Once in a week Haat bazaar

M alls and convenience stores have more or less done away with the idea of “community    living”. Take in the scenery at a higher altitude for a change: Consumers, essentially villagers, walk for hours on end to reach the weekly haat bazaar, joyfully weighing and debating over the scarce goods on display. At the bazaar near Phaplu in Sagarmatha district, dreamy-eyed Sherpa children eye the rare greens and fruits their parents are getting. At a relatively low altitude, this Saturday bazaar has a lot more on offer than say the bazaar in Namche – popularly known as the gateway to Everest - where every Friday, the bazaar comes alive with villagers choosing everything from rice grains to clothing and shoes. This is healthy consumption – quite literally.