A Decade of Bazaars

A trip to Earth, Milky Way, can really change how you view things in your own home planet. It has been a decade since we established contact with the pale blue dot our forefathers had sought to seek, and our inter planetary relations remain strong. As one of the earliest travellers to the planet, I have some fond memories, one of which is the marketplace of the homo sapiens. 

I remember the markets of Bengaluru very well. We had to shapeshift into human-looking forms, something that our guide Rahul had found fascinating. Homo sapiens have no genomes that can help them alter their appearance even for a short amount of time unfortunately. But what they cannot do themselves, they have harnessed in the earth and done through the various fruits it has to offer. The henna stall at the entrance was an example, where herb juice is used to create artistic and sadly temporary, reddish brown stains on the skin. The colourful innovation is probably a good enough introduction to the bazaar itself. 

The bazaar, as they call it, was an interesting space, with a narrow walking lane and a paraphernalia of goods flanking either side. Colourful tents of waterproof materials and goods of diverse variety are found here. The first section hosted flowers, which some homo sapiens use to decorate their hair (a characteristic of theirs I envy, since my own hair is quite wiry and thin) and then slowly merged into fruits and vegetables, the smell interestingly sweet and unique, unlike anything I have smelled or am yet to smell. The fruits are cut in very interesting patterns to “attract customers”, according to Rahul, who was signing his name on a boy’s shirt. Rahul, I forgot to mention, is also a jolly good sportsman and he knew the bazaars best, I could tell. 

We moved on to see more. At regular intervals there were teenage homo sapiens who would come up to us with trinkets like charms and thin chains to wear around necks. One even brought forth roses, saying something about valentine and wife to me, which the auto-translation could not really translate that well. The market is also loud, so for any of you who wish to travel there, I will tell you to keep your internal volume a little louder and your voice focused on your guide so that you may hear the auto translate and your own thoughts. I have learnt this the hard way, after making Rahul repeat himself thrice every time he introduced something. 

That aside, the bazaars offer many interesting experiences, provided you are content with being the observer and not the initiator. The shopkeeps have an uncanny ability of deducing whether or not you are a local, and raising prices accordingly. When with your guide, let them do the talking, and they will ensure a fair bargain. Do not, under any circumstances, speak with the shopkeeps or let your Plutonian accent slip through, else the fragile process that the homo sapiens call ‘bargaining’ will be gone to waste. 

At the end of this trip, you are sure to leave the bazaar with several trinkets and several memories, as I am recounting now as well. We brought bananas from an old man with wizen eyes who seemed, like a few other peculiar homo sapiens, to see through my disguise. He smiled and gave me a bunch for free. I have the peels freeze dried and preserved, and the man’s face etched permanently into my long term memory, for I do not want to forget his random act of kindness. Rahul also bought us ‘puffs’ from a small bakery that looked very old and fragile. The ‘puffs’ as he called it, was messy and worth it. One must try puffs if you ever find yourself in a bazaar. And of course, the adornments. You will figure that part of the bazaar very easily, for they catch the sunlight and twinkle prettily. You will find many fascinating designs and trinkets to attach or clip on your ears, fingers, necks. I find them very durable and they catch many eyes back here at Pluto, and one can grow creative with using them when one morphs back to our original forms. 

The bazaars are a must go for you will take back a lot. A lot that you did not previously know. You will also be struck dumb with random acts of kindness, or perhaps even rudeness. But I still believe that it is the essential Homo Sapien experience nevertheless. A decade later, and I still have the jewellery and I  still remember the old man. So go, fellow Plutonian, and find what you will end up remembering!

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