Micro Area

Hello everybody ,

Today I am going to talk about an important part of my college assignment - ' The Micro Area'
 Firstly let me introduce the term to all of you so that you can be familiar with it... According to our studies Micro area has to be a particular area or we can say a problem area from which we have to find scope for the proposition of new and better design Ideas in such a way that it gives way more beneficial results that its current state. As I continue to discuss about my Micro Area I hope you will have a clear idea.

Their is this interesting fact about Tibetans , They are very happy living people with least complains ! So it was really not that easy to guess their problems ! :D So basically a problem that really strike me is its 'Awareness' I mean I am sure most of the people have not heard of the place before and I was also one of them until I got my research area . So this according to me seemed as an ugly drawback because as it is their business has deteriorated over the years due to online shopping,other markets etc and when thought of advertising the market online the shopkeepers were reluctant to this Idea. So instead I thought I could do something different to create it awareness and I would like to note that down for you guys.

So my micro area is a restaurant named 'Zakhang' which is located upstairs of the shops.
I planed to work on its ambiance selecting Tibetan theme and also introduce some Tibetan street foods along with stylized menu cards. Themed restaurants are very much in trend nowadays also people have become more inclined towards enjoying a good ambiance. So keeping all this in mind I can say the 'Themed Restaurant could act like another reason for customers to come and take a look in the market.

For completing my project I decided to make graphics of Tibetan artifacts as I also have some limitations that is The owners were hesitant to spend a big amount of money on materialistic things . I also designed some layouts of stylized menu cards.

I will upload some of my works . I hope you guys like it : )

                                                              Stylised Menu card

Graphics Depicting Tibetan Artifacts

                                                   

It was very nice sharing my experience with all of you and I learned so much ! Here I come to an end with my blogs but I will surely be back with a new topic any suggestions from your side are openly accepted... Thank You so much. Good Bye-Shiavngkita.

Stakeholders....

Hey Everyone ... I hope all of you guys are keeping well ... I have been thinking about something for a few days and because I consider this as an interactive platform So before starting with anything I want to share it with you all... so I don't really know how to say this as I don't intend to make it formal but I have always been asking you guys to keep a track on my blog posts so I really want to know that are my posts really helping any of you because apart from it being a part of my assignment this is also something for me that I am learning from so I feel If you people give some suggestions of Topics or anything that you feel , could be great because may be by some help from your side I can come up with more better blogs in future for you and make your life might be a little easier :)

 So avoiding any further delays :p lets get started with our topic today which is 'Social Culture' of The Monastery Market.
By social Culture I mean the kind of crowd - starting from shopkeepers , to customers and others who are a part of the place.

So basically People of different age groups visit here but mostly Men and women of age 35 - 45 work here but the proportion of exceeding the mentioned age group is very very less because mostly the business are ancestral and has been passed down so Shopkeepers are not very aged .

 On having conversations with the shopkeepers mostly all were undergraduates and high school pass but there were also few of them who were graduates and some of them who unfortunately could not have the chance to receive education . Therefore the proportion could be 70:20:10.

Coming to the customers and population of the place
The market offers collection for teenagers mainly and also kids . But it is almost very rare that kids are seen here shopping . But yes people do come to buy kids' clothes but there can be no approximity given on age group of people in this case . Secondly there are other markets which have more variety of collection and sell women's' clothing so during my visit I spotted absolutely no teenage girl coming to shop here but on asking a few people they said it is very rare so approximately the percentage could be 3 to 5 % . Mostly men' population dominate the percentage ( 70 % ) though only a few teenage boys (from near by universities and area, age group 16 to 24) are seen shopping here that to in weekends.

Image showing Pie Chart Of the products sold in
'The Monastery Market' 

So basically this is a rough graph of the kind of people that surround the area . Thank you so much for bearing with me ! :) I'll soon be back with a new post... till then stay healthy and do
keep a track! thank you :)

Sight Illustration....

                                                                 VISUAL CULTURE

Hello everybody , I am back with a new blog post so today I am going to talk about the visual culture
of my research area . By visual culture I mean the things that one would see or notice in a particular
area . As you read further the concept would be more clear.

