Senorita goes to the market...

Sunday lunch has always been a highlight in the Sen household as the entire clan tends to be at home if all of us are in town. I remember going to the market with my mum when I was little (my mum maintains that though I have grown physically, mentally I'm still a three year old, but I digress). We would go to the vegetable market, the fish market and then as a special treat to a juice shop and indulge in tall glasses filled with freshly squeezed sugarcane juice (the machine was at the entrance of the shop and the juice would be squeezed right before your eyes) mother-daughter bonding at its best, I say. This brings to mind an incident that happened when I was about six or seven years old. My mum and I were in the market to buy some fish. After a while I got distracted by the antics of a cat that was roaming under tables on which the fishes were place and was quite absorbed in watching it that I didn't notice my mum move away to make place for another lady who was also buying fish from the same vendor. After purchasing what she wanted the lady turned to leave and I started walking away with her, it was only on hearing my mum call out to me that I realised my mistake !!!

Now-a-days we normally buy vegetables and fish from the vendors who come to our place in the mornings. However this morning my dad decided to go the market and I decided to tag along as it had been years (over a decade) since I had been there and my dad is absolutely great when it come to bargaining, I decided it was time to learn this life skill, given the fact that I may soon have to strike out on my own (more on this at a later date). After dressing for the occasion in rolled-up pants (my dad) and capris (your truly) we arrived at the fish market and at once my senses told me that this place has not changed an inch in all these years. The entrance to the market smells like a bouquet of fish, chicken, meat, vegetables and is and has always been was a little too much for my delicate constitution and I almost passed out as the smell hit my nostrils. I thank my  stars that I practiced holding my breath as a child and this came in useful just now as I sprinted into the market while holding my  breath, lest I faint or worse puke. What is really funny is the fact that once inside the smell normalises and you are able to breathe normally. Don't for a minute think that this is endemic to the Mumbai fish market, the entrance to the fish market that I visited while at Singapore smelled worse that I almost turned back.

So there we were inside the fish market looking at the catch of the day on display. The entire atmosphere is quite electric and buzzing with activity. Normally the womenfolk sell the fish which their sons/ husbands/ brothers have caught earlier in the day. The way they dress is quite a sight, all of them decked to the nines with their hair in a bun, their nau-wari saris in a kashti and with enough gold on their person to make you wonder if you accidentally stumbled into a wedding. Just keep your ears open as you get to hear some interesting conversations. My dad has a very unique technique of buying fish. He does a kind of recce of the entire market place, wherein he notes what kind of fish is available and what are the general price levels like. He then zeros in on a few shops where he feels the fish is good and the price reasonable are proceeds to haggle. The trick is to state almost half the price and you need to do it with a poker face(display half a smirk and all is lost, either they will abuse you or see through your ruse and dig their heels in). Once you realise that she is willing to lower the price pretend to walk away and all hell break loose "Aye Bai", "Aye Raja", "Oh Madam","Oh Bhau" "Oh Dada" they call out to you. Then you walk back and haggle some more and normally you will get it at the price you first quoted. I observed the seasoned player in action and soon we had bought crabs, prawns and pomfrets and decided that we have collected enough and decided to call it a day. By the way the pic that you see here is Butter Garlic Pepper Crab made by your truly, for the recipe refer to my other blog!!!