It is almost like the song about building a parking lot over paradise. The Early Morning Market is in danger of becoming another shopping mall. There have been a few meeting lately and I am a little out of touch with developments as Elections and the IPL cricket have been keeping me occupied. I need to get back down there to see what the story is.The story so far is that there is a market which has been around for some time. Sure it is a little grimy and could use a coat of paint and a good clean. In fact it is so interesting that it should be required visiting by locals and tourists.
I don't know why I am so perturbed about another shopping mall going up. I have a connection with the place having done a story on the trolley guys in the mid nineties and used to shop there as a student as it is dirt cheap. Then there is the 700 or so people who work there. Now they may not make a killing or pay the kind of rental that the big chains will. They do not have the branding and marketing associated with the 'market leaders'. But they are real people who enjoy the company of customers, and are making a living there.
It is a really interesting place and Durban would be a poorer city without it.
