Nurungukal…2….

    I always enjoyed the calls in high pitch of the hawkers, irrespective of the location viz, streets, beach, railway stations etc.. each has its own identity enabling you to easily recognise the location. If it is the chorus shouting of chai chai chai in the morning hours it is certain the train has  reached Malabar. At break fast time the tune is different dosai dosai. Then it is Shornoor. in Tamilnadu  you will be awakened  by melodious calls of flower sellers, mallige, kanagambaram or December.While enjoying an evening in Marina or Pondy beach it is the fragrance of cooked bengal gram[chundal] which attracts you followed by a repeated crisp sound. And one can never resist to taste a combination of masala gram and mango bits served in paper cones. In front of Mambalam railway station it is the rhythmic shouting of mango vendors, announcing the number and rate , 20-10 ,10-20 in repetition.If you happened to see a line of laddies selling vegetables drawing your attention by calling amma, ayya  on the side of a railway track you can be sure that you are passing through a village in the suburbs of Coimbatore or Erode, where the train driver invariably obliges the hawkers by stopping for a while in exchange of a basket of farm fresh vegetables. The arrival of Avadi station can be easily  recognised if you hear the hooting of sirens in different pitch and tunes. In Lal Bagh garden it is the chirping of birds when they come to roost at dusk.The appeal of the women fish vendors in different markets in Kerala can force any one to make a deal.

    In every call, irrespective of the tune and pitch there is one thing in common.A struggle for survival and self reliance and expression of respective social culture.