From tourists to college students,the market and also the areas around are always flooded with people. But nowadays the crowd is not that big as the business has deteriorated to a small extent over the years.

So the first thing that one observes on visiting the market ares is the Buddhist flags all around the place . On roof tops , residences , bridge etc these flags are seen everywhere. So the first question that came to my mind is why are these flags all over, I mean I am sure we all have quite often noticed the flags hanged all over mostly in Buddhist areas but never really questioned why so after trying to find out it came to my knowledge that according to the beliefs these flags carry forward the prayers in the air and the more faded it becomes the more prayers are carried forward.

Image depicts - A small bridge near Monastery Market
Source - Visual Diary

Once we have entered the market we see that the area is pretty crowded but that depends on which day we have visited because Sunday the crowd is lot more than rest of the week days.As I already mentioned about the scenario and atmosphere of the place (link) I would now like to depict it to you guys via basic illustration so that you can have a basic idea.

Entrance of Monastery Market
Source : Visual Diary

Nowadays crowd near a shop in Monastery Market
Source : Visual Diary
So moving on there are other little things that I noticed inside the market place which are, firstly the tailors-their is this peculiar thing the tailors do not have proper shops they work in an open area close to any store and clothes and whatever materials he require are scattered all around.I say this because if things for theme were organised it would be easier for them to work and with a bit less pressure keeping in mind the chaos and commotion in the market.

'Tailors' in Monastery Market
Source : Visual Diary

so secondly, By now I hope we all are familiar with this that the usp of the market is good quality products available at cheap prices.The brands are not genuine and the first hand copy is sold.So although the market offers product in economic range. It does not allow bargain. 

Boards displaying 'Fixed Rate'
are almost noticed in most of the shops
Source : Visual Diary

Third, There are three complexes inside the market-one that has men' collection , second which is the kids' wear and third which certainly has both though only men' collection dominate the lot.

Complexes inside Monastery Market
Source : Visual Diary

fourth,There is a system which is followed.Normally we see that either are open shops or the shops have particular names but in the monastery market shops are named in a particular series

Image justifying the above statement
Source : Visual Diary

So basically these are the things that I noticed while my visit to The Moastery Market. I hope you guys find this useful. I will soon come up with another culture in my next blog post . Till then have a great time and don't forget to keep a track ! :) 

.

Products the Market has to offer.....

Hello everybody... As I mentioned in my previous post I am going to talk about the various cultures associated with the Tibetan or the Monastery market.
There are three kinds of culture here we are talking about, which is Product culture (things which are sold in the market),Visual Culture (kind of visuals that one has on the mind after visiting the market) and Social Culture (The kind people around i.e, the Stakeholders)

PRODUCT CULTURE

A page from my Visual Diary depicting the key products sold in the market.

The Tibetan market offers an impressive collection of winter clothing. Home made woolen clothes are specially brought to the market and sold at unbelievable prices.  Apart from these denims, camouflage Pants , leather jackets.cotton shirts are sold in huge masses in all most all the stores in the market.

       

                    

               

                                                        Stores inside the market.

The tibetan market has less of variation and almost similar collections are sold in all the stores. But at a distance of 4.5 km there is a place know as ‘Majnu ka Tila’

Entrance of Majnu ka Tila
(Source : Visual Diary)

Monastery inside 'Majnu ka Tila'

‘Majnu ka Tila’ is a completely unique place in Delhi. It is more like a small Tibet world which has a collection of great antiques.So anyone who wishes to buy antique items shoud approach Majnu ka tila as this place sell unique and typicaly designed antique items like the wooden lamp and different type of Miniatures  especially the buddhist Tangkhas which attract people.

The accessories include head gears . necklace and items like jars used as soveniers painted in different manner. There is ample scope to buy various types of quality stuffs from this market and one might obtain good products in economical ranges if known bargaining.

Examples of the accessories sold in 'Majnu ka Tila'

There is a hotel close to the market named ‘Imperial’. Tourist belt is specially located nearby northern side of Imperial Hotel where tourists and locals arrive . This is the key point for shopping special items from iridescent mirrorwork textiles to good unique and colorful shawls and brass items. Some other attractions like psychedelic  printed T-shirts and impressive earrings are excellent selections like-trinkets that attract people.

