A Village Market Composition : A village market is a very common place in our country. Bangladesh is a land of villages in Asia. Every big village has a village market, big or small. It is a place where the village people come/meet from different rural areas for buying and selling their necessary commodities of daily use. The villagers cannot do even a single day without a village market. It plays a vital role to the rural economy. It is the backbone of the village economy and decent life.
Where sit : A village market sits in an open place. Generally it sits under a big tree by the side of a road or on the bank of a river or a canal so that the villagers can easily go there in all the seasons of the year.
Kinds : There are two kinds of village markets like hat and bazar. A bazar sits every day in the morning and breaks up before mid-day/noon. A hat sits once or twice in a week in the afternoon and breaks up before sunset.
Arrangement of shops : A village market has three parts like open space, temporary shops and permanent shops. In the open space, the sellers sit in rows. Fish, milk, fruits, vegetables, betel leaves and nuts are sold here. In the temporary sheds (shops) oil, ghee, rice, flour, salt, sugar, pepper etc are sold. The permanent shops are also arranged in rows. Some are grocers, tailors, doctors, potters etc. They sit in the permanent shops/sheds. The tea-stalls are also in the permanent sheds. There is a great haggling between the buyers and the sellers in a fish market.
Utility : The village market is very useful to the villagers. Many people earn their daily bread by selling goods here. The villagers can easily get their necessary goods of daily use. They can buy fresh things at a cheap rate here. They need not go to the towns. They exchange their views and ideas here. Marriage discussions are also held in a village market. The local leaders settle up the small disputes here. It is a meeting place of the common people of the rural areas. A village market helps the villagers to become closer. It also strengthens unity and good harmony among the villagers. It removes the monotony of the village life.
Demerits : A village market has some drawbacks too. It is very dirty in summer and very muddy in the rainy season. It is very noisy too; sometimes, haggling leads quarrels, customers are cheated and shopkeepers are oppressed by the local mastans and criminals. Besides, it is a very unhealthy place. There is no proper sanitation system here.
Conclusion : Though a village market has some demerits, it does a great good to the village people in many ways. It saves the valuable time of the villagers. It also saves money. They can easily get goods of daily use. In a word, it is very useful to the villagers in many ways. So, our govt. should take proper steps to improve the condition of the village market for the betterment of the innocent simple minded village people.
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