The idea and evolution of Bazaars

 

Bazaars have always been a centre of social, economic and cultural exchange. Over a period of time, the concept of Bazaars has changed in its spatial arrangement and offerings

 

Traditional Bazaars were usually situated in close proximity to ruling palaces or places of religious importance for practical reasons. The locations of marketplaces were judiciously chosen to provide traders protection, and also because such locations generated substantial demand for goods and services. They also acted as connecting points along the regional, national, and international trade routes through which cities were connected and goods, culture, people, and information could be exchanged. The traditional Silk Route is one of the appropriate examples of such connection.

The existence of the concept of marketplaces was developed in around 3000 BC in forms of Bazaars, according to the documented records.The word ‘Bazaar’ originated from the Persian word ‘bāzār’, and was derived from the Pahlavi (Middle Iranian) word ‘baha-char’ meaning “the place of prices”. The concept of Bazaar slowly gained popularity and got different names in different nations. For instance, in Italian it was known to be as ‘Bazzara’, in Spanish as ‘Feria’, in Portuguese: ‘Meracado, in Swedish: ‘Marknad’, in German: ‘Basar”, in Turkish: ‘Pazar’, in Greek: ‘Ayopa’, in Arabic: ‘Soug’, and in English: ‘Bazaar’.

 

Indian Bazaars

The chronology of Indian Bazaars can be dated back to the Pre-Mauryan period (middle of 1^st millennium BCE) which showcased the appearance of the urban centres of North India in the Gangetic plain. Kautilya’s Arthasastra describes planned and organised selling places of flowers, perfumes, and toiletries and other forest produce items. Contrary to these organised markets lied the markets of Puhar in Southern India. It was a bustling urban centre with market square, streets, and boulevards with the profusion of activities and cacophony and modern-day fair.

The markets of Chola period, roughly 850 to 1279 CE, the commercial markets in streets for the sale of grains, textiles, jewellery, copperware and leather work was famous. Marketing institution such as nagaram or commercial urban centres which included kadai(shops), angadi(markets), perangadi (a big market in the inner city). The temples were another institution which actively contributed to the spread of market in South India as it attracted donation of gold, money, land, livestock. In this period, temples were the active buyer of livestock, aromatic substances, oil, rice, lentils, spices, vegetables and flowers and played an important economic role.

Mughal Period (1526 to 1757) was the emergence of power communities of Khattris from Punjab, Aggarwals, Oswal, Maheshwari. Further with the eminence of skilled craftsmen and artisan of the cities and the dominance of agricultural activities, the system led to the one-way flow of goods from villages to cities and since villagers were unable to afford the products from the city. With the advent of industrial production in the late 18^th century, there was mass production of cheap products in the cities enabling villagers to purchase them. By the 17^th century, the nature of marketing had taken one of its biggest leaps since its early development. Permanent shops with more structured trading hours were beginning to replace the traditional market structure in a more formalized and institutionalized manner.

The initial encounter with Europe and early colonial period (1498 to 1857) with the Portuguese, middlemen played an important role and specialized local markets such as haats evolved. This era saw the emergence of early advertising in newspapers, Indian manufacturing capabilities started to lose the traditional and ancient essence, the railway networks increased market penetration. By the time the 19^th century came, the world had already begun building shopping arcades which hosted multiple-vendor spaces in their newly developed and formalised shopping structure. Many kings and emperors also contributed to the development of unique characters of markets in their reign. Meena Bazaar in Old Delhi, Begum Bazaar in Hyderabad, and Johari Bazaar in Jaipur gained their unique characteristics over hundreds of years of their evolution. Chandni Chowk in Delhi that is spread over 500 hectares inhabits over 200,000 people and also has thousands of shops. It is still considered one of the busiest markets of India and thousands of crores change hands every day.

Change in time and advent of modern technology, every Indian city today boasts of swanky malls where one can find international brands. One can buy from needle to hi-tech cars in these malls. The old markets may not attract the young crowd yet their preservation is essential for holistic heritage conservation.

 

Unique characters of Bazaars

Types of market

1. FLEA MARKET

WHAT:  Flea markets are spaces that sell used, collectibles and old items at low prices. One can find hundreds of vendors sell everything from fresh fruit to locally handcrafted furniture. The atmosphere is lively and busy; there is a buzz here, a feeling of energy amongst the shoppers.

WHERE: Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey, Les Puces de Saint-Ouen in Paris, France, Brooklyn Flea in Brooklyn, New York, Monastiraki Flea Market in Athens, Greece, Colaba Causeway Market, Mumbai, India

 

2. FLOATING MARKET

WHAT:  Floating markets are places where goods are sold from the boat. These markets have great influence in the daily lives of people in cities where water transport plays a major role. The goods sold are majorly fruits and vegetables that come from the merchant’s farms.

 

WHERE: Damnoen Saduak Floating Market in Bangkok, Thailand, Dal Lake Floating Market in Srinagar, India, Muara Kuin Floating Market, Indonesia, Amphawa Floating Market, Thailand, Nga Bay market – Hau Giang, Vietnam

 

3. WET MARKET

WHAT:  Wet markets are places majorly for the sale of fresh meat, fish and produce. Wet markets are associated with wet floors, fresh food, and humid temperature. In these markets, sellers constantly use water to wash down foods and floors to keep them clean and humid.

 

WHERE: Tekka wet market, Singapore, Graham Street Wet Market, Hong Kong, La Boqueria: Barcelona, Spain, Chinatown Wet Market, Singapore

4. NIGHT MARKETS

WHAT:   Night markets provides a wide range of foods and non-food times to the shoppers. Night markets are more of leisurely strolling and eating and less of business-like day markets. Depending on the popularity of the night markets in the area, they would usually operate once or twice a week. Entertaining Night markets feel exhilarating and one can head home with colourful stories.

WHERE: Raohe Street Night Market in Taipei, Taiwan, Shilin Night Market in Taipei, Taiwan, Rot Fai Market, Srinakarin, Thailand, Arpora Saturday Night Bazar, Goa, India

 

5. ANTIQUE BAZAAR

WHAT: Antique bazaar are markets selling the old, used but precious item at comparatively higher prices. People searching for affordable antiques can find amazing deals among the many stalls overflowing with antiques, trinkets, costume jewellery, vintage movie posters, and artwork etc.

WHERE: San Telmo Antiques Fair, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Brimfield Antique Show, Brimfield, Massachusetts, Lincoln road Antique & collectible market, Florida, The Antiques Market in Arezzo, Italy, Phillips antiques, Mumbai, India

 

The designing of these bazaars was dependent on the climate, culture, grandeur and the power of the city. The two types of the architecture development have been seen and developed over the ages i.e., one the Bazaar of Tabriz was the longest vaulted bazaar in the world as it stretched to an astounding 1.5 km of areas similarly the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul and many bazaars in cities of Turkey and Iran, the bazaars areas were used to be covered space, with columns and vaults and the rambling and sometimes linear designs developed in the subcontinent contrary to the centralised marketplaces of the West. They usually remained open space and at times got covered to protect the vendors from summer heat and rain.