Street vendors the powerhouse of Bhopal - Hallo friendsCAPITAL STORIES FOR CHILDREN, In the article you read this time with the title Street vendors the powerhouse of Bhopal, We have prepared this article for you to read and retrieve information therein. Hopefully the contents of postings Article ADVENTURE, Article ANIMATION, Article LATEST DONGENG, Article WORLD OF ANIMALS, We write this you can understand. Alright, good read.

Title : Street vendors the powerhouse of Bhopal
link : Street vendors the powerhouse of Bhopal

Street vendors the powerhouse of Bhopal

[Guest post by Tapas Mitra in Bhopal]

Street vendors and service providers form a significant visual aspect of the Indian urban landscape. The diversity of trades and services provided is immense and though the entire sector is technically classified under 'urban informal', they provide significant contribution to the country's economy. Seen in residential areas, central business districts and along movement corridors, the vendors are primarily independent traders and/or specialised in certain services. Each holiday or 'absence' from work cost them their day's income. The government tries to mainstream this sector but the nature of the 'informal' cannot perhaps be captured within the formal economic order.

The fruit seller (top) sources the fruit early in the morning and operates from his makeshift shop the whole day. His son helps by arranging the fruit and putting them in bags or packets for the customers. India is trying hard to reach the state of being free of plastic. These days we see more and more paper packets coming into use.

The Chai stall

It is called the tea stall or the 'Chai' stall in India and its presence is almost everywhere (above). As is the ubiquitous holy man. The gas cylinder is kept casually at the front of the shop. Accidents due to this are quite common. The body language of the tea seller boy in the sketch is full of his entrepreneurial persona.

The dress forms or the mannequins (above) are kept outside or hung from bamboo poles of this stretch in a locality called 'Bairagarh' in Bhopal, lived in predominantly by the Sindhi community who settled here after the partition of 1947. They are a business community dealing in a wide range of products. The figure of the holy man makes for a striking visual amidst the mannequins. This sketch was made during Diwali or Deepavali, the Hindu festival of light celebrated all over the country at this time of the year.

The florist

The florist shop (above) does good business during these festive days. Note the garland stitching cum bouquet artist boy at the back of the shop on the street.

The Panipuri vendor

The Panipuri vendor sells perhaps the most popular street snack in India. Ingredients are fried hollow balls with extremely thin crust made of flour to be filled in with a mix of mashed potato, boiled chickpeas, coriander leaves and spices. The ball is then filled with tamarind water and served by hand. How a panipuri shell is burst with the thumb of the left hand is sketched. The panipuri has diverse local variations and as many as, if not more than, six names depending in which part of the country you are in.

Coconut water vendor

The tender coconut water seller perhaps cannot compete with the global soft drink brands but the vendor is a common sight on Indian streets.

The milkman

Every morning the milkman delivers milk at the door steps of his customers. In the sketch, he has 20 and 10 litre containers tied to the bike on both sides. The balancing act is worth a glance.

The boot polishwala

The 'boot polishwala' as he is commonly referred to, is the man on the street, as seen in this modest kiosk in the sketch, who not only polishes, but also repairs and even designs new ones. He is a very specialised service provider. The floaters (sandals) seen in the foreground are meant for customers who take their shoes off while they are being polished or repaired.

The man who presses clothes in residential neighbourhoods use charcoal to heat the iron (above). It is heavy (3-5 kgs) and can be operated only by specialists. Details of the iron and the charcoal chamber are shown in the sketch above.

The last sketch shows the inner court of an old palace, which is restored and taken over by the government to host fairs on various occasions. The one hosted during Diwali is called 'Deepotsav' or 'festival of light'. Here the street comes into a royal palace of another era. I have sketched areas where brass figurines of Hindu gods, goddesses and nymphs are being sold along with lamps of various shapes and forms and sculptural ideas.

Tapas Mitra is a self-taught artist who teaches architecture and urban design at the School of Planning and Architecture in Bhopal, India. He lectured at the 8th Urban Sketchers Symposium in Chicago. Read his previous guest post 'Scenes from the departure lounge'. He lives and works in Bhopal with his wife and daughter.

Thus Article Street vendors the powerhouse of Bhopal

That's an article Street vendors the powerhouse of Bhopal This time, hopefully can give benefits to all of you. well, see you in posting other articles.

You are now reading the article Street vendors the powerhouse of Bhopal with the link address https://capitalstories.blogspot.com/2017/10/street-vendors-powerhouse-of-bhopal.html

Tweet

Subscribe to receive free email updates: