People In Mhow Bazaar On A Rainy Day - A Photo Essay
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Thursday September 11, 2008
Around 12 noon - 2 pm


As the next day was Friday 12 Sept, Onam, I accompanied my mother in an autorickshaw to the Mhow bazaar where she wanted to buy vegetables, provisions and miscellaneous items. We stopped at what used to be known as Kotwali Chowk (because the police station used to be here in the building near the tree.) The monument you can see is known as the 'Coronation Fountain' and was built in 1911 on the occasion of the coronation of the then British monarch.

As it was raining I stayed inside the auto when my mother entered a shop in Tin Gali (Tin Street, which is famous for utensil shops and odds and ends). Luckily I had carried my camera along and I was able to do what the anthropologist Desmond Morris called 'people watching'. I am posting a small selection of those shots in this post. Do let me know how all of you out there like them.



A young boy keenly reads the text on the poster.












These are ladies of the Dawoodi Bohra community. As the holy month of Ramzan is on I am sure they are on their way to the mosque.





Schoolboys enjoying the rain. The best season to return home from school is during the rains.












He saw me!!! :)))


Enjoying the rains with a friend....



These sisters sure spent a lot of time looking at the poster...










As they were leaving the younger one saw me. She was so happy. It was like a reward for me. Bless you my child.





After some time we came and stopped near the Builder Memorial Church (established 1877)



Mhow is synonymous with the Indian Army so here is an infantryman for you.....







A thelewala (cartman)......




A Dawoodi Bohra gentleman. Notice the distinctive Bohra cap he is wearing.



This villager and his wife have bought a fair amount of stuff. No wonder she is finding it hard to sit pillion. I hope they made it safely.





A Bohra lady. When I had arrived in Mhow in 1979 and I had seen a Bohra ladies wearing this outer garment on a sunny day I had wondered why they were wearing raincoats when there was no question of rain. My childhood friend Zoaib who belongs to this community still teases me about it.







Schoolgirls returning home.... Today is one day they aren't in a hurry....





An elderly Bohra gentleman returning after some shopping.







"Papa jaam le do na..." Buying guavas for his son. The local word for guava is not amrood but jaam.







A school girl returning home on an empty stretch while we were returning home. If one looks at the sky one can't believe that it is a rainy day. But just look at the earth.