14/07/2006

 

A tale of trade between two cities

It was a 2.5 ft-long and vividly green pumpkin at a vegetable mart beneath the Rajendra Nagar overbridge at Patna that primarily drew my attention.

Though yours truly is no connoseuir of greens, but the fact that it gets especially difficult to obtain fresh veggies in the rainy season and I happen to like fresh greens, made me rush to the shop to buy pumpkins, lady's fingers, parval and jhigni on the way to my village from the Bihar capital.

Also, because the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and the route to kitchen and domestic bliss is by stocking well. A well-stocked veggie larder is all a matter of domestic balance and equilibrium.

In fact, it is really hard to get quality vegetables (a regular in Indian platter) in the rains. The perpetual showers affect the growth, production and supply of green vegetables in the market. And it's almost impossible to find green jhigni in the capital's markets. And I happen to like them.

Lady fingers and parval that are found in the city's markets, too, are far costlier than the ones found in Nalanda, Patna and other north Bihar's markets. (Domestic wars have been waged over them.) Moreover, there is a vast difference in the colour and taste of the parval and pumpkin found in the two states.

Many of my friends from Bihar, who have settled in Ranchi simply miss the taste of the soft and seedless parval and small, soft and semi green jhignis. They buy substantial quantity of the two whenever they go to Patna and Nalanda. In fact, the local vegetable mart in the Kutchery area mainly dominated by the vendors belonging to Chapra, Siwan and Gopalganj witness a very heavy rush, (a stampede) when they announce: "Patna ka parval, Patna ka parval..." Needless to say they are popular. The parvals that are sold in Nalanda and other Bihar's markets are relatively smaller and semi-green against the dark green Ranchi ones with pronounced stripes.

 

I wonder why the city vegetable markets don't import the green vegetables from Bihar. After all, there are 30 buses, two trains and countless trucks that ply between Ranchi and various Bihar's cities and towns everyday. Besides, Ranchi has a huge population hailing from Bihar, which relishes the veggies from its native areas. Moreover, why there is a vast difference between the price of vegetables in the two states when Jharkhand, too, produces quite a substantial amount of greens.

Let me get back to the 2.5 ft pumpkin. It was a steal worth Rs 10 weighing 2.5 kg. It is usually the length and freshness of the pumpkin, which determines its price in Bihar markets.

But in Ranchi such a pumpkin will be worth Rs 10 per kg. There are similar differences in the prices of other green vegetables too.It is not that the city market has not its own specialties which can draw the taste buffs in Bihar markets too.
For instance rugda (a form of root) and mushroom, which are produced in abundance in Jharkhand should be a hit in Patna.

It's the season of rugda and mushroom now. The rugda lovers rush to Kutchery to buy the product which mainly the tribal men and women sell in baskets on the roadsides. If boiled properly in relevant spices, rugda ka sabji is a hit with the Ranchi foodies. But it's hard to find rugda at Patna or for that matter in any Bihar mart. Again the question arises as to why this root, which makes such a tasty dish, does not find its way to Bihar when thousands travel every day between the two states?

Though yours truly is also not a trade expert he thinks that a better trade planning can ensure the exchange and supply of rugda and mushroom in Bihar and tasty green vegetables in Jharkhand markets.

When it comes to fishes, Ranchi offers a nightmare to fish lovers. Its markets are flooded with stale fishes from Andhra Pradesh whereas one can find fresh and live Rehoo and other fishes in Raza Bazaar, Boring Road and many other fish marts in Patna.

Of late,the Lalpur fish market in Ranchi is getting the supply of some fresh fishes from Jhalda in West Bengal. Still, fresh and live fish is as hard to find in Ranchi marts as a horned horse. A fish and green vegetable lover, I expect a better trade planning and its execution so that the capital, too, can offer quality vegetables and live fishes.

(Courtesy The Telegraph)

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Nalin Verma

The Author is the Ranchi based special correspondent of the Telegraph