I went there again this morning by bus. I do love Mapusa. Again, like the busy road, I cannot seem to take a photo that does it justice. I guess I'll take this opportunity, while the neighbor is burning rubbish in front of my terrace, as the sun goes down and I wait for the bread wallah, to tell you about Mapusa.
Mapusa is the second largest "city" in Goa, after the capital, Panjim. Mapusa is where everyone in north Goa goes for car parts, scooter parts, cheap clothing, fabrics, terra cotta pots, buses to all over India, cell phones, prescription drugs, Ayurvedic remedies, bananas, buffalo curd, buffalo milk, garlands of fresh flowers for your home alter or for your temple or church, and pretty much anything else you can possibly think of. Much of it at wholesale prices.
On Fridays they hold a market in Mapusa, but really any day of the week is like market day there. In the market area of the city, near the dusty dirt field, crammed full with old buses, where the buses disgorge and then immediately fill up with passengers to and from all over, the narrow streets are literally jam packed with thousands of people. I would say shoulder to shoulder, but that makes it sound too roomy. The shops are all numbered to make it easier to find what you're looking for (although the numbers don't all seem to be in order???) There seems to be some order to the chaos, where all the cloth shops are in one row and the shoe shops are in another, and the scooter part shops in yet another. It is a sprawling sort of place, going on and on. In the narrow streets out in front of the shops, people have spread blankets in the dirt and set up their own little shops on the ground, of course having no relation to what the shop behind is selling. These folks may be selling underwear or towels or Hindu religious sculptures or beads or jewelry or huge sacks of dried shrimp or piles of spices. Spices Are very popular.
Last week, I was looking at some necklaces made from these round brown seeds, and I looked behind me to see another merchant selling even more necklaces made from even larger seeds, so I went to try one on. It was only when I got close, that I realized these were piles of home made sausages laying on the ground. I chose not to try them on.
So, if you can imagine a narrow dirt road between each row of shops, with blankets on the ground, on both sides of the road, taking up most of the road, and then all these people pushing their way through to find what they've come for... It is absolutely mad.
The smells are amazing. All those spices and the sausages and the dried fish and of course the ever-present diesel fumes, and the bananas. It really is a fabulous place.
People are quite friendly there, too. Today, I wanted to buy a spool of red thread to take back for rakhis (the red bracelets that Hindus tie on each other's wrists). Well, I asked at the cloth merchant, who directed me to the other end of the market, where someone told me to go beneath the big tree. I found the thread merchant, but he only had polyester thread, which didn't seem quite pucca to me. So I continued searching until I found another thread merchant. Also only polyester. He insisted that this was all I would find in Mapusa. I wasn't sure. So after a bit more looking, I saw a tiny stall with sundry items like hair bobby pins, plastic combs, sponges, and the like. I had a feeling. So I asked if he had red cotton thread. He pulled out a bunch of thick red twine, for tying a trunk shut. I asked if he had something thinner. He pulled out a spool of thinner red twine for tying a box closed before mailing it. Finally, he came out with a ball of red cotton thread, perfect for my needs. I think it is so funny how the smallest possible place here will have the largest selection you can possibly imagine.
Since its Monday, the Hindu temple near me has been playing really loud music all day. Monday evenings the place is always packed, so I'm going to head over now and take part in the festivities.
नमस्ते
Mapusa is the second largest "city" in Goa, after the capital, Panjim. Mapusa is where everyone in north Goa goes for car parts, scooter parts, cheap clothing, fabrics, terra cotta pots, buses to all over India, cell phones, prescription drugs, Ayurvedic remedies, bananas, buffalo curd, buffalo milk, garlands of fresh flowers for your home alter or for your temple or church, and pretty much anything else you can possibly think of. Much of it at wholesale prices.
On Fridays they hold a market in Mapusa, but really any day of the week is like market day there. In the market area of the city, near the dusty dirt field, crammed full with old buses, where the buses disgorge and then immediately fill up with passengers to and from all over, the narrow streets are literally jam packed with thousands of people. I would say shoulder to shoulder, but that makes it sound too roomy. The shops are all numbered to make it easier to find what you're looking for (although the numbers don't all seem to be in order???) There seems to be some order to the chaos, where all the cloth shops are in one row and the shoe shops are in another, and the scooter part shops in yet another. It is a sprawling sort of place, going on and on. In the narrow streets out in front of the shops, people have spread blankets in the dirt and set up their own little shops on the ground, of course having no relation to what the shop behind is selling. These folks may be selling underwear or towels or Hindu religious sculptures or beads or jewelry or huge sacks of dried shrimp or piles of spices. Spices Are very popular.
Last week, I was looking at some necklaces made from these round brown seeds, and I looked behind me to see another merchant selling even more necklaces made from even larger seeds, so I went to try one on. It was only when I got close, that I realized these were piles of home made sausages laying on the ground. I chose not to try them on.
So, if you can imagine a narrow dirt road between each row of shops, with blankets on the ground, on both sides of the road, taking up most of the road, and then all these people pushing their way through to find what they've come for... It is absolutely mad.
The smells are amazing. All those spices and the sausages and the dried fish and of course the ever-present diesel fumes, and the bananas. It really is a fabulous place.
People are quite friendly there, too. Today, I wanted to buy a spool of red thread to take back for rakhis (the red bracelets that Hindus tie on each other's wrists). Well, I asked at the cloth merchant, who directed me to the other end of the market, where someone told me to go beneath the big tree. I found the thread merchant, but he only had polyester thread, which didn't seem quite pucca to me. So I continued searching until I found another thread merchant. Also only polyester. He insisted that this was all I would find in Mapusa. I wasn't sure. So after a bit more looking, I saw a tiny stall with sundry items like hair bobby pins, plastic combs, sponges, and the like. I had a feeling. So I asked if he had red cotton thread. He pulled out a bunch of thick red twine, for tying a trunk shut. I asked if he had something thinner. He pulled out a spool of thinner red twine for tying a box closed before mailing it. Finally, he came out with a ball of red cotton thread, perfect for my needs. I think it is so funny how the smallest possible place here will have the largest selection you can possibly imagine.
Since its Monday, the Hindu temple near me has been playing really loud music all day. Monday evenings the place is always packed, so I'm going to head over now and take part in the festivities.
नमस्ते
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