Wednesday, March 6, 2019

The Heart of the Hatia

-Can you give me one kilo of those onions?
-You should take one and half, these are really good.
-But you have priced them very high!
-Let me give you one and a half, you won't find them next week. 

-Little snippets of conversation from my local hatia.

The hatia had been such an integral part of my growing up in Bokaro. The hatia or haat is a biweekly market, mainly selling fresh vegetables and fruits, but almost selling everything you can think of for your everyday use- from seeds and clothes to brooms and utensils. 



It was only after I came to Delhi, since I was also used to daily markets in Kolkata that I realized Hatias are not as normal as I had assumed them to be. And that it was perfectly normal to buy vegetables in the supermarket. 

I remember coming back to Bokaro after about a couple of years in Delhi and going to the Hatia with my dad. And being shocked at the level of camaraderie between the buyer and seller. It was very very normal to have conversations such as "Are you insane for charging 16 rupees a kilo? I won't pay anything more than 13." or "Look at how fresh these  beans are, you have to take atleast 1 kilo to do it justice". I remember being indignant when they were bargaining between 16 rupees and 13 rupees, but my dad explains there is a rhyme to it, and people actually enjoy it. At some places, the sellers said there was no way they could reduce the prices, in some shops we got more vegetables than we would need, and in some other we got little discounts of 2-3 rupees. All accompanied by a lot of banter. 



We would also meet random other people from the city, with one-liners such as, 'the brinjals being sold at the end of this lane are really fresh' or 'they don't have any good fish today'. There would be cows walking among the people, and trying to steal a cabbage or some other leaves for dinner, and people constantly shooing them away. There would be younger boys selling all kinds of leaves- from spinach to coriander, and older women with seasonal vegetables. Many would come from Purulia, and other nearby parts of West Bengal to sell their produce. 


All in all, it was a lively half an hour to a quarter of an hour, every Wednesdays and Saturday, all throughout my childhood. And I never knew what special vegetables or fish would bought, since it all depended on the quality and the price of that day's hatia. 

And this February when I visited the Hatia after maybe 3 years, I could still see familiar faces, and one of the regular potato sellers asked me where I was and what I was doing nowadays. I said I was in Spain. He asked if it was in America. And I said it was closer to England. And we shared smiles without exchanging names or formal niceties. 

And this made me remember of all the times in Barcelona when I would visit the Pakistani or the Bangladeshi owned green groceries stores, and would get free chilies or coriander or ginger, over discussing how many years have we not been in our respective countries. 

I realized I had tried to unconsciously find the heart of Hatia, and fleetingly found it in the heart of Barcelona, in the little streets of Raval, in the corner shops of Sant Antoni, and the late night  department stores selling samosas at 3am in the morning.  

And I was leaving the hatia, I was almost reminiscing this oft-familiar quote on the price of chili which I couldn't hear anymore. And I was consoling myself thinking it has been so many years, maybe the chilies are not that cheap anymore, till I heard-

मिर्चा में भारी गिरावट !

And left with a smile on my face, happy that some things never change. 

Thursday, January 31, 2019

तीन साल बाद

My last post was published on February 5, 2016 and ended with " I think I am going to strive to make more of my morning super awesome everyday!" It was during my Delhi days when I was in a phase of following blogging contests and writing about some pre-determined topics. 

Fast forward three years, I neither live in Delhi, nor follow blogging contests. But what I do is miss blogging from time to time. 

And like countless times before, I got inspired by Anubhuti's new blog to document her PhD journey, and made the decision to return to blogging! (Full Disclosure- I often make these decisions at the starting of a year, and then discontinue soon after)

I am still not sure what it will be this time around, maybe travels, maybe 3 am musings, maybe dark thoughts that sometimes like to escape into words, who knows! What I do know is that I want to bring the blog (and the followers if any) up to speed about my life!

Starting backwards, a couple of week ago, I came back home to Bokaro after being away from India for more than 13 months. Months which had been intense, challenging, rewarding and a whole lot of fun! From editing an issue of a Spanish magazine to talking about the said issue in the Chiapas, from travelling around Europe for a month to witnessing snowfall on my way to the university in Barcelona, it has been a bundle of new experiences.

With Ecologia Politica, very close to the Guatemala border. 
Here are some snapshots of what I have been upto, to get this blog restarted-

Spring 2016-
Convocation of the masters at TERI and sharing some quality time with my Delhi family! I was already looking for ways to continue studying, and these months were spent in a lot of uncertainty.


Summer 2016- Summer School, Climate Camps, Conference and Europe travels, and the first taste of the city which is my current home.


Autumn 2016- Living and trying to leave Delhi's polluted air. Treks to the mountains for mini-respites. Saying goodbyes in Delhi, and hesitant hellos to the new life!


Winter 2016- Paperwork, and more paperwork to fly away! And finally celebrations after getting the visa. I will write about my visa woes one day in details, but I have to thank all the people who stood by me while I was completely losing my nerves over the delays and the amount of paperwork required!

Spring 2017- Settling in the new city in a new continent. Making friends, making memories, and falling in love with the sea!

Summer 2017- Fiestas and a terrorist attack, and lots and lots of travels within Europe!


Autumn 2017- Homewards Bound! Three months of bliss!

Winter 2017- Back to Barcelona, and witnessing snowfall on the way to the university for the first time. This was also a time of realization on how I am just not suited for the winter in Barcelona. 

Spring 2018- Mostly spent at the university, attending lectures and seminars, and working from the office there!



Summer 2018- Visiting distant lands, and having friends visit me. Not to mention summer schools and conferences which took me places as well. 

Autumn 2018- Among other things, it was five weeks of Mexico! It was a lot of fun and joy, and new experiences that I would cherish forever.


Winter 2018- Coming back home after more than thirteen months away!

And now that we are up to speed, this is where this entry ends! 

The Chestnut Tree Café—Stop For a Snack to Stab Your Friend in the Back

This article was first published a long time ago during my undergraduate days. 13 April 2012, to be exact. It was written by me and edited...