Photo story from India
A Trip Through the Bazaar
By Jack Miner A s a missionary in India I occasionally am asked about the life and customs of the people of this great nation. Here are a few pictorial glimpses into scenes now common to our eyes. In the bazaar the life of India is candidly naked. The bazaar is a weekly affair, held every Thursday in our town of Ellichpur. A most important day. Every large town has its bazaar day. Many maps of India print the day of the week on which the market is held along with the name of the town. To Ellichpur on Thursday come thousands of bullock carts. They are loaded with teakwood, firewood, bamboo poles, grass, grain, pottery and the family. Hundreds of individuals bring what products they can carry on their heads (and it is an amazing lot) and squat beside the road with their wares laid on the ground in front of them. Dust rises high on all roads leading to the market place. There is the constant din of many competing voices. Beggars are everywhere. Village children stand with sparkling eyes before displays of trinkets or sweets. Men and women dicker loudly over prices. Dust, noise and people everywhere all having a good time.
On the way to the bazaar I stopped to snap this boy, carrying home his pur chases—grain in a sack on his head, other provisions in a bag over his shoul der. It is very unusual to catch an In dian smiling. Behind him are carts of bamboo which will be split and used for making mats or perhaps walls for huts.
Potters are of a very low caste. But this one seemed as hap py as any of the people I met, happier, I think than most. There is something satisfying in creating even a lowly earth en vessel. The most costly of this man’s pottery brings only five cents. When David cried, “ I am like a broken ves sel” he could not have given a much lower evaluation of self.
Here is a woman selling sandals made of discarded automo bile tires. Few things are discarded until they fall apart, and then the parts are salvaged. Hospitals sell all discarded bottles, packing cases. Even the lowly tin can has its value in the bazaar. These sandals ( chuppuls ) sell for 10 to 20 cents. Still there are few takers; most people walk barefoot.
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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