Pallavaram, a bustling residential locality in Chennai is known for its rich historical connections as it is believed to have been inhabited since the Palaeolithic Age. There is a shandy (bazaar) which adds to the glory of Pallavaram which has been happening every Friday since the early 1800’s. In the earlier days it was known as ‘maattu sandhai’ (cow shandy) and cattle were sold here. Over the years, the shandy expanded to sell a variety of goods to the British as well as to the locals. Today one can step into the shandy and buy almost anything one wants to buy. ‘You can buy anything, except your mom and dad, here,’ the locals would say in a lighter vein.
Image Credit: transparentchennai.com
On Fridays the entire bazaar stretches for two kilometres starting from Pallavaram railway station with the Trisulam railway station on the other end. At least 1000 stalls sell a range of goods to enthusiastic shoppers. From groceries, pets and flowers to antique collectibles, furniture, perfume and electronic goods, it’s a wonderland for the wallet-conscious consumers with everything being sold at cut-price rates.
In the shandy second-hand smartphones can be bought for around Rs. 1,500. Used cycles are available for 1,000. Freshly baked butter biscuits, ginger cookies and over 10 other flavours in steel tins cost Rs. 50-75 per kg. You can buy a used telescope for Rs. 2,000. Both local and international brands in perfumes are available here at dirt-cheap rates. If you are willing to shell out something around Rs. 10,000 you can take home second-hand Air Conditioner units. Used cloth merchants are the first to come to the bazaar, a great number of migrant workers rely on them as they can buy shirts and trousers at throwaway prices from them.
This bazaar is a hit among local people since they can buy used but quality goods at cheap rates. Not only the regular consumers, this bazaar also attracts professionals like electricians and mechanics from faraway places who shop for tools and other related paraphernalia. Interestingly, the buyers and sellers are not just from Chennai, they travel from places as far as Villupuram, Pondicherry, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur. Vendors from the neighbouring Chitoor district in Andhra Pradesh also visit the bazaar to buy goods in bulk which they would sell in their locality for better prices.
Image Credit: transparentchennai.com
The used goods sale at the Pallavaram shandy is doing a great service in disguise to the environment as a lot of goods which otherwise would have ended up in dumping yards and as e-waste heaps are recycled here. For anyone who is living in Chennai or places close to it, a visit to the shandy will be a memorable experience since it can be a blend of both shopping and sightseeing.
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