Suhita Shirodkar in Goa, India
The market in Panjim, Goa is a huge indoor area divided into many sections. This is the flower section of the market. These stalls sell garlands used either in worship or to adorn just about anything: a woman’s hair, the doorway of a home, a vehicle… The guy on the left pulls thread from a long spool and deftly puts together loose flowers from the baskets into garlands. I love the brilliant orange of marigold. It can vary from a deep egg-yolk-yellow to the orange of a California Poppy. The flower sellers got me a little seat to perch on while I sketched. And magically, a cutting chai appeared by my side. I love sketching in India.
More flower sellers. See the empty spools hanging at the top? That’s what garlands are suspended from. The market has a strange light. It is a huge, dark indoor space (to keep it cool) but bright light filters through windows set high in the building and then down through tarps, some made of white cloth, and others of a bright blue plastic.
The fruit section of the market always looks extra special when it is mango season. The seller at the top left specializes in mangoes but the woman on the right sells much more: bananas, jackfruit and papaya. And mango, of course.
These women sell just mangoes. The market is set on high platforms with wide walkways to stroll through as you pick your fruit and haggle over prices.
Every region in India has dozens of varieties of mangoes, and there’s always an argument about local favorites. My favorite Goan mango is the mankurad. But my all-time favoritest-mango-in-the-world? Coming up in my next post.
The market in Panjim, Goa is a huge indoor area divided into many sections. This is the flower section of the market. These stalls sell garlands used either in worship or to adorn just about anything: a woman’s hair, the doorway of a home, a vehicle… The guy on the left pulls thread from a long spool and deftly puts together loose flowers from the baskets into garlands. I love the brilliant orange of marigold. It can vary from a deep egg-yolk-yellow to the orange of a California Poppy. The flower sellers got me a little seat to perch on while I sketched. And magically, a cutting chai appeared by my side. I love sketching in India.
More flower sellers. See the empty spools hanging at the top? That’s what garlands are suspended from. The market has a strange light. It is a huge, dark indoor space (to keep it cool) but bright light filters through windows set high in the building and then down through tarps, some made of white cloth, and others of a bright blue plastic.
The fruit section of the market always looks extra special when it is mango season. The seller at the top left specializes in mangoes but the woman on the right sells much more: bananas, jackfruit and papaya. And mango, of course.
These women sell just mangoes. The market is set on high platforms with wide walkways to stroll through as you pick your fruit and haggle over prices.
Every region in India has dozens of varieties of mangoes, and there’s always an argument about local favorites. My favorite Goan mango is the mankurad. But my all-time favoritest-mango-in-the-world? Coming up in my next post.