THE FOOD CULTURE

One can explore some of the best home food flavors of Tibet once inside this market. The market offers several special retraunts that offer Tibetan food. The ‘Monastry Market’ has a resturant named ‘Zakhang’. Other resturants like ‘Zomsa’ and ‘Shakura’ also specialises in   Tibetan food.

Coming to ‘Majnu ka Tila’,the place has local stops that offers a tibetan food called ‘laping or laughing’ It is a unique dish for first time visitors. The food service in the market makes one feel the essence of Tibet.

Tibetan Street food,'laping or laughing'

Basicaly this is what the market has to offer to its cutomers. I will be soon back with a new post which will talk abot the next culture that is Visual culture. Till then have a great time and don't forget to keep a track! see ya :)

B

b

A look through the market....

...............until their Eventual return, ring a bell?

Hello everybody, As I said in my last post,today I am going to introduce you people to a small Tibetan world which is in Delhi! So it is a market area located under the arch of ISBT Shahdara Link flyover and is known as "The Monastery Market" or "The Tibetan Market".
The nearest metro station is the Kashmiri Gate metro station at distance of 2.5 km.

Initially the location was a residential colony to a lot of Tibetan refugees but gradually it developed into a decent running business place and is now a shopping destination in Delhi!

Talking about its atmosphere and scenario of the place - It is a busy crowded area with majority of Tibetans. The market does not occupy too much of a large space of land but it is not too small either it is a compact market area surrounded by Tibetan residential colonies. Unlike other market places this market does not hold a huge crowd from the beginning of the day till the end. But there are a few days in the week when there are a lot of customers dropping in at this place.

The entrance is like a narrow lane with shops and stores on both sides.Each shop is attached to the next shop with almost no gap in between and also their is a residential complex upstairs of the market mostly owned by business men or people working in the market.Huge masses of Denims,Camouflage pants,Leather Jackets is the very first thing that one notices on entering the market.

The market is richly famous for men's collection and it hardly sells ladies' or kids' collection except for one or two shops .

Mainly the market is known for its impressive collection of winter clothing. Homemade woolen clothes are especially brought to the market and sold at unbelievable prices. It is quite budget friendly or we might say really inexpensive market for the quality that one gets. There are mainly two reasons for this 1.) The sellers keep their profit margin 5% to 10%

             2.)They are exempted from paying the tax to the government.

The products that are available in the market are exported mainly from Bangalore,Karnataka and Mumbai also domestic areas like Karol Bagh also exports here.

So basically this was an overview about the market place. I hope you guys find it useful reading ! I'll be soon back with my next post that is going to touch the culture of the area! Till then keep fine and surely keep a track! thank you :)

The Initial Brief..

It all started in 1959.
The Tibetan uprising or 1959 Tibetan rebellion began on 10th March 1959, when a revolt erupted in Lhasa the capital of Tibet Area. During this time the 14th Dalai Lama and some of his government fled to India. From 1959-1960 about 80,000 Tibetans followed the Dalai Lama to India through Himalayas.The Indian government (PM-Jawaharlal Nehru) agreed to provide all assistance to the Tibetan refugees to settle in India until their Eventual return.

Hello everyone... This is Shivangkita and I'am here to share my experience of being able to discover a small little Tibetan world in Delhi. Yes you read that right :) so as I already mentioned in my very first blog (https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6757371314802952884#allposts/src=sidebar) that my blog subjects do not follow any particular genre and I will mostly write about anything that interests me... therefore here I am with a completely different subject and this time it is a particular AREA that I was very very keen to explore.

So basically the research work has been given by my institution (Pear Academy,Noida)
While some of you might just lose the interest thinking that a college project would only mean lot of work and no fun, I am here to burst the bubble. I, along with my group members, got our attendance marked, had a hurried cup of coffee, and lo and behold! we were out in a market, with lot of work and no less fun. well, this blog of mine is about my little "studious" excursions to the area and what and how I dealt with the people, the subject, and my own apprehensions.

I guess you guys must be wondering about the first bit of the intro and also guessing a lot of places... but I think I would like that to be a suspense for all of you until I mention about it in my next post! :D
So see you until next time.. keep a track and have a great time ! :)