A Morning at the Pasar Tani
"Pasar Tani" literally mean "Farmers Market" . It's basically a once-a-week open air market. The produce
is suppose to be much fresher than in the normal wet market or supermarket. It is suppose to be cheeper too.
It does not matter where the "Pasar Tani" is, and there are usually a few locations, simply hordes of people will
flock to it to do their shopping. The traders will move from one location to another every day, so there is
most likely a "Pasar Tani" going on somewhere at any day of the week. But the big ones are, without doubt,
the ones at the weekends.
"Pasar Tani" I believe is organized by a semi-government agency, and all the traders are regestered with them.
What I'd like to know is where do they get those cool umbrellas!
It usually starts at the crack of dawn and keeps on going till midday. And the early bird catches the worm
allright. If you come late your choice will ost likely have been drastically reduced.
The morning mist still lingers even with the apparently bright sunlight. And the ladies will allways find time for
a quick chinwag with friends that have chanced to meet. It's most likely you'll meet someone you know at the
"Pasar Tani", so leave a little bit of time for socializing.
It's never just the ladies that goes to the market. And it's not just the ladies that have the chinwagging session.
These pictures were taken of a saturday morning, so the shoppers are a liitle bit more relaxed. In Malaysia, some
companies work on saturday mornings. The banks are all open and in that respect, the weekend starts after 1.00 pm
saturday. Bit of a drag!
Everyone goes to the "Pasar Tani". From the upper to the lower income group, we all shop here.
From the young to the matured.
"Pasar Tani" has not been in existance for very long but I'm sure it is here to stay and becomes one of the new suburban
cultures in Malaysia.
Lest we forget... poverty in the midst of plenty.
Pictures and Writing by Saiful