Kakrigumma Market

Monday is market day in this part of the world. Fortunately they don't keep Billingsgate hours so we can have a lie in,  leisurely breakfast and a shower while still having time to visit the local pottery. Here the kiln has been broken open and the fired pots are cool enough to be packed up for transport to the market. This is done the hard way, two loads roped up and balanced on a pole which is carried on the shoulders. The roping up of the loads is clearly a skilled job.

We follow the pot carriers across the fields towards Kakrigumma, albiet at a slower pace as we take in the countryside and the myriads of different types of butterflies.  None of these will pose for a picture and we have no idea what any of them are. 

At Kakrigumma we look down the main street and spot the hive of activity .  On either side of the street there are stalls set out on the ground - vegetables of all types, vendors of stainless steel and brass pots, fabrics,seed merchants and even an amplified snake oil salesman.  But no potters.  We walk right through and then back again for good measure. We look down a side road without success and then check out the station where we make use of a shady bench for a while.

Suitably rested we opt for a third sweep. Just at the top end of the market we meet Leon, laden with shoppimg bags and on his way to load upthe car. He shows us where to go. We have walked past the entrance to the main market area, a mango grove, at least twice without noticing. Duh! This area is even busier with more veg stalls, shoe sellers, clothes stalls and quite a few people selling rather smelly dried fish. The good thing about this is that it keeps the flies occupied. Right at the top we find the potters. R buys a small piece which we will attempt to transport home intact

.She also finds man selling blouses and lashes out a whole Rs 30 on one to use as a pattern to make one from the material bought in Kolkata. One further purchase is a stainless steel peanut bowl for a whopping Rs 20.  We decide to have one more stroll past the dried fish before setting off back to base. As we exit back onto the main street we are hailed by Leon who offers us a lift home. We squeeze in with the supplies and a couple of the Chandoori Sai ladies for the short ride.

Glasses of lemon juice soon appear and in no time these are followed by a salad lunch. Today the view is enhanced by our washing which is drying nicely on the bushes at the bottom of the garden. In the afternoon we pottered around the place and saw more guests arrive. A French/Thai family of four who presently live in Bali had arrived and we got to know them a little over dinner. He is called Laurent, his wife has an unpronounceable Thai name, the son is called Krishna and the daughter Ganesha. She is an avid dancer  and hopes to learn a bit about local dancing in Odisha. While we ate plans were also hatched  for a railway excursion for tomorrow for D.

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