For the next adventurous #LifeInSurat blog post we decided to follow Drashtikon (Surat Photography Artisans) on their photowalk to the famous - "Shanivari Market" (Saturday Market).

#LifeInSurat Project

Place – Shanivari Market

Explorers – Rahul Kedia & Puja Kedia with Drashtikon Surat

Photographs By - Puja Kedia

Must Visit for – Bargain Shoppers, Culture Enthusiasts, Street Photographers.

Avoid If – Agoraphobic (fear or crowds), Cleanliness Freaks, Brand Conscious.

Facebook Link – Click Here

Drashtikon (Surat Photography Artisans) is an online community of photography enthusiasts from Surat. Famous for their weekend photowalks, the group now has around 1800 followers on Facebook. A community to learn, share & explore photography.

So, the plan was made. The call time for the photowalk was 6.30 in the morning. We made it to the venue on time in spite of a little wondering around... We were greeted by the ever smiling Chittranjan and Neha at the venue. This absolutely lovely couple is the best company one can ask for on such excursions. Chittranjan with his hilarious one lines and Neha with her warm and loving smile proved to be an absolutely fabulous company for the first half of the morning. This is what the entrance to the Shanivari Market looked like when we reached -

The place where the market happens is not a street, it is not a square and it is not within a building... it is just an open space between two bridges across the river (Tapti water front between Makkai Bridge and the new Hope Bridge).

After waiting for around half an hour or so for other Drashtikonians to turn up we finally got started with our Photowalk. This is a sign board just at the entarnce of the market -

As you enter the market the first thing you should be very aware of is that walking in this market is like playing french cricket !!! Anything can get you from any direction.... Your eyes must continuously be scouting for things coming your way and legs must be continuously engaged in dodging them... Things of all sizes just wooooooh pass you as if they have an inbuilt ferrari engine !!!

When i finally got used to the 'quick-one-step-here-and-quick-second-step-there' situation 5 minutes later, i found these two guys selecting a nail paint of color matching with their t-shirts....

The visual experience of this market totally depends on who you are, why you are here and what you are here for... Just as your eyes search for a special buy, your ears listen intently to the prices being shouted by the vendors as they deftly move their hands and raise their voices to attract customers. There is something for everyone... you just need to find the needle in this haystack.

It was a lot of fun listening to the one liners from Chittu Bhai (as he is fondly called) from time to time and watching Neha in action. Chittu bhai has a way of making people around him super comfortable with his legendary sense of humor and warm persona. And the dedication with which he and Neha are there for every photowalk by Drashtikon is really commendable. This is Neha in action -

Also i adore these two guys so much that i absolutely had to do a portrait of them... so i made them pose for me :)

Shanivari Market in the mean while was also showing me its vast expanses... And i was asking myself questions like - are these registered traders ??? How many households would this market be directly or indirectly serving ??? For how long in the history has this market been sustaining itself ??? And more importantly... what is the foreseeable future of this bazaar ???

Shanivari Market

I did not get answers to any of these questions i had... But i did put these questions up, in front of Manoj. Manoj who is also an active member of Drashtikon is an authority on Surat City (Check his photo blog on Surat here. He has been an inspiration for us). We had been meaning to meet him for very long and were finally excited to discuss this #LifeInSurat Project with him at length during this photowalk. He gave us really valuable insights and we look forward to associating with him for the future posts. This is a portrait of him i clicked during the photowalk... this portrait sort of symbolises him... i am sure he will understand what i mean :)

These are a few colorful pictures i shot at the Shanivari Bazaar... pictures which try to catch the essence of what this market is all about... pictures which maybe, represent what this market stands for -

This is the final group photo that happened with Drashtikon when we returned to the starting point after wandering in the market for around two hours or so...

Group Photo With Drashtikon at Shanivari Market.

It was then the time to disperse... but i had a really good time with Drashtikonians at the photowalk and look forward to more of such opportunities in the near future. It is really great to be amongst such an enthusiastic and energetic group of people. Thank You Drashtikon and Thank You Chittu Bhai, Neha and Manoj for an absolutely amazing time at the Bazaar. Adios.

On numerous occasions... inquiring about good Non-Vegetarian delicacies/specialties of Surat had resulted in the same answer - “Rangooni Paratha” of “Rander Ramzaan Bazaar” by various people who know this city well... So we decided to take a dip and visit the mela this time around (in spite of being on a “strict” diet).

