Madras Market...

It was noon when I left home. Chennai's hot sun was roasting me alive. Little did I know, I would be panting down the same road in a few minutes. As soon as I picked up my friend at Saidapet, my "almost dead" bike started wobbling. A nice guy in petrol bunk declared my tyres to be punctured and urged me to ride fast to reach a bike shop before it runs out of air. Me being unlucky, the tyre soon lost all its air and I pushed and pushed for more than a kilometre and replaced a new tube. And I thought the beginning of the day itself was worse. (yeah, on weekends my day begins around noon). But, it got better as it progressed and I felt good when I came out of "Madras Market", a shopping event organised in Chennai (Quaide Milleth College, Near Spencer Plaza). 

Tented Stalls, Madras Market

I had little expectation about Madras Market, having been recently disappointed by another such exhibition (not naming it here). There is ample parking for two wheelers, limited space for cars, but one can also use Spencer's parking space if it's not available in the college. Entry fee of INR 60 is worth it, if you like seeing/buying/appreciating hand made products.

An accessories shop, Madras Market

Beautiful little tents, colourful products, enthusiastic sellers and buyers - the entire place was so vibrant. We passed along shops selling hand-woven baskets, bags, jewellery (stone, gold-like, silver, semi-precious), masks, cotton dresses, green tea, home-made jams and preservatives, pickles, ready made mixes, beer mug-like candles, pen holders and earrings made out of coconut shell, jute bags, wallets made from tear-resistant and water-resistant recycled paper, T-shirts, western wear, pots, organic seeds (including every day plants, herbs, greens and some exotic plants). I bought seeds for Methi plant (INR 20) and Roma Tomato (INR 40). 

Colorful Bows :)

Many such jewellery stalls were there

Keychains from wool/crocheting, Madras Market

Madras Market was full of such hand made products

The ones which caught my attention were - a stall selling custom order handloom cotton dresses (palazzos, tops, shrugs) 

Handloom cotton Palazzos

and this colourful stall selling hand made articles out of palm leaves, bamboo and jute (boxes, pen holders, anjarai petti, artificial flowers etc). I bought a circular palm leaf box (INR 130) and a big shopper made out of jute (INR 200). 

Hand made products made out of Palm leaves. I remember at my paati's house we had such boxes to hold my toys. 

If you have brought kids along, then there are plenty of activities for them too. A balloon castle, jumping rope, special competition and fun events for kids organised by Chutti TV. There is a food court inside selling everything from dosas, rice, biriyani, baked goods (mostly french/italian), tacos, juice counters, cold coffee, cup cakes, sodas and some non-veg items too. If you have the time, you can still visit it tomorrow (01-Mar-15). As I walked out of the market few hours later, I felt good about how the turn of events made my day a completely satisfactory one.