them to sit down and rest. I miss going to the market such as this. In the Island of Trinidad where I am from we have a market much like this in San Juan, we would be there by 5 am to get the best choices of fruits, vegetables, sugar, rice etc, one of my favorite snack to get is called Kumar, some people call it Mathi. By 6:30 am we were home from the market, cooking, packing away purchase and gearing up for the days household chores.
thanks for sharing, it brought back wonderful memories for me.
stay blessed.
Rhapsody
http://www.shelfari.com/rhapsodyphoenix
http://twitter.com/rhapsodyphoenix
This market has beautiful vegetables, etc...Really nice
ReplyDeletebeautiful market pics
ReplyDeletenice virtual tour to Koyambedu...
ReplyDeletebeautifully narrated, with the help of photos...
root of palm (panam kizhangu) is common in tamilnadu...
power from waste is nice idea... if we implement in Kerala it will reduce the pollution....
thanks for sharing...
lovely narration and pictures!
ReplyDeleteWonderful pictures and the virtual tour. Reminds me of our very own Vashi Vegetable Market that we have in Mumbai. I myself love shopping in these markets with all the chit chatter and the diverse varieties that one gets here are nowhere to be seen in malls and hypermarkets. The experience of 'real' shopping is amazing and I could truly feel that while reading your post.
ReplyDeleteFelt like reading wikipedia page. The details of the market are given in minute details. Felt like visiting the place myself.
ReplyDeleteNice to know that the vegetable waste is not wasted. The fruit market and flower market pictures are beautiful.
Thank you, Sir!
:) so much info.
ReplyDeletethis reminded me of the grain market we have in changiarh it is so chaotic in the mornings , and whenever my Nana ji came from our village he would always make a point ot get up early morning and go to it .. ot buy all fresh vegetables
I use to go with him ..
lovely pictures ...
Bikram's
Amazing market,very huge complex with plenty of fresh vegetables, mouth watering fruits and lovely flowers. I have tasted the palm root. It used to be cheap and poor people loved to eat it.
ReplyDeleteOnce again you have excelled yourself in writing such an exhaustive post accompanied by interesting photos.
Every post of yours is packed with plenty of information and photos to enrich the mind.
Wish you all the best,
Joseph
nice and interesting post....
ReplyDeletefelt connected...
thanks
:-)
regards.
Market places are such interesting places, lot of photo opportunities. The tuber of palms is new to me. I will try them some time. With any spicy chutney it should taste good. :)
ReplyDeleteWherever and whenever I visit a town or a region, I look for its markets. I like the smells, colors and shapes of the merchandise, and the people that sell, buy or just walk around for fun.
ReplyDeleteYour post is a remarkable account of your visit to the market of Koyambedu. The pictures accompanying it are terrific.
Thanks for the tour.
I always find these fruit, vegetable markets and even grain mandis fascinating. The huge piles of fresh produce along with cows grazing on the discarded greens. I have visited a similar market in Hyderabad with my mil. It is very tiring to walk that much, but it is fun sometimes. The market here in Bangalore is very dirty and muddy. Enjoyed the lovely pictures too.
ReplyDeleteAmazing pictures. Like the walls of stacked fruits. Even if the pick up truck was expected, the strewn garbage is not justified. You know when Indians migrate to other countries and run similar businesses there, you find they adhere to the rules and keep the place spic and span. Why not here?
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful, just look at all those colours, so fresh, I'd love to be able to buy my fruit and veg from such a market.
ReplyDeleteWonderful shots from markwt. They have stacked the item nicely.
ReplyDeleteThese photos are incredible, look at the perfect mountains of fruits!! I love this post and all your posts!! Your blog definitely rocks!!!
ReplyDeleteकमाल की प्रस्तुति है आपकी.
ReplyDeleteपढकर और चित्रों को देखकर बहुत ही अच्छा लगा.
अच्छी जानकारी भी हुई.
बहुत बहुत शुक्रिया आपका.
Nice documentary. I like fruity snaps!
ReplyDeleteKoyambedu also has a big bus stand right? I loved the photographs of the oranges and grapes and read with interest about the bio-meathanisation plant. I would like to see this for renewable energy is my area of interest.
ReplyDeleteMundane day-to-day vegetables and fruits, when stacked neatly in bulk, indeed make beautiful compositions!!
ReplyDeleteThe scene of the market at the end of the day calls for some thought.
Please convey to your niece that she is looking cute in the last snap. :)
This is as good as it gets for someone to have a walkaround of the koyambedu market. I think the only thing missing here is the aroma/smell/stench (whatever you want to call it)whilst one walks through the narrow alleys of the Koyambedu market. The vivid photos however make up even for that and the eye tricks the brain to imagine those smells when one reads this post and looks at those pics. Great! And Gowri's nakhra is more of a pose than a displeasure I would say. She is good at that expression :P.
ReplyDeleteRegards
-Navneet
nice to know what that 'root of palm' is. I'd seen it also
ReplyDeleteinteresting blog. It would be great if you can provide more details about it. Thanks you
ReplyDeleteFlower Shop Chennai
This market has beautiful vegetables, etc...Really nice
ReplyDeleteKoyambedu market looks so exciting. Enjoyed the lovely pictures too. You can say more details about this market?
ReplyDeleteThanks,
From - Chennai flowers