Author Archives: Jashobanta

First, my apology for the poor quality of photographs. These have been taken in a Nokia mobile. Since one gets attached to the memory of the places, I thought of posting them.

I found the cemetery in Kanchanabury very unusual- it was not only well maintained, it also had exquisite colours. On feels like staying a bit longer in this place with with the verdant grass and bell-shaped flowers.

How many people had died here? Do some of the relatives come here in remembrance? At that moment I felt- Let no one die away from home and let every one who has gone away from home come back in the evening.

The Suan Lum Night Bazaar, I thought, would be open all through the night, or better still, open 24×7. It however remains open from 18.00 to 00 hours. Even then, the feel and ambiance is really unique. There are small and compact shops and the market is more orderly than Chatuchak. Bargaining is now a days simple- the vendor would come out with a calculator and keypad the price. You in turn can punch in the price you are willing to offer. To some extent the emotions are out, unless of course you are a die hard shopper. Bargaining is an interesting and difficult art, anthropologically, it is termed as negative exchange. However, it also offers intense scope for social exchange with dramatic possibilities.

If one gets a good bargain, one tends to buy more. If not for one self, one could take something as a gift for others. In an academic sense, there is only one department in marketing, and that is pricing.

Sometime back I had found the River City as a new experience. This time it was the Night Bazaar. I hope the experiment continues for new markets. The photograph below eminently heralds the Night Bazaar-

The floating markets, though crowded, have their own ambiance. You could get your own photograph taken and printed on a ceramic plate even without an inkling of it. You could buy it for hundred bath while leaving the boat. The floating market has also many exotic views. Produced below is a type of hanging light:

Here is another interesting image of a smiling lady:

These are the impressions that you carry away with you. Long after the event, these images stay with you. Some times I wonder: how do people plan their markets? What things to keep, and what not to ? Which artifact finally occupies the self space?

This is the image of a young Mimusops Elengi tree in front of the Bangkok General Post Office. This tree is widely known as Spanish Cherry.In Thai it is called Phikun. The flower of the tree has long lasting fragrance, the garlands made of the small star like flowers last for years. Hence the garland is ideal for offering to Gods. The orange coloured, cherry-like fruit is edible and has antioxidant property. This is a slow growing tree, but lives for hundreds of years. The foliage develops in to the shape of an umbrella with lots of shade. Some one has very thoughtfully planted this tree.

The tree above is planted in the left corner of the Post Office and is very well known as Frangipani. Since this tree is planted around temples, it is also called the Temple Tree. It has two main varieties: Plumeria Rubra and Plumeria Alba. This is named after the famous botanist from France Charles Plumier (1646-1704). The flower is a subject matter of many poems and signifies love and high aspirations. It was a great experience to see this flowering tree in front of the post office.