Second Hand Markets!

What used things would you want to buy?

I love to buy used books. I love old rusty smell of yellowing pages. I fancy reading tidbits previous owner/s scribbled on pages; giving me a sense of how s/he felt reading it.

I´ve always found old book sellers wherever I’ve been in India.

During school days, I used to look forward to Kolkata visits – picking up books from revered and hallowed 2^nd hand book stalls in College Street and from much smaller book stalls in Gariahat market. You could buy the books, read them, and sell them back.

During stopover in Chennai while travelling to/from college, I used to pick up 5-10 books from book resellers around Chennai station. It used to be difficult negotiating with them, but I managed to get a few bargains.

In 2000s, in Mumbai I found solace in roadside book resellers in Churchgate. I don´t know why they were chased away by police soon. You don´t see book resellers anymore flanking footpaths around Churchgate station.

But then, Strand Book festival did come to my rescue. I could pick up large number of different kinds of books at dirt cheap prices. But smell of old and yellowing pages- I missed that!

Will I want to buy any used thing besides books? No, I don´t think so.

I know 2^nd hand cars are available in India, but I would want to have my own brand new car. I could probably go to Marathalli market in Bangalore or Loot shops to find clothes that have miniscule manufacturing defects. But I certainly won´t buy used clothes or even used furniture (there is an emerging online 2^nd hand furniture market in India) for that matter.

Not long back, there was a flourishing market for 2^nd hand mobile phones and computers. But with Micromax phones and crashing desktop prices, everyone seems to fancy a new set.

So, to cut a long story short, I value reading used books but don´t value/fancy buying any other used stuff. In India, this also gets reflected in nascent/non-existent 2^nd hands market for used goods.

So, you might understand my surprise when I found flourishing seconds market for almost anything and everything in South-East Asia. You see branded cars (Mercs, Toyotas, Hondas, Daewoos, Hyundai) on roads in Cambodia. Almost all of them are used cars imported from Korea and Japan. There are dedicated seconds markets in Phnom Penh – selling used shoes, clothes, furniture, bedsheets, etc.

Night Markets (I am still not sure why they need it) in South-East Asia is another place where you see number of second hand stalls.  Second hand markets may be an indication of limited financial resources available in a region/country.  

2^nd hand markets may also be a place for rich. Famous ´antiques ´ markets in Paris (French seem to live in glory of their past) are thronged by rich.

Cambodia is a country that is still emerging from scars of its recent past. Recycling is another aspect I found country unique in. I found a leading bag brand (Smateria) that advertises its products as being made from completely recycled waste material. I also found them a number of shops that made household goods from recycled materials.  Cambodia seems to have made a virtue of recycling.

Well! That reminds me. People from poor countries don´t necessarily feel that they are resource crunched. I picked up a conversation with my travel guide while travelling from Vientiane to Lao Talat (a village market in Laos). He was telling me about eating habits of people in Laos. I found it strange that vegetable market in a village should assemble everyday. It´s unlike ´Haats´ of India - which congregate  about once a week.  He answered ´We like to eat our food fresh. We buy our vegetables/fruits everyday. One of reasons you won´t find too many refrigerators around in Laos. We cook our food and eat the entire amount the same day. When we keep it in fridge, it remains fresh no more.´ As per UN statistics, Laos is one of poorest countries in world – who would say that? J

-

Sourav