The Banjara Market-A Lost Treasure

A benevolent Buddha smiles at the visitors at the Banjara Market

The Banjara Market in Sector 56 Gurugram used to be a go to place for furniture, decoration items and even ceramic ware. The word 'Banjara' means, 'nomads' akin to, perhaps, the word 'gypsies' and so it was that this market was run by a nomadic trading tribe of people hailing from the Mewar region of Rajasthan. This rather quaint and rather unorganized market in terms of proper stalls deserved to be labelled as the Delhi Haat of Gurugram. Unfortunately, the settlement of migrants from Rajasthan faced closure as the land on which they had settled on belongeg to the Government. Most of the residents in the market area had been in situ for about twenty years. The furniture sold was mostly reconditioned from old and weathered wood which gave it an antique look. Some of the furniture was sourced from furniture manufacturing export houses. In fact you might have been lucky enough to have the original tags in place.

Artisans work on an artifact that will adorn the walls of the well-heeled.

The Banjara Market was home to a large number of artisans whose creative art could be seen in the magic they performed on recycled wood and other materials. The vase below, however. seems to have been brought to the venue fully manufactured.

A wooden vase greets the setting sun

While one might wonder if many of the art products might have been made by the artisans of the Banjara Market, what is clear, however, is that the market was a confluence of 'objets d'art' and so you were likely to spot art objects such those you might find in more upscale outlets.

In the company of the Budha-an assurance of good luck

The Covid-19 Pandemic had certainly left its mark on the flea market. Before the pandemic one saw a large number of people visiting the spot for window-shopping and purchasing of unique items bur after the pandemic there were fewer people, a trickle compared to the hoard of people in earlier times visiting the spot.

A collection of effigies of the Buddha assure of a happy future. 

Where else could one find such items if not a flea market like the Banjara Market? It is certainly unfortunate that this amazing market will soon be replaced by developmental projects, surely a big loss for Gurugram and a gain for any other locality that becomes home to the  nomads from Rajasthan.

The message on the canvass, ironical though it might be, says it all. 

Today, ( 5th of October-2021) when I visited the Banjara Market after I had been told by Rishi that the stalls had been disbanded by members of the Municipality, I was greeted by an air of desolation. The items for sale had been confiscated and impounded, the stalls disbanded. Unfortunately, the people running the market had seen it coming and had not done anything about it. When I talked to some of the stall holders about their plans for the future, some of them stated that they had no idea about what to do. A few stated that they would shift to a plot close to the Chattarpur Temple while others stated that they would shift to a plot adjacent to the Leisure Valley park. Others stated that they would go back to Rajasthan from where they had migrated looking for better prospects. Unfortunately, the people running the flea market didn't see it coming, they had been paying a rental of Rs. 2000/- to the land mafia. 

A family gathers around a hookah discussing the way forward.

The unfortunate  fact is that it is the poor people, children and women who are the most affected by displacement caused by civil wars, developmental processes and a general apathy of the people in power. The least that could have been done was to offer these displaced people an alternative site to set up their stalls. This, unfortunately doesn't seem to have been done and today, the people running the flea market have no other place to go to! It is indeed a tragedy of great proportions to see the people running the market left high and dry by the circumstances dictated by the need for development.

A bunch of stuffed animals await a better home

The sense of desolation was palpable and the energy of the stall holders calling out to prospective buyers was missing. It somehow looked as if a bomb had descended on the people. All around I could see people trying to salvage whatever had been left by the administration that had broken their stalls and confiscated the goods they were selling. A most forlorn sight was to see men and women dismantling their stalls, removing supporting structures that had held up the roofs of their stalls and their homes.

Dismantling a home that had sheltered its inhabitants for years

Looking at the desolate stalls and the dejected faces of the people who had once done brisk business one cannot but help feel an intense sadness for them. While one might not blame the administration for the eviction process, one might indeed have hoped for a more humane solution to the problem an acknowledgment of the role that the people running the Banajara had played in promoting traditional art, a yeoman job in recycling products and contributing to the beautification of  the living rooms of the well-heeled!

A curious onlooker looks at the camera even as the stall holders are lost in grief