I have been wanting to post here in this community for a long time, however I have not had many opportunities to post in the market Friday community as I have hardly gone out of my house in the last two years let alone going to a market. I have been strictly warned by my doctor to avoid crowded areas and closed places, so my life has been secluded thus far.
I went to an art market mainly with the hope of buying a painting or two and some art material. Nonetheless there were other things that fascinated me besides the art and craft there. Every Indian market is never complete without jewellery of some kind. The white metal jewellery is quite popular here among the young people. While precious jewellery is what most older Indian women seek after.
Even though I am not so fond of jewellery and I am allergic to any kind of metal other than Gold, silver and platinum I love to see these intricately designed jewellery which is always sold in these fairs.
The blue Jaipur pottery which is a specialty of the state of Rajasthan was sold here. The shop was too crowded to get in. I wanted to buy the salt pepper and pickle holder which looked so pretty, but the hubs just dragged me away for the fear of getting pushed and shoved about.
There were vendors selling drums of all kinds. It was amazing to hear them drum as they walked around. They begged us to try the drums and I was surprised that the hubs didn't even try them. He is so musically inclined that he loves to try all these local instruments. Since the boys are not interested in these we didn't buy any of them.
There were pretty flowers make with some kind of plant pith. I was told by the lady selling it that it is a plant peculiar to the north east of India. Since she spoke good English I conversed with her about these crafts. She had a whole bunch of flowers which were made with the outer covering of the corn cobs. I loved the look of the poppies she had and the roses made from pith of the plant. I bought a few of those bunches to go with my wood rose. I like anything that is art or craft and these handmade good always interest me. I guess I will make a bunch of poppies myself and see how it comes out. I could use them to decorate my garden.
Then there were loads of wooden carvings, the kind you would find adorning temple and doors of mansions of yore. I have no use for them myself but I love seeing these artifacts. I spent a good while looking at each of them and enjoying the artistry.
I almost passed by a sight which made me look up in wonder. The hubs pointed out those huge bells (actually designed like the cattle bells) which were made of wood and hung from the trees. There were bells of all sizes which I was told are not functional but more like a piece of wood carving.
The stone sculptures there were amazing. However, the piece I wanted was picked up by another lady. all the others were too big or not of interest to me.
Baskets made of reeds looked elegant like the girl who sold them. However, she seemed to quote prices which I felt were way to high to my liking. Since I have no bargaining skills I didn't even attempt to bargain with her. I still feel bad that I missed an opportunity to buy those baskets. It would have been a great keep sake and a decorative piece.
The lamp shades which were sold there were quite colorful and would have made a great addition to my living room because of the color combinations. I didn't buy it as I had recently been gifted with one of these by a friend.
On the whole it was a pleasant day when the hubs and I laughed, joked and enjoyed ourselves walking all around the four kilometer market stretch. While art and paintings was the focus of this market I chose to write about just the additional stuff which were sold here.
As always there were a number of foreigners mostly Europeans who were picking up paintings by the loads. As for most of us Indians these were expensive and we could afford only a few at a time.
I hope you enjoyed this art and craft market journey with me. Thank you for your time and support.
Thanks 