Florine Roche
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore

Mangalore, Aug 30: They say the only thing which is constant is change. Despite Mangalore city metamorphosing into a cosmopolitan city over the years the only thing that has remained constant is its popular weekly market of Kaikamba, Kulshekar, popularly known as “Shanivara Santhe”. This open market can be rightly termed as the one-stop-shop where people can buy everything they require for a normal household for a week. Be it grocery items, vegetables, fruits, fresh fish, dry fish, eggs, spices, locally grown vegetables (uruda tarakari) toasts, rusks, butter balls and other fried eatables, beetle leaves, areca nut, coconuts, clothes, footwear, kitchen items, utensils and much more – all in this open bazaar under one roof. This is a unique open market which puts to shame even the malls and hypermarkets in terms of diversity, freshness, abundance and the sheer enjoyment customers get from shopping in an open bazaar with a bargaining option - something which we all love to do with gay abandon.

In fact, this is the only open bazaar within Mangalore city that attracts people from different parts of the district who flock to the market to buy and stock their requirements for the week ahead. Every Saturday Kaikamba market is full of zip by 10 am as vendors from far off places like Hassan and Chickmagalur and from nearby places like Moodbidre, Vamanjoor, Merlapadavu, Needrmarga arrive with their produce. Some buy their products from the central market on wholesale and a few others buy locally produced vegetables from their neighbours to sell them in this market. By noon even local vendors come to occupy vantage positions to sell their goods and the market is at its peak from 2.30 to 7.30 pm on a normal day.

The vendors put up makeshift stalls to ensure protection from sun or rain. However shopping in the rainy season is quite an irksome both to the vendors and to the shoppers as it gets mucky and the clay-mud gets stuck in sandals and shoes. There are vendors who are a regular fixture at this open market and they even have a band of loyal customers. Lilly Pereira from Merlapadavu, comes to Kaikamba every Saturday to sell her produce that includes locally grown vegetables like local cucumbers, lady finger, bitter guard, ridge guard, Mangalorean spinach (Basale), beetle leaves, coconuts, areconut etc. There are regular buyers who want to buy ‘uruda tarakari’ which is expensive as compared to the vegetables brought from elsewhere. Lilly says, “for all my life I have been selling vegetables at various places. On Saturdays I come here by mid noon with locally grown vegetables which has a great demand here. I get all sorts of customers and few of them come specifically to buy vegetables from me. I could educate all my students from the profit I could make selling vegetables.”

Kumar B V from Belur Hassan has been a regular at Shanivara Santhe for the last four years. He along with a few others rent out a vehicle to get their produce all the way to Kaikamba. He says “We bring fresh leafy green vegetables from Hassan as there is a great demand for fresh greens. We start late at night and arrive here early morning. The sale is good except when it rains heavily. We have regular customers and they come to me asking for fresh vegetables”.

Vendors who use the market here to pay ‘sunka’ (tax) to the city corporation and Krishna Kottary, who owns a vegetable and flower shop in the same vicinity collects ‘sunka’ from the vendors. Krishna has been collecting this local tax for the last 12 years as he won the tenders for the same. Krishna says the tax collected depends on the place occupied by the vendors depending on the quantity of the product and ranges from Rs 10 to a maximum of Rs 150 for the whole day. Lilly Pereira says she pays Rs 40 towards tax as she occupies only a small place to sell her limited products.

Krishna points out “vendors come as early as 6.30am from far flung places and the market is open till 10 pm. They put makeshift tents and by 11.30 am buyers start coming in. Some people come to the market only to buy fresh leafy green vegetables which are available here in plenty and at reasonable rates. Some prefer coming here as they prefer locally grown vegetables sold by only a few vendors”. By 4 pm the market is swarmed by customers from all sides leaving little space to move around.
The popularity of the market is largely due to the availability of a variety of fruits, vegetables, eatables, grocery items, condiments and spices available at a much cheaper rate than those available in other markets. Moreover, they can be bought in any quantity as such a choice is not available in malls, bazaars or shops, says Kusuma, a construction labourer.

Abbas from Kaikamba Molali is a regular vendor at this market for the last 10 years. He is selling popular fried eatables items like mixture, chakkuli, and chips etc., which are sold like hot cakes. “I buy them from bakeries at wholesale price and therefore I can sell them to the people at cheaper rates. Mostly people who get their weekly salary come to this market to buy their stock for the week ahead. They find the prices are reasonable, product is fresh and it is also convenient to buy on a weekend when there is money on hand,” Abbas professes.

Husband wife duo Ganesh and Vijaya from Kulshekar buy their week’s requirement from this market. Vijaya declares, “I like the fresh leafy vegetables available in plenty at this market. The vendors are also very friendly and this market gives us opportunity to bargain. Saturday is also convenient for both of us to come and shop here.”

With vegetable prices skyrocketing buying them in the open market or in malls is beyond the reach of the common man. Here there are no hassles of waiting in long queues unlike in malls especially on weekends where billing is quite tardy and tests our tolerance level. Needless to say for such people “Shanivara Santhe” the open bazaar comes as a breather.