Simply Mumbai - 7 : 'Hamaal'

A 'hamaal' pulling a handcart loaded with vegetables at the APMC market in Vashi.

Monday Shopping and Markets : Indian Dresses at Nadco Market

Bandra is my favourite place for most of my shopping needs but some select shops in Nacdo Market at Andheri do have a good collection of Indian and western wear. But then why here, if you are in Andheri, just visit Shopper's Stop at Andheri for the local and international brands of the latest in clothing, footwear, accessories like purses and handbags, amd fashion jewellery and make up too.

Simply Mumbai - 2 : Young Entrepreneurs

These two little girls were collecting bunches of coriander (cilantro) leaves, discarded by the wholesale sellers in the APMC vegetable market. A couple of sprigs of each bunch were spoilt.

They were sorting the coriander leaf bunches, removing spoilt sprigs and making fresh bunches. When I asked what they would do with them, one of them said 'we will sell them for Rs. 5 a bunch'. They looked busy and focussed and didnt really care to be photographed, and got on with their work after replying me.
 In a market where retail sellers buy cartloads full of veggies, or a basketful to carry on the bicycle and sell, these two girls found their own way of making money.

They seem to have acquired life supporting skills to survive in the fast paced city. I am inspired by these little workers and would like to call them 'Young Entrepreneurs'.

Monday Shopping and Markets : Char Bangla Market

Vegetable vendors at Char Bangla market in the Andheri(West) suburb in Mumbai.
Take a close look and you will find they have all the fresh ingredients for your speciality dish like yellow and red peppers, mushrooms, sprouts, baby potatoes and tomatoes, fresh corn and the regular veggies too.

This one is from my archives, but the market is still very much the same.
There is also a fish market nearby.

December 2014 CDP Monthly Theme : WORKER

The City Daily Photo Theme for December is 'Worker'.

Workers pulling a heavily loaded wooden handcart with vegetables at the wholesale fruit and vegetable market known as the APMC (Agriculture Produce Market Committee) in Vashi.

APMC is the largest government regulated agriculture produce market in Asia. Over 25,000 handcart and headload workers (locally also called 'Hamaal'), whose work is to load and unload from 15 to 20 hrs, 6 days a week, are the lifeline of this market.
Though not all are seen with smiling faces as these two,
I salute the spirit of these workers.

Click here to see more 'WORKERS' from contributors all over the world.

This is also the comeback post of Mumbai Daily Snapshot after 5 years.
We will continue to post one photo a day and make an honest effort to show around our city.
Thank you for your visit. Please leave your valuable comments and suggestions.

ABC Wednesday - 'D' for DADAR

• If you ask any Mumbaiite, what is 'D' for? Most of them will say D for DADAR.
• Dadar, the most crowded railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway, is divided into Dadar East and Dadar West by the railway line.
• Dadar has the only railway station common to both the Central line and the Western line; this makes it a transit point and the most crowded railway station on the Mumbai Suburban Railway.
• Dadar West market is a very popular shopping destination for residents of central Mumbai.
• Some of the prominent landmarks of Dadar are Pritam Restaurant & Dhaba, Hindmata Cloth Market; St. Paul the Apostle Church, behind Hindmata Theatre; Guru Nanak Gurudwara, opposite Chitra Cinema; behind Chitra Cinema; Dadar T.T. Circle.
• The Parsi Colony in Dadar has the famous Five Gardens, actually something like seven to eight gardens separated by roads.
• Opposite the exit of the Dadar Railway Station is located the newly constructed Swaminarayan Temple .
• Hindu Colony in Dadar has several major educational institutes clustered together: the Ruia College, the Ruparel College, the Podar College and formerly the King George, but now known as the I.E.S. School, after its operators, the Indian Education Society.

Vegetable Vendor

While I was looking for green peas and carrots at the 4 Bunglow market, this vegetable vendor requested me to photograph him and his merchandise too. It seemed as if he felt left out when I took photos of carrots, apples and green peas in the same row of stalls.

Manish Shopping Centre

The Manish Shopping Centre at Four Bunglows area of Andheri(West) is very popular for dress materials, readymades and tailoring. The shopping centre boasts of 100 plus tailors who are all loaded with tailoring jobs throughout the year. This photo only shows the entrance.
Also you can buy all tailoring material, jewellery sets & bangles (bridal too), laces and cosmetics, accessories(hair bands, clips). You can get kurtis (for women) and kurtas (for men), sarees and salwar kameez tailored and embroidered with latest designs at competitive rates.
If you are shopping in Mumbai and also wish to get fashionable clothes stitched, you cannot miss this market.
I will show you the inside tomorrow.

Fruit Sellers At Sanpada Station

These are fruit sellers at Sanpada station carrying baskets of fresh fruit from Mumbai's wholesale fruit market in Vashi. Sanpada is the nearest station for the wholesale fruit and vegetable markets, and the Agriculture Produce Market in Navi Mumbai.
The wholesale vegetable and fruit markets were shifted from Mumbai to Vashi in early 1996. Many small fruit sellers across the city ( Mumbai and Navi Mumbai) come here and buy large quantities (one to 5 baskets) of seasonal fruit and sell it in local markets or along the roadside in the city for a daily living.

Decor For Your Home

Artificial flowers and plants seem to be popular throughout the year in the city. This place is always buzzing with shoppers looking for a newer variety of flowers and plants. And when it's Christmas time, it's simply Christmas trees and decorations all over the place. The street is known as Lohar Chawl.

Wholesale

The stalls in the area near Crawford Market sell goods at wholesale prices. This seller of plastic goods quotes a high price, and bargaining is necessary to get a good deal. The man on the right is selling tablemats in a variety of colours. The goods offered are of the best quality. I usually check prices at local supermarkets, and then come here and bargain to get a deal at about 20 to 30% lower than the supermarket.

This is in contrast to the other shop-keepers who sell goods at a fixed price. Buy best quality plastic goods, decorations, table linen, bed linen, hosiery, toys, baby stuff, electrical goods, fancy lamps, office and school stationery, bags, digital cameras, dress material, sarees and textiles and a whole lot of goods at wholesale prices here. The key to shopping here is 'EXPLORE'.

Young Entrepreneurs

Haresh and his younger brother Dinesh, along with their elder brother sell beautifully carved wooden pictures on the road near Crawford Market. The one he is holding is of Radha-Krishna. I asked him the price of the large village scene, and he said it was for Rs. 2200. When I revealed to him that I would put this picture on the internet, and that readers would buy his pictures if they liked the price, he quickly added that the best price for the large one would be Rs. 1000.
Smart indeed!

Flower Shop

The young man with long hair in the picture is Abbas Ali, the owner of this flower shop. All the flowers here are artificial, made of superior quality plastic and very popular nowadays. The prices of the flowers are from Rs.15 to more than Rs. 60 each. It is diagonally opposite Crawford Market, across the road.

Crawford Market

Crawford Market (officially Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Market) is one of South Mumbai's most famous markets. It's a blend of Flemish and Norman architecture. It is named after Arthur Crawford, the first Municipal Commissioner of the city. The market is situated opposite the Mumbai Police headquarters, just north of Victoria Terminus (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus now) railway station at a busy intersection.

The market houses a wholesale fruit, vegetable and poultry market. One end of the market is a pet store. Most of the sellers inside the market nowadays sell imported food items. It was the main wholesale market for fruits in Mumbai until March 1996, when the wholesale traders were relocated to Navi Mumbai (New Bombay).
After India's independence, the market was renamed after Maharashtrian social reformer, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule.
Crawford Market also refers to the immediate surrounding areas. Here you can shop till you drop.