To market, to market

Fresh vegetables and fruits are pretty common place in our markets here in India. Whether it's the main markets, the street corners or the handcarts that come rolling into our neighbourhoods each day, fresh produce is always easily accessible. 

On this trip to North East last year, the itinerary included visits to the markets in the main towns. The local markets are always a good place to 'people watch' :) It's also a good place to gather what goes into the local cuisine (quite fascinating), the fashion trends etc. Especially, since the area wasn't very touristy, it gave us a fairly authentic picture of local life in these parts of the North East. 

The first market was in Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh. Ziro is a small, picturesque town surrounded by hills, green cover and air so fresh and pure, it's amazing. 

The market had just been set up when we visited. There were varieties of vegetables, dried fish, fruits and a few local delicacies. Since Ziro is not easily accessible, the influence of mainstream India is much lesser. Manufactured and processed goods were being sold mostly by traders from out of state e.g. packaged food, powdered spices, plastic items like buckets & bags, wool which is much in demand due to the colder climate etc. The shops were quaint and not very large but busy like all markets with people bustling in and out with their shopping.

Fresh vegetables & fruits at the market

Live fish for sale

Piles of dried fish 

A type of larvae found underground in river beds.
The season had just started in Arunachal Pradesh.

Barely had the lady set up shop, the large blocks
of larvae were snapped up by eager customers.
In a matter of minutes she had sold almost all.  

Interestingly, they had a few shops selling alcohol
which were barricaded like cages.

The next market we had a chance to visit was in Kohima, Nagaland. Here, the markets had a more urban feel to it. Besides the fresh vegetables and fruits, there was also a variety of exotic meat (from our point of view) which I couldn't bring myself to photograph. I am not usually squeamish but this was a sight I couldn't bear to hang around. 

A similar scene greeted us at the market in Kohima

The white discs were salt, which is prized here & the red fruit
in front of it, we were told, was a type of wild brinjal. 

The famous Naga chillies!

More larvae & worms, different types of worms!

Silk worms - the greenish ones were live & the ones
on the right were roasted.

The shops in the city were stocked with the latest fashion in shoes, clothes, tins and packets of imported food etc. They were also a little more touristy than anywhere we had been so far offering their famous shawls, miniature spears, all that Nagaland is famous for. 

The roads connecting the major towns in Nagaland had, in places, make-shift stalls lining the roads. The locals from the nearest villages would be selling the seasonal vegetables, fruits or meat in them. 

A stall along the roadside. The hanging baskets
contained freshwater crabs.

The lady with the plastic bag in hand had a string of live frogs
that she was packing up for a customer.

We bought a whole lot of the chillies - fresh and dried, gawked at the unusual stuff laid out on display, watched people haggle, browse, shop, have a little chat - interactions that were unhurried and friendly as if time was of no consequence to them. And it probably wasn't, at least not in the same way it is to us in our urbanised rush.