[Urbanstudy] Traditional market and urban planning:a case study of Khwairamband Keithel

[eskoni hijam]

My first posting dealt with the review of literature
on traditional market in India. This posting will
describe a day in the market. Before going further I
would like to give a background of the market.

The Khwairamband Keithel, a market totally managed by
women, was founded by Khagemba Maharaja (also known as
Mongeanba or Mungyamba) in about 1580 A.D. 

THE REASONS FOR THE ORIGIN OF THE KEITHEL(MARKET) ARE:

1.   THE EXISTENCE OF CERTAIN INSTITUTION or system
has pushed the women to take part in socio economic
activity and one such institution was Lallup-Kaba.
‘Lallup’ was a compulsory service to be rendered to
the State for ten days out of every forty days by
every man between the ages of 17 and 60 without
remuneration. The system directly or indirectly
compelled the women to take active role in day to day
domestic and mercantile affairs. 

2.   OUTBREAK OF TWO BIG WARS - One against the Awas
(Myanmar’s) in 1817 which led to the Chahi Taret
Khuntakpa (Seven Years Devastation) and the other
against the British Empire in 1891 which led to a
great reduction of the male population After Manipur
lost its independence, the women started to play
important role in seeking for political and economic
independence. 

3.   THE MEN WERE ENGAGED IN LABORIOUS WORK like
agriculture, carpentry, etc. and hence the work like
selling things, going to market are considered to be
lighter jobs. Thus the women came forward to do it.
And the culture continued till the present days
although all men are not indulged in agriculture and
women are no more sitting in the house but working in
offices. 


The location of the market has been changed over time.
At present it is located in the heart of the Imphal
city, on the bank of the Nambul River. Being located
in the centre of the city the site is easily
accessible. 

The system of exchange is different for different
items. Vendors selling vegetables, fruits and fish can
be classified into licensed vendors (retail vendors)
and non-licensed vendors. Among the non-licensed
vendors also they can be classified as primary vendors
and secondary vendors. The operating system of the
handloom items can be classified as the vendors who
are also the weaver and the vendors who collect woven
clothes from other weaver. The vulnerability of the
vendors selling vegetable, fruits and fish items are
more as they have to compete with the non-licensed
vendors. The vendors selling clothes, traditional
jewelry items, local mats, etc has a monopoly in the
market and hence are not vulnerable. 

Khwairamband Keithel caters to a large population and
it has been occupying a very important place in the
city as well as in the heart of the people of Manipur.



THIS IS A DESCRIPTION OF ONE DAY IN THE MARKET:

When most of the people are sleeping or doing their
household duties, it is a very different world in the
Khwairamband Keithel. The roads are empty except for
the morning walkers, teenagers going for tuitions and
few early busses and auto-rickshaws. From around four
thirty in the morning the busses and auto-rickshaws
bring people from the rural hills and plain areas with
loads of vegetables, fruits and fish to the city.
These people are mainly the primary vendors who come
in the morning and do not stay for long. They sell off
their goods to the licensed vendors or secondary
vendors. The licensed vendors pay fees to the
municipality. In return the municipality provides
space and services. The secondary vendors do not have
a license and sit on the road side to sell the items
and are frequently harassed by the police. 

A very exciting thing to be noted is the crowd in this
hour is on the road near the bus stand and the main
market shed remains almost empty. The buyers are
mainly the licensed vendors, the secondary vendors and
the early morning walkers. It is amazing to see the
drastic transformation of this place within a few
hours. By around seven in the morning the crowd on the
road starts reducing. By eight thirty, the road once
covered by vendors is replaced by vehicles and there
is a lot of congestion. By this time the primary
vendors have packed up their wares and have started to
return back. They are in a hurry to sell off all the
goods and thus sometimes sell at very low prices.
There is the police vehicle on the road trying to
control the spillover of the vendors. Now the license
vendors and the secondary vendors, after a
satisfactory bargain of the goods, shift to their
respective places. The licensed vendors now occupy the
spaces in the shed, an area of 3’ X 4’, which
sometimes varies according to the items they sell. The
other non licensed vendors sit on the road side.

The mornings have only the vendors selling vegetables,
fruits and fish items. Vendors selling clothes,
traditional jewelry items, pots, etc. start their
business later, at around nine thirty in the morning.
They come with a coolie carrying their items which was
stored in the neighboring shops the previous night. 

Go-downs are provided by the government but it is very
insufficient and hence most of the vendors have to
depend on the surrounding shops for the storage of
their commodity at night and have to pay charges for
that. The charges range from Rs. 15 to Rs. 50
according to the size of the items. In addition to the
charges on storage they have to pay for carrying their
luggage which also ranges from Rs. 200 to Rs. 300 per
month. Those selling fish, pots and those involved in
hotels and eateries keep the items in the open at
night by paying an amount of Rs. 150 per month to a
coolie to guard the items. Storage space is an
important part of the market for such type of openly
planned shops.

Some vendors start their vending later by afternoon. 
It is very interesting to note the vendors arrange
themselves in a very methodical manner. The venders
selling clothes sit in one corner and the ones selling
fish on the other. There is complete segregation of
the items. There is also a space for the Keithel
Lairenbi and Lairenba (the goddess and god of the
market). The vendors, mostly Meitei Hindus, with a
chandan on their forehead, start the day with prayers.
Along with the vendors the eateries also start their
operations. The helpers clean the space where the
vendors will be sitting and having food. Before lunch
they make local food items like kanghou, bora, etc. It
is a nice place to eat and the food items are tasty
and cheap. The day continues and at around one thirty
in the afternoon there is a rush for the eatery shop.
They serve not only the vendors but also other male
members working in the nearby office, rickshaw
drivers, etc. 

Some vendors take a nap in the place after lunch. In
the evening by around five, the buyers increase in
number as many office going people do their shopping
on the way back. By six in the evening the vendors
start packing up their wares and hurry to catch the
bus/auto rickshaw back home. 


Hijam Eskoni Devi



       
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