Why should you head to Talao pali this weekend?

The heart of Thane is slowly transforming even as it offers winter goodies

Two weeks ago, after I posted a video of seagulls at Talao Pali, Sejal Mukherjee, a fellow Urbania resident at Azziano, went there but could not spot those birds. In response, I had guided him on the places where you could easily view seagulls at Talao pali.

This morning, after I parked my car on my weekly shopping at Jambhali Naka, I spotted seagulls on a fountain frame at the lake. After that, I walked around the lake and found many seagulls all around. 

You see numerous seagulls at the lake's immersion ghat, where people feed the birds. On my walk, I also found seagulls on the new railings along Station Road.

The row of seagulls along the lakeshore mesmerized me, and like some others, I clicked them on my Smartphone. I have also written earlier about seagulls in a freshwater lake, one of Thane'sThane's specialties. You can now see flocks of seagulls floating on water or feeding or sitting on structures in and around the lake. Far from the sea or Thane creek, you can get to see seagulls, which are gregarious birds that do not fly away when you get close to clicking them.

Thane Smart City Limited (TSCL) is busy sprucing up Talao pali environs. In front of the St. John the Baptist Church, they have already made seating and laid the footpath. They are working on the remaining stretches. The lakeshore seating in granite is attractive, and many lake visitors already use those. 

TSCL'sTSCL's lake sprucing project has been on for a long time (https://thanesmartcity.in/maunda-lake-bauttification/) and should get over in 2021.

On TSCL project completion, Talao pali lake will have a walkway around, seating, street food places (khau Gali kiosk), and selfie points. Regular morning walkers see the lake's changes daily, and you can go and see the progress now. 

Urbania residents shopping at Jambhali Naka would have shared with you their recent experiences at that market. In winter, the vegetable market is flush with variety and large quantities, which put the vendors in a good mood.

For the past couple of months, Jambhali Naka has a surplus of common winter vegetables. You see large mounds of cabbage, cauliflower, capsicum, carrots, French beans, peas, and more. The local winter vegetables, papdi, purple yam, and other vegetables that grow below soil were common a few months ago and are not arriving now. The famous winter dish undhiyo's ingredients all arrive in the market around this time. An unusual vegetable, the chayote squash, arrives at the market from Bangalore this season. You will also find some vendors selling raw jack fruit, and they skin it and give it to you as you will find it difficult to handle wax in that vegetable at your home.

Vendors were selling cabbages and cauliflowers at twenty a piece but now have increased the price to thirty rupees apiece. Both these cruciferous vegetables grow easily and pest-free in winter, and you should buy them now because you can be certain they have a low pesticide load. When farmers grow these two crops in summer, the diamondback moth is common, leading farmers to spray heavy doses of pesticides that remain in what we buy at the market. Pesticides are one reason to buy vegetables in season and not through the year or in the offseason.

Green peas and carrots have been plenty and cheap this year. 

Green peas are still just thirty rupees a kilogram, a price rare for this vegetable.

Some months ago, you could see Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) would go around Jambhali Naka looking for people not wearing face masks and find them, but I have not seen that squad in recent weeks. Some people now wear masks, many do not, and even those who wear them have it on their chins! Right now, it isn't easy to imagine that this bustling market was closed for many weeks during India'sIndia's COVID-19 lockdowns from March to May 2020.

Jambhali Naka vendors promote buying higher quantities, and the price of one kilogram of vegetables not at double of half a kilogram, but just one third more! Pricing varying quantities of different prices is a peculiar feature of the market. Also, as they have surplus stock, vendors casually hand over the entire quantity you picked even though the quantity is higher than what you are paying.

The staples of Indian kitchens, tomatoes, potatoes, and onions, are now easily available. I have seen smaller potatoes arrive regularly now at Jambhali Naka. The tomatoes are larger and of better quality, and they too grow better in winter, and the crop has lesser pest attacks this season. 

I think one reason for the potato shortage in lockdown was excess consumption by Indians staying at home. People ate cooked potatoes and potato chips as a coping mechanism in a stressful period.

This year I have been shopping for fruits regularly at Jambhali Naka and have a favorite vendor in one of the by-lanes. This vendor helps me pick my choice and offers larger, better quality fruit from boxes at his stall. This vendor sells juicy and sweet, south African pears, which are one of the best fruits of any kind. I also bring papaya from this vendor each weekend for Sunday use.

Indian apples are also available now at Jambhali Naka. 

Till recently, the market also was receiving large stocks of Nagpur oranges. You can see pushcart vendors with hundreds of oranges along the Ghodbunder road now daily.

The all-cash Jambhali Naka market is a must-see Thane place. 

It leads off to neighboring areas with places of worship, grocery stores, street food, and, in short, old Thane, which is different from anything you see west of the Eastern Express Highway.

Make a trip soon to Talao pali to view the lakefront work, see seagulls, and complete your shopping while there from the Jambhali Naka market.