“I last saw you when you were a kid,” called out a meat vendor to my mother, who had moved out of the Nilgiris 35 years ago. “I used to visit your dad’s store often in Lower Bazaar”, he said, to jog her memory.
He had a shop in Ooty’s Municipal Market and obviously was good with faces. As I explored the market, I realized that most of the shopkeepers have a cheery greeting for anyone who passes them.
The market is 150 years old and wears its age with a certain charm. There are 15 different entrances one can use to enter the market and there are easily 2000 shops within its compound. Everything from meat and vegetables to fruits and flowers, are sold here.
Ooty’s Municipal market throws opens its arms to everyone. And it immediately envelops you with its friendly chatter and happy sights and sounds.
This story was done as part of the travel photography module by Shruthi Vaishali of Light & Life Academy Batch 22.
