Chor Bazaar

I was looking for goofy old records and maybe some ironic Indian t-shirts. Janki was looking for old Bollywood posters. We went on Saturday to chor bazaar, the thieves' market, and found some cool stuff. One of the coolest things was that the main street you wander in the chor bazaar is called "Mutton Street," but also lots of brasswork, antique clocks, old scuffed-up cameras, antique furniture, spare mechanics parts, refurbishing shops that sell tinkered fans, TVs, radios, exercise equipment, old snuffboxes and cigarette cases, dusty sculptures, trinkets, toys, and junk of all time. It's a huge outdoor thrift store, and when we arrived on the Saturday afternoon, it felt like all the shop-owners were drugged -- no one approached us and hawked, no one shouted for us to come into their stores. Instead, we wandered at our own pace and looked and photographed and bought a few things. It was -- I dunno -- relaxing.

Janki looking for Bollywood posters...



endless trinkets, souvenirs, figuerines, knick-knacks, tchotchkes, hodge-podge, bric-a-brac, and piggly-wiggly...







And outside in the street, grime only slightly thicker than the regular Bombay, but cut by the elegance of the Raudat Tahera mosque...




and the occasional burst of color (saris drying on the line)...


Down a different street, a big tangle of pipes, which never fails to excite the engineer that lurks in me...



And any kind of hand-drill you could want...



Then back up another side street, where children sit on windowsills, flying kites...





Nice place, that chor bazaar.