The San Ga Mam flea bazaar in the Kota Jewellers’ backyard is filled with colours, plants, and food. The familiar strong smell of dry roasted beef leads me to the stall of Thomas Kanjookaran who is arranging the glass bottles of sardine dry fry, tuna dry fry, beef dry fry and chemmen chammandi podi on the counter. He offers me a taste of the beef. The rich flavours of coconut oil, ginger and garlic leave me craving for more. Kanjookaran says, “This is made by my sister, Shobha, and we use the authentic traditional recipe handed down through generations. It is organic with no added preservatives.” He claims his products have a shelf life of one month if refrigerated and 15 days otherwise. His prices range from ₹300 to ₹350.
COIMBATORE, TAMIL NADU 15/12/2017. (for MetroPlus) Banana fibre trays by Janani on display at San Ga Mam flea Bazaar at Kota Jewellers in Coimbatore on December 15, 2017. Photo: M_Periasamy
Janani Nitya Nandu from Pollachi makes baskets and bags with banana fibre. “I buy the fibre from the market and then process it. This includes soaking it in fungicide before weaving it over a stainless steel frame.” She tells me that it takes a day to make one basket. Her tips on caring for her baskets include “keep it away from fire. Moisture is not good for the fibre, so avoid keeping it in the bathroom.” Her products cost between ₹950 and ₹2000.
I notice a range of colourful handcrafted products (with a price range of ₹200 to ₹4500) by Pooja Alexander. With a lot of red, green and white, her stall has a Christmassy feel. She has wall hangings, hand-embroidered linen bedsheets and bedspreads, table runners with hand embroidery, Christmas-themed pillows, hair clips, baby clothes and fridge magnets. Her decorative fairy lights are made with used paper cups which have crochet embroidery hanging from the open mouth and net decoration . Showing me a hair clip with red roses, she says, “I use felt cloth to make the leaves. Flowers are made of Rosette fabric.”
I move forward and see the Ganache stall selling brownies, American chocolate chunk cookies, nibby shortbread cookies, etc. “These shortbread cookies taste best with hot chocolate”, says Meenakshi C. They also have rich brown brookie, which “something between a cookie and a brownie. It is soft and crisp at the same time,” she explains. On one end of the counter is a small open jewellery box with necklace and earrings in it. “This is dark chocolate painted in edible food colours. We made it from scratch. It is a showpiece.” They also have a chocolate hamper that includes 12 piece designer chocolate, hot choc pot, gulabi lassi truffle, nutty bark and six choco-chilli biscuits. Their products range from ₹50 to ₹800.
Salman Mayan has a collection of plywood coasters, key chains, Christmas decorations, bookmarks, clocks and trays in his collection. Showing me a coaster with a flower carved in it, he says, “This is made with pulp from demonetised money and plywood. The designs are done with laser cutting.” His products range from ₹40 to ₹900.
COIMBATORE, TAMIL NADU 15/12/2017. (for MetroPlus) Wooden toys on display at San Ga Mam flea Bazaar at Kota Jewellers in Coimbatore on December 15, 2017. Photo: M_Periasamy
Dr Manveen Kaur’s House of Kaurs has a variety of handmade wooden trays, tangle drawings, painted bottles, terrariums, garden gnomes, baskets made from old newspapers and small potted plants ranging from ₹350 to ₹35000. A Kondapalli dolls store with vibrant colour toys, wind chimes, and golu dolls is another attraction.
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San Ga Mam has 26 stalls offering clothes, art, food, jewellery and a lot of revelry
There is also a three-hour music performance between 6.00 pm and 9.00 pm
The bazaar has been placed in the Kota Jewellers compound that is part of a beautiful old bungalow in Tatabad
Besides Coimbatore-based people, there are others from Puducherry, Pollachi, Bengaluru, Kerala, and Mumbai
