Kristina and I decided to get our feet dirty and brave the oldest (and most crowded) markets in Chennai, and my friend Kate, who's always up for an adventure, came along.
The Parry's Corner markets are in George Town, which began as a native settlement just to the north of Fort St. George (and here). Indians who worked for the British in the fort made their homes here. It was called Black Town until the early 20th century, for the obvious rascist reason.
Parry's Corner is actually a cross street named for Thomas Parry, whose 18th century company (Parry's) still stands on one corner, but it's come to refer to a whole group of market streets in the area.
The streets are too ancient and narrow for cars, so Ashok dropped us off on the main road after we agreed on a meeting place and time. Then we hopped in a cycle-rickshaw and entered the labyrinth, making sure to take pictures of street names and landmarks as we went.
The entire area is full of ancient, ramshackle buildings like this one ...
The narrow streets are dusty during the dry season. This woman is showing one of the many practical uses for the draping fabric of her sari.
Each street in Parry's Corner is devoted to the sale of one kind of item. There's a jewelry street, a paper products street, a textiles street, etc. Our first stop was the vegetable market.
I have never seen so many pedal-powered vehicles in my life as I have on the streets of India.
An auto-rickshaw maneuvers the tight street ...
The smart cows hang out at the vegetable market ...
Schoolgirls with their little brother ...
Best friends ...
Bags of rice ... Notice that the vendor is reading the newspaper. Tamil Nadu has the highest literacy rate in India (just over 80 percent), and everywhere I turn I see someone reading a newspaper. Even better, I often see groups of people (usually men) reading a paper, passing it around, and commenting loudly on the contents. The drivers in our compound do this daily. I love it!
Auto-rickshaw drivers waiting for fares ...
One of several bullock carts we saw that afternoon ...
Cycle-rickshaw driver waiting for a fare ... This is the only area of town where cycle-rickshaws are still common. The rest of the city is overrun with auto-rickshaws.
Many of the shops and stalls have talismans hanging over the entrance ...
A vendor preparing betel leaves for sale ...
The butter and ghee shop! This was one of my favorite stops. The shop sells butter and ghee (clarified butter in liquid form) from a small village outside Chennai. They sell it by weight, and their shop has been in this spot for generations. The man in the saffron lungi has been working at the shop for over 40 years.
Today's prices ...
Touting the health and social benefits of ghee and butter ...
Measuring out ghee ...
Weighing butter ...
The flower market was amazing. Flower garlands for sale ...
Kate sticking out in the crowd ...
Kristina might have stuck out a little more ...
Most flowers are sold with their stems removed, because they're used for puja, to be floated in welcome bowls, or to be strung in a garland for women's hair or to adorn an idol.
This street was by far the busiest we visited ...
Most flowers are sold by weight, though you can get a 10-rupee bag, too. This man is selling jasmine.
My favorite photo, taken in the late afternoon ...
I wanted to buy flowers but wasn't sure how much to offer, so I did some stealth research and learned that people were getting unweighed bags full for 10 rupees. I stuck out my 10-rupee note and got a bag full of orange roses. Several of the vendors handed us free samples, too. I got the idea that this isn't a tourist hot spot. We caused quite a stir.
Drive-by photo of the high court building ...
Our flower bowl full of the day's loot.
The Parry's Corner markets are in George Town, which began as a native settlement just to the north of Fort St. George (and here). Indians who worked for the British in the fort made their homes here. It was called Black Town until the early 20th century, for the obvious rascist reason.
Parry's Corner is actually a cross street named for Thomas Parry, whose 18th century company (Parry's) still stands on one corner, but it's come to refer to a whole group of market streets in the area.
The streets are too ancient and narrow for cars, so Ashok dropped us off on the main road after we agreed on a meeting place and time. Then we hopped in a cycle-rickshaw and entered the labyrinth, making sure to take pictures of street names and landmarks as we went.
The entire area is full of ancient, ramshackle buildings like this one ...
The narrow streets are dusty during the dry season. This woman is showing one of the many practical uses for the draping fabric of her sari.
Each street in Parry's Corner is devoted to the sale of one kind of item. There's a jewelry street, a paper products street, a textiles street, etc. Our first stop was the vegetable market.
I have never seen so many pedal-powered vehicles in my life as I have on the streets of India.
An auto-rickshaw maneuvers the tight street ...
The smart cows hang out at the vegetable market ...
Schoolgirls with their little brother ...
Best friends ...
Bags of rice ... Notice that the vendor is reading the newspaper. Tamil Nadu has the highest literacy rate in India (just over 80 percent), and everywhere I turn I see someone reading a newspaper. Even better, I often see groups of people (usually men) reading a paper, passing it around, and commenting loudly on the contents. The drivers in our compound do this daily. I love it!
Auto-rickshaw drivers waiting for fares ...
One of several bullock carts we saw that afternoon ...
Cycle-rickshaw driver waiting for a fare ... This is the only area of town where cycle-rickshaws are still common. The rest of the city is overrun with auto-rickshaws.
Many of the shops and stalls have talismans hanging over the entrance ...
A vendor preparing betel leaves for sale ...
The butter and ghee shop! This was one of my favorite stops. The shop sells butter and ghee (clarified butter in liquid form) from a small village outside Chennai. They sell it by weight, and their shop has been in this spot for generations. The man in the saffron lungi has been working at the shop for over 40 years.
Today's prices ...
Touting the health and social benefits of ghee and butter ...
Measuring out ghee ...
Weighing butter ...
The flower market was amazing. Flower garlands for sale ...
Kate sticking out in the crowd ...
Kristina might have stuck out a little more ...
Most flowers are sold with their stems removed, because they're used for puja, to be floated in welcome bowls, or to be strung in a garland for women's hair or to adorn an idol.
This street was by far the busiest we visited ...
Most flowers are sold by weight, though you can get a 10-rupee bag, too. This man is selling jasmine.
My favorite photo, taken in the late afternoon ...
I wanted to buy flowers but wasn't sure how much to offer, so I did some stealth research and learned that people were getting unweighed bags full for 10 rupees. I stuck out my 10-rupee note and got a bag full of orange roses. Several of the vendors handed us free samples, too. I got the idea that this isn't a tourist hot spot. We caused quite a stir.
Drive-by photo of the high court building ...
Our flower bowl full of the day's loot.
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