The trades that sit maybe for once or twice a week in open space that are continuing for a long time in a very specific place are generally known as ‘Bazar'. It is a very familiar term in the whole Bangladesh but what’s special for the bazars in CHT are because of their diversities in these three hill districts namely Rangamati, Khagrachari, Bandarban.
On the bazar day, people from various places specially the rural people and the locals sell and buy the essentials. The vendors come from different places carrying them on their back or by bus or trucks or jeeps or boat. They come alone or with a group of people from the same place or several places and go back together. The fresh vegetables that they bring are mostly from their own Jhum grown with own hands. The seasonal vegetables and fruits are sold.
If one visits in CHT for example the Rangamati Hill District, one of the known bazars here in the Sadar is the TabalchariBazar. The bazar sits beside a ghat every week when the ghat is filled and crowded with boats, jeeps. The boats are mostly filled with the seasonal fruits like mangoes, jack fruits, pine apple, bananas, watermelons etc. The whole bazar looks colorful, flavorful and loud and robustious specially at the very beginning of the day because it sits in the morning and ends off in the afternoon.
The locals specially in the sadars rush to the bazar in the very morning to get the fresh vegetables. Almost everything needed are sold here. From the very freshness of the jhum cultivated vegetables, fruits, pithas ( Sanya pitha, kala pitha, bora pitha, patisapta etc), traditional clothing including handicraft blankets, accssories to the things belonging to kitchen. The weekly bazars are more festive, chirping and rowdy.
Weekly bazars are one of the main income sources for the rural as here they sell their extra growing and in exchange of that buy the necessities like salt, sugar, oil, pithas, seasonings including dolls, toys or dresses for their little child waiting for them at home.
One very prominent characteristic of these bazars is the sight of participation both the men and women. In fact, sometimes the numbers of the women vendors are more than the men. They come and do their individual businesses independently, they bargain the things. One will always notice the traditional hookah called Daba in chakma language for chakma women or cigarettes holding in one hand and sometimes holding a child while breastfeeding on the other hand and bargaining with the buyers. All the ethnic groups come all together for selling and purchasing in these weekly bazars.
Not only that, the bengali vendors too come for their businesses. They mostly sell accessories, toys, street foods like jhalmuri, ice cream and dresses. The communication between these diversified communities is also interesting. Usually the Bengali vendors talk in the local languages with the locals. They all come all together in order to conduct their livelihood by doing businesses. The hotels, tea stalls and the grocery shops are filled with people where they take their breakfast or meal and take rest. They meet with their kids. Traffic happens in these small roads due to crowd sometimes.
People tend to wait for the weekly bazars to shop their groceries normally as it is difficult for the rural to cross a long way alone to visit the main roads or as the fare of transport is high when less passengers are available only. The most important thing here is the relation and communication between the people when they come and go together after doing their works. The bazars are very cheerful, lively and resilient.
Written by Priase Chakma
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