BY AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
Sarvesh Desai smiles as he begins unloading his tempo of fruits and vegetables. “With the roads and bridges built, I leave Canacona with the produce at 4.30 am. It takes me roughly an hour to reach Mapusa, now,” claims Sarvesh.
The Mapusa market on Friday offers a platform to vegetable and fruit producers, from North and South Goa, to sell their wares at retail and wholesale rates. “I come from Canacona and my clients sell their products to retailers, here, and we go back after having breakfast,” says Sarvesh.
“Apart from jackfruit, which is yet to ripen, there is a lot of demand for our breadfruit, chillies and rice. Our retailers are selling chillies for Rs 1,000 this year, and breadfruit is normally Rd 200 to Rs 250, depending on size,” avers Shrikant, who proudly claims that chillies from Canacona have earned a Geographical Identification (GI) tag.
VENDORS' SPEAK
Nyneshwar from Tivim wipes the sweat from his brow as he arranges his stall before customers start visiting the market. “I hire out trees from the owners and then go and pluck the fruits to sell on Friday,” he chuckles, as he sips water from his bottle.
“I am 56 now and get tired when I go to pluck the fruits or vegetables. My hands start aching, but my son comes to help me nowadays. He does not come to the market with me, Very soon I will have to hire outside hands to help me,” explains Nyneshwar.
“If you look around the market, you will notice that apart from us middle-aged people, the rest of the sellers are people from different states of India. Our children are ashamed to do what we are doing. Very soon, I will need to hire hands to help me pluck the produce, and maybe even stand here and help me sell,” avers Nyneshwar.
“I have been coming to Mapusa on Friday for the last 40 years. My son works on the ship, and my daughter manages a shop. I sell flowers from the trees that I hire, and vegetables and fruits and sometimes people from Ponda and South Goa sell their fruits to me,” admits Anita, as she has breakfast before starting her day.
“There is no fixed place where I can sit, but, when I bring flowers to sell, I sit in the area where people come to sell flowers and fruits, where fruits are sold. Wherever I sit, Rs 20 is collected as rent,” says Anita.
The Friday market in Mapusa offers a basket of empathy to people who have plunged into distress due to unforeseen circumstances. “I am forced to come to the market on Friday as I lost the bread-winning member of my family and have a family to look after,” says Ivy (name changed on request), who has been coming to the Friday market for the last three months.
“I tried selling in my village, but sales are best on Friday here (in Mapusa), and I don’t know why. I normally manage to return home with earnings of ₹ 4,000 or more. If I manage to draw the attention of foreigners, it is a big bonus because they never haggle for price and also refuse to take back their change,” shares Ivy.
THE SCENE TODAY
“Years ago, we would get only vegetables and fruits from various villages from Goa in this market. It is changing now, and will change further with Goans feeling ashamed or choosing not to farm and sell. Such an attitude will wash away the Goanness of this market,” admits Jason who owns a shop near the market.
“Just as we have our own identity, our vegetables and fruits have their own, too. But, unlike how a Goan can be identified, our younger generation isn’t able to identify which fruit or vegetable is grown in Goa, and that is sad,” laments Jason as he chooses the key to open the lock of his shop.
Just as we have our own identity, our vegetables and fruits have their own, too. But, unlike how a Goan can be identified, our younger generation isn’t able to identify which fruit or vegetable is grown in Goa, and that is sad
Jason
“Moira bananas have a GI tag and are scarce now, but we see people selling bananas that look similar to Moira bananas – and which taste totally different – being sold as Moira bananas, “ chips in an amused Antonette, as she sells bananas from her garden in Siolim.
“Like the whole of Goa, Mapusa market will soon not be the same again, but will continue to flourish because the essence of a place may change, but the reason it was created will not,” says octogenarian, Vilas, who has been visiting the Friday market for years.