Can you imagine a space that lets you to eat, shop and dance — all in one place? Held recently, Ajjimane, a flea market at Kammanhalli was conceived by Siddharth S and Jai Kishan, ostensibly to create a space for small neighbourhood businesses to display their wares. Siddharth pointed out, “It comprises everything from stalls selling stuff made from recreated recycled material and homemade products, women entrepreneurs selling clothes and jewellery, food stalls with traditional food such as bajjis, bondas, ragi and jola rottis and even a nursery, where you could pick up plants for your terrace garden or balcony.”It also had an open mic and a few bands playing at the venue. A skate boarding contest was also there. The youngsters representing the Barqat kite centre were keen on showcasing a variety of kites.
Mohammad, one of the kids manning the stall said, “The kites are made from materials such as cotton and paper. It is priced from Rs. 50 to Rs. 500. The most popular ones are the kites featuring Bollywood superstar Salman Khan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
The street dance battles organised at the fete also drew huge crowds.
Divya Easwaran, a judge at the contest said, “We wanted to get hip hop and freestyle artistes together so that they could enjoy dancing to music. We later introduced the competitions. Though there was some confusion initially, once the competition started, we got huge crowds and everyone was happy.”
Another highlight of the fete was the opportunity to adopt stray and abandoned dogs at a counter that animal lover June. S had set up.
“I pick up abandoned and sick dogs and try and take care of them till someone adopts them. I treat the dogs as part of the family.”
