Thursday, January 19, 2006

At the Farmer's Market

Every Thursday the Farmer's Market comes to Westwood. The end of Weyburn is closed off to the traffic. Small stalls spring up selling the famous California tangerines and Clementines and Naval oranges. And a fruity smell wafts beckoningly through the air. And invariably I find my feet almost involuntarily moving in that direction. And it's a rural atmosphere, people seem to slow the pace of their lives as they hang around, familiarly greeting friends and regulars at the Market, tasting the wares before buying them, getting a glass of juice while they're shopping, or something to eat... bringing their children out for the evening...

There's a man who sits at the beginning of the street and plays his guitar and sings. Warm notes of "Scarborough Fair" drift through the air, and appropriately I was standing by a herb seller who had parsley and sage. Further down where there are exotic cuisines, Korean ,Peruvian and Salvadorean, there is also a Jazz band that entertains the people eating there. And several small bakeries just pop up, selling scones and cookies and yummy pies and cakes and French bread.

I contented myself with a Salvadoren Pupasa and turned resolutely away from the inviting breads. But my resolve was not up to withstanding the temptation of freshly picked sstrawberries... I took a small bunch of them home and ate them with whipped cream... and now I feel replete and content. God's up in his Heaven and all's well with the World

11 comments:

the Monk said...

sounds wonderful...and that song, timeless...

Pradeep Nair said...

Rustic charm is always irresistibly alluring; not just soothing, it is invigorating and energising as well.

Shashi Iyer said...

nice post :)

Sthupit Girl said...

i like the way you've written... rustic charm is always irresistibly alluring.. to me at least (too)

awesome song...everything is right with the world.

Vayasya said...

hey i picked up some strawberries too last time.

I used to talk to a guy who regularly sells fruits here and asked him why he opts to come here rather than sell it to big companies and reduce the hassle. He replied that he has grown them with his own hands and he enjoys selling them to the customer with his own hands. This way he gets more satisfaction.

Nice post.

Random Access said...

Beautiful. Now I believe there is "some" life in the west as well!

Random Access
The search has just begun !!!

Aishwarya Rao said...

My God, you make everything soun so beautiful dee..

and those last lines - God is in heaven and all is well with the world is my favourite...

Satyashree Srikanth said...

I am glad you like the farmers market so much. I give you the job of visiting it every Thursday. No denying I am super happy that I am going be saved fom the nauseating smell of a vegetable market...muhahaha.

nandini said...

@SS... unfortunately from next week I have classes on Thursday afternoon :(

bharat said...

Beaaaaaaaautiful! I read it with the song playin'. Vicariously experienced neverland!

nandini said...

@rahul: Hey, no one's keeping guys from going shopping!