Raja Hata

"Hata" refers to a temporary market where different types of shops sell their good. This process of temporary shops is started from years ago. In past days, there are not the permanent market facility, so some people decided to make a temporary market for the nearby villagers to buy their good. This temporary market opens for once or twice in the week. There is some specific place, where the temporary vendors open their shops. Some Hatas are open at daytime and some in the evening.

Now-a-days, the permanent market raises, but till now this "Hata" or the temporary market opens at various places. There is also a temporary market nearer to our village. It's situated just 4 Kilometers away from my village. There is a specific place where the temporary market open for two days, Sunday and Wednesday in a week. Different types of people come to this temporary market to sell their goods and some also come to sell vegetables from their farm.

During the festivals, the demand for temporary market increases. Mainly during Raja Parba, Prathamastami, Bada Osa, Dutibahana the crowd increases at this temporary market. Raja Parba is the main festival of our village. In 2012, it started on Thursday, so Wednesday is the Raja Hata. Since my father was not available on that day, I went to the market. I had the experience to buy goods from the Kirana shops, but not the vegetables. But, I went to the market with 3 bags riding a cycle. I didn't keep my cycle at the cycle stand to avoid the charge. So, I kept my cycle from a distance, where a number of people kept their cycles. And I went inside the market. There were several shops opened due to Raja Parba.

Before going to the market, I had asked to my mother, which vegetables should I buy? She repeated the name of all the vegetables and asked to buy some cheap one. I didn't have any experience of buying vegetables, so I bought until those three bags filled up. Since it was Raja, I had to buy some other things form the Kirana shops, so I bought another bag form that market and bought some other good, which filled the 4th bag. After that, I bought some wire from that shop and lifted two bags with the back career of the cycle. And lifted two bags with the handle of the cycle. When I reached home, all laughed at me, because I bought vegetables of 970 rupees. Since I didn't have any idea to bargain and I hadn't counted the total amount at the time of buying. This news spread like windspeed to our village people and who saw me at that time started to give some advice.

* I used to write in Odia. So, I wrote this and make an image for them, whose phone doesn't support Odia fonts. But some of my friends, outside Odisha, asked me to write some in English. So I translated it from my Odia writings.