This is one place I have always despised. For no obvious reasons. Even as a kid holding mom's finger, I felt like running away from this place as a soon as possible.
Last evening I needed to get the ingredients from a local vegetable market. People just back from work queued up beside this vegetable vendor, probably contemplating about that night's dinner or the next breakfast. Atleast I was. And then I noticed the vendor putting some handful of chillies in every bag that he handed out. A man requested him to put additional chillies worth 5 bucks. The vendor surprisingly refused, "5 rupye ka kya karenge sahab, garmi ke din hain kharab ho jayegi. Abhi ke layak kaafi daal di hai."
And that pushed me into thoughts. Has this guy ever heard what marketing is? He seemed no less strategic than a talented marketing graduate. Not only did he add some complementary chillies and coriander to everyone, but also made sure he handled his customers in the sequence of their requests. And even amidst this rush, he reminded people to buy some staple vegetables, carefully ensuring that he did not irritate anyone by his words. He also provided special out-of-order service to a mother who was carrying one child in her arms and talking to another on the phone. So basically this guy displayed an array of different strategies that you get to see in walmarts and big bazaars. Interesting, isn't it??
If you have the will, you can observe interesting things anywhere. Even in a vegetable market that you despise.