#LifeInSurat Project Place – Rander Ramzaan Bazaar

Explorers – Rahul Kedia, PrakashAnandani, Puja Kedia

Must Visit for - Foodies, Culture Enthusiasts, Street Photographers.

Avoid If – Agoraphobic (fear or crowds), Gastroparesis (weak stomach)

Facebook Link - Click Here

Ramzaan Bazaar at Rander started in 1938. And since then it happens in the same alley, near the Chunarwad Masjid. The way to the mela was relatively simple from what we had imagined… you just need to take the straight New Rander Road and it will take you directly to this venue (Marked with the red square in the map).

We were careful enough to park our vehicle a little far from the chaos of the mela near this old bakery.

So our journey started from this little bakery... And as usual when they saw us with a “big” camera clicking pictures… the interest in each other became mutual.

We were invited inside the bakery and got to taste a few of their special flavors. (Also they would not accept any money from us)

Then after we asked for the proper direction to the Mela (which was around 100 steps from here) we wished them the best and left for the ultimate objective of the night – Rangooni Parathas.

At the entry of the mela we were greeted with seekh kabas, chicken tandoori, foil chicken, boti kabaabs and loads of other delicacies.

But we kept reminding ourselves of our ultimate goal the rangooni paranthas and made our way through a hoard of mid-night shoppers. The street was lined with small kiosks selling embroidered burqas, prayer beads, talcum-toiletries, replica sneakers and bags, cheap Chinese toys etc etc.

We finally reached an alley, next to this beautiful maderesa.

On the way we befriended a kid and asked him his preferred larri (for khousey and the parantha). He readily took us to this kiosk for khousey which in the end turned out to be his uncle’s. It was not great at all but hungry as we were... we still had a go at it.

A version of Chicken khousuey [locals call it khausa] is prepared with steaming spaghetti, thin, chicken curry with a coconut milk base and garnished with dry puri pieces instead of Sali wafers, with a sprinkling of spring onion greens.

Then we asked direction for Mama’s which was just round the corner and made our way to the stall.

Rander Ramzaan Bazaar Mama's

There was a long que at Mama’s and so we decided to try the next stall (Kasubhai’s) which is equally popular amongst locals. There too was a long que but shorter than the previous fellow.

Our time waiting for our turn in the que was spent chatting with the senior fellow seen in this picture....

He told us that the recipe of making these paranthas have passed on through 7 generations and is still unaltered.... Not only this they only involve FAMILY members in running this stall and do not hire any outsider/help. Rangooni parathas are actually succulent pieces of meat (chicken or mutton) enveloped in a thin layer of flour bound with egg and deep-fried is a fat pillow like delicacy.

We were just amazed because even a big foodie of Prakash’s stature had not had or even heard of anything like this before. When our turn came we quickly grabbed our order... grabbed our seat and started munching. To be fair we did not like it that much... but there was too much of history behind them to not like them.

The end was really sweet with a good helping of the famous kulfi for all the three of us. But a question was constantly itching the grey matter... why “Rangooni” parantha and how come khousey... these are part of the Burmese cuisine and we are on the other side of the sub continent.... How did flavours of Burma end up in a ghetto in completely other side of the continent !!! On doing a little research (read googling) we came across Ashlesha Khurana’s blog which made the connection we were looking for... here is what she says and we quote -" Centuries ago, residents of this southern end of Bharuch would travel to the foreign shores of Arabia, Sudan, Bangkok, Burma from the port of Rander, in search of a livelihood. A lot of Burma teak and fine, bright coloured porcelain was shipped in from Yangon which travelled to the royalty in India. Till date antiques are sourced from here. Old homes in Rander are made of Burma teak. The Rander House in Rangoon at present houses The Internal Revenue Department. Post the third world war, trade started deteriorating and by the time Burma [Myanmar] was Independent in 1950, hundreds of Muslim Diaspora, forced to give up business and property, had returned back to Rander-now the city of mosques."

The Yangon connection inspired flavours of Burmese cuisine. Must say we were amazed by this little fact and also amazed by the fact that how little we know of the city/culture we claim/pretend to know so much about... All in all a very good find and we plan to return their again next year this time with Vaishal who knows and gets custom-made parathas for himself... and which i have heard are really relishing.

Chalo Karte Hai Choooor Bazaari !!! #ShanivariMarket

Rander Ramzaan Bazaar

Loves Making Photographs.

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