(Chor) Jumme Raath Bazaar
If any one thinks that he or she can buy stolen articles for a very low price, they are mistaken. First of all, it is not "chor" bazaar, but is "Jumme raath bazaar", which means, a market place which is open on Thursdays. It gets opened as early in the morning as 5am and gets closed by 9am. Next, it is not a place where you get stolen articles, but you get used articles. The only point in the above assumption which is correct is that, you get goods for a very low price! The prices are lesser than 50% of the original price of the articles, and there is no bar for bargaining. What goods do you get?... Ask what not! You get spare parts of automobiles, equipment, furniture, decorative items, bicycles, rickshaws, carpets, antiques, tyres, clothes and even horses!...that's not all...you even get computers (components of computers that is...), mobile phones, TV sets and other electronic goods. The condition of the goods varies a lot. Some are repaired, some are shabby (which may not work!), some look like new and some are new. 
You may be surprised to now the means and ways by which the 'sellers' get these variety of goods. Mrs. Pasha, who has been selling wrist watches, old clocks, and even mobile phones (for as less as Rs.700) for the last 15 years, says that she buys the wrist watches from the 'Jumma' and the 'Chor Bazaar' of Mumbai and swears that nobody in Jumme Raath Bazaar sells stolen articles. While another seller Baboo Rao, who sells hardware items and hand tools, says there are some rare cases where stolen articles reach them. The other sources from which the sellers in Jumme Raath Bazaar get the goods are rag pickers, scrap yards and Raddi Waalaas, who buy used articles from house holds. Besides that, they also buy used goods from the customers.
O.K, now let's go back into the time. It all started in the Nizam's time, more than a century ago, when goods used by Nizam were used to be sold at "Ghode ki Khabar" ( a place where a horse is buried) in Dhul pet of Hyderabad's old city. Slowly it transformed into a place where a wide range of used articles are sold on a weekly basis, which is visited equally by the poor, who come for a good bargain, and by the rich, who come to buy rare antiques. By the way, it is perfectly legal. In fact, the place is now under Government's control and is given for lease to these people in yearly auctions.
Now you know why it is not Chor bazaar, and that it is legal, but why is it open only on Thursdays and in the early hours?! While it has been just a custom that this market is open on Thursdays, the reason behind the odd timings is that it is not odd, but the most suitable timings for those who sell as well as for those who buy. This area is also shared by regular retailers who have their own shops here. So the sellers of Jumme Raath Bazaar have to close their activities before the retail shop owners open their shops. Also, from the buyers point of view, on a working day, it is practical to shop in such an unorganized market in the mornings only.
At present there a couple of other such markets, one in Patthar gatti of Hyderabad's old city, and the other in Erragadda which are open on Sundays. Majority of the sellers keep rotating in all these places.
So, you want sasta maal? Then wake up early on a Thursday and go to Jumme Raath Bazaar! Who knows?... In the future, you may even get a lap top computer for sale in Hyderabad's Chor...oops...Jumme Raath Bazaar. And don't forget to park your vehicle only in the paid parking zone provided, which is safe, or else we are not responsible if you end up buying the spare parts of your own vehicle...just a word of caution!
Adivishnu Balaji
источник публикации
Khojhyderabad.com
