Shopping is an ancient activity that would always be integral to human beings and the human community. In fact, cutting across colour and creed, the market is probably the primary space of and for human interaction that binds people in a strong and irreplaceable bond. It is so much more than simply trade and commerce. As much as it is an economic platform, it is equally a vibrant cultural and social space that keeps human beings’ spirit well buoyed and inspires excellence and productivity. True, shopping is no longer what it used to be before the internet, however, certain items are best bought in person because there are certain fruits, vegetables, herbs and numerous food items very integral to our food habits that cannot be bought online. This has to do more with the unique vegetation of the Northeast that blesses us with indigenous fruits, vegetables, herbs and other food items unavailable in and unknown to the rest of the country.
It is then not surprising that the numerous markets (called haats in Assam) on different days of the week keep on growing across Nagaland. There is this huge market at the Super Market on Wednesdays at Dimapur that had a humble beginning several decades ago but now draws huge numbers of venders and shoppers even from nearby areas of neighbouring Assam. On sale are everything one can imagine right from food items, including fresh local fish, meat, and livestock, handloom, handicraft, steaming hot and delicious veg and non-veg treats, daos, knives, whetstones and different kinds of locally made kitchen and home utensils and appliances, potted plants and fresh flowers, as also bags of potting compost and peat moss for your kitchen and flower gardens. There are new and second hand clothes, handbags, socks, shoes and other items at prices affordable for people with varied pocket sizes. The trick of course is to know the art of bargaining however most bundles of local herbs and other greens, which used to cost Rs. 10 “once upon a time”, now sell for the fixed price of Rs. 30, Rs 50 and Rs 100.
Shopping in Dimapur’s Wednesday market at the Super Market complex is a special experience not only because of the mind-boggling range of items on sale but because it erases all social and economic status and class ~ never mind the price of the car one drives to reach this market. In this market, everyone is equal ~ merely a customer. Majority of the vendors are women not only from Dimapur but also from the neighbouring districts of Chumukedima and Nuiland. A lot of them also come all the way from districts such as Peren, Wokha, Tseminyu, Phek, etc. at the crack of dawn sell their wares here. Such is the fame, popularity and profitability of our Wednesday market. I am not aware if concerned Government Departments and agencies or any bank or other financial institutions have studied the volume of sales and turnover of this market so it is difficult to put a number offhand but it may not be incorrect to say that the market has one of the biggest volumes and turnover in Nagaland. Hence it is surprising that the State Government has not tapped into this market and projected it as a major economic hub and another tourist attraction because it accentuates the best of the uniqueness of Naga culture, social interaction and commercial activity. It is, after all, a microcosm of the Naga way of life, our natural abundance and food habits.
There are such markets in different districts of Nagaland however the scale is smaller, The Saturday market at Chumukedima is probably the second largest of such markets and is growing. Its strength is its location at the heart of one of Nagaland’s richest agricultural belts. One hears that the Friday market at Medzhephima is no less a growing one. These markets are growing because they provide a platform for the ever-burgeoning bottom rung of our society, who has no recourse to bank loans, Government subsidies, schemes and other facilities that somehow seem to get stuck within the privileged upper echelons. On the other hand, such markets are the perfect solution for people not only of the bottom rung of society but also those sliding down to this rung from the various tiers of the middle class through the ever-widening cracks in our over-all national and State economic situation ~ escalating cost of food, other essential items, health, education and the general inflation. While it is easy for Governments to hold forth on the “development” they have ushered in, especially in small development-deficit States like Nagaland, it is such markets that truly mirror the reality of the vast number of people, who are confronting soaring prices with stagnant incomes and the increasing number of unemployed. Such markets are not only easier on the pocket but also provide an avenue to generate some income thus making these markets the most reliable source of grass-root level entrepreneurship. Ultimately, it is grass-root level entrepreneurship that is the backbone of subsistence agriculture and sustains our agrarian economy thereby underlining Nagaland’s rurality.
Not surprising again that most venders of such markets are women which speaks volumes about how much our women are still marginalized, even barred, from the formal economy although our men like to talk of gender equality in Naga society. It is, after all, in the level of participation in the economy that truly reflects gender status and equality and even the wider spectrum of genuine democratic traditions. Old fashioned shopping is not only a healthy form of retail therapy but also very educative, as it reveals the true face of the State and society’s politics, economics, culture, traditions, mindset and attitudes. And such markets in Nagaland don’t reveal a pretty face. But come to Nagaland, save a Wednesday for the market at the Super Market, revel in the bonhomie of human bonding, drink in the atmosphere of hope founded in blood, sweat and tears, relish the aroma of a struggling but vibrant people, feast your eyes on Nature’s bounty that is our traditional food and learn first-hand of the answers we are scripting for ourselves.
(The columnist, a journalist and poet, is Founder-Editor, Nagaland Page. The article was published on the January 28, 2025 issue of the Assam Tribune)