Organic Food Mela

Went to an organic food mela (gathering) that happens in Indore every Sunday, thanks to a friend in the know. For anyone interested, it is just off the bypass, close to Vidyasagar college. Good time to go there is around 9.30 am, though it is on for a couple of hours after that too.

Organic vegetables are available, from growers who travel some distance to be there. There are also packaged organic products such as spices and grains, honey, etc..in an indoor display. A band also played a range of songs while we were there, some good and some not so. But the ambience is nice, and you can always have some breakfast (poha, thalipeeth, bhajiya) and tea, or cane juice. And some home-made goodies. Or exotic juices. In fact, you could go there just for the food, though the range is limited.

I think the fruits range sold can be improved to include some more seasonal ones (we got some Ber, which were nice), but otherwise a nice place to chill out for an hour or so.

Janapav Mela

A village fair (mela) at Janapav, a village around 30 kilometres away from the campus, is where we went yesterday, to look at some stalls put up by our students. They create games to measure whatever the sponsoring companies want them to measure. Participants get a small incentive for their  effort, companies get data from rural respondents, and students learn how to do market research in this setting. Fevicol, ITC and Pepsi were some of the companies that put up stalls through IIM Indore this year.

Interesting to see the fair (the occasion is Kartik Poornima) and a nearby temple on a hill-top. The evening setting was nice and breezy on the top, with a good view of the Agra-Bombay Road. We also treated ourselves to some local delicacies including poha, jalebi and mirchi bhajjis.

Legend has it that Parashuram was born in Janapav.

A good outing, overall.

Pragati Maidan and the Exhibition

There is something about a mela-an exhibition- that Indians can't get enough of. The turnout on Sunday, when I chose to visit the annual exhibition at Pragati Maidan, was unbelievable. I stood in a line that was really long to get in, after standing in one to buy a ticket- not cheap, 80 rupees on a weekend. But was it a sellout. They actually stop selling tickets in the afternoon, because there are too many people inside.

Once inside, it is a rainbow of colours, people, stalls, and,..you guessed it...FOOD. There is so much food inside of all types that you can't get enough of the sights and smells. Of curse, it is overpriced and not as good as some of the specialty joints in town, but there is enormous variety. But why talk of food?

There is plenty more, and some of the stalls I visited always had something on offer for everyone. Clothing of all kinds, in particular. The huge crowds on that day made it tough to savour things at a slow pace (my preferred pace) but still, it is an experience to be there. Glimpses into the arts and crafts of all our states is a great benefit of visiting this one, and that is available in plenty. One can only marvel at how much we don't know about our own country and its people. Ignorance zindabad!