Nature Bazaar, Revisited

I went back to the Nature Bazaar (see previous posting) with my friend Krish yesterday. It was a very balmy day - which means slight sun, slight haze and thus, inclination towards slight movement!

Our friend Krish, arrived on Saturday and yesterday we set out at about 2.30 PM after a cup of home made vegetable (delicious) soup and toast. We made a stop at the petrol pump to get a punctured tyre fixed. Krish made a purchase of cashews at the In and Out convenience store and I added a chocolate bar to it. We found parking at the back entrance of Dilli Haat and went into the Bazaar. The tickets are Rs. 15 for adults (less than US 50 cents) and we had to get our bags checked.

Being Sunday, it was very crowded. It was often hard to get to the stalls because of the people. I saw that my missing soap stalls had returned. And, Krish came excitedly talking about poo paper. What is that? Its paper made from the poo of elephants and camels, in this case. I said we must see it on the way back. We proceeded to the recycled paper stall - bags - computer and carrying bags - so lovely. As you can guess, I wanted them ALL!!

We saw a stall with animals, homes, trees, all made from coconut husk and string. I wanted all this too. We walked to to where I had seen the Bangladesh stall with the fine kantha work. This is like quilting - on silk, wool and cotton - and they offered scarves, shawls, bed covers and more shawls. Trish got into a conversation (as she lives in Bangladesh) with the organisers. Yesterday there was a man with lots of facial hair (turned out he was the Indian consultant to the project) and a German woman (who I had spoken with the other say). We exchanged business cards and promised to stay in touch, as she was moving to Delhi.

Krish wanted to buy some Delhi blue pottery (actually made in Jaipur) and we did that, stopping on the way, admiring various stalls, watching people and enjoying ourselves. I met several people I knew and we stopped to chat. The sun - whatever there was of it - was going down and we decided it was time for tea. Before that I bought a lovely piece of cotton made in Andhra Pradesh, a state in the middle of the country. I wanted to get more but I decided to order it on the web. So, I picked up the picked up the brochure to check them out, later when summer comes around.

We decided to stop for tea and momos - a Chinese delicacy a bit like dim sum, chicken, vegetable or mutton wrapped in a flour roll and steamed. It's served with a hot sauce and a bone broth. We each had a plate (8 momos to a plate) and hot tea. Delicious! Slowly, we wound our way to the back entrance, stopping to buy bars of handmade soap, some poo paper products (I got a notebook with the Delhi metro map) and a small 2009 calendar.

The photos I am sharing are mostly of things I liked - textiles. My friend Krish is in some of the picture and I think you will see that. The last three pictures are of the Bangladeshi stall and work I wrote about in a previous post and here. The red shawl is made int he Northeast of India, very close to the Chinese border, as are the bead necklaces that Krish is examining.

It was such a lovely afternoon, said Krish and as we drove off to see a movie with another friend. We both liked many of the same things and it was good that we were able to share the joy of these beautiful hand made products, among other things.

I hope you enjoy the pictures too.