Thursday, March 21, 2013

I miss bargaining!



I miss bargaining.
I miss it so bad that I think I am having withdrawal symptoms.
I miss saying, “Bhaiya, thoda toh kam kijeye (Reduce the price a bit).” I miss saying, “Bhaiya, hum pehli baari thodi na le rahe hain (This is not the first time we are purchasing this item).”
I miss how we all used to compare notes on who got a better deal. These deals depended on our skills, purely. I like the 10,001 online deals but I like to put my Indian skill set to use.
I miss how during college days my friends made me feel little when they bought the entire wardrobe for a few bucks from Janpath. For the uninitiated, Janpath is the heaven for bargain queens & kings in the capital. From shoes to bags and clothes to artifacts you can bargain for it all & take home a dozen & more of shopping bags!  
I miss how we could bargain with not just the vegetable vendor but with almost anyone/anything. Remember how as kids we used to bargain with our mothers for an extra five minutes of sleep too?
On that note, I miss haggling with auto wallahs too! I like the cab meters (not that we don’t have them back home) but the frustrating and annoying conversation with the auto wallahs had their own charm!!

I think bargaining is therapeutic just like gossiping.
I miss bargaining.

Do you miss it too? Would love to hear from you.

Image: here

1 comment:

  1. I miss Janpath a lot too in Hongkong whr even the cheapest of the cheap things sold on the roadside are actually expensive compared to India...
    Prone to the same habits of bargaining, I too in my initial days of shopping here, before paying asked for discount.... N the way the female vendor stared at me, I can never forget tht horrifying expression on her face ;)
    As u said... Indians r indians... n bargaining's like in our blood n it seems we can never get rid of this habit ;)

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