Abstract
The street is a metaphor for the urban in India (Ahuja, 1997; Edensor, 1998). Understanding the urban is incomplete without understanding the street. The vendor is a ubiquitous presence. In Delhi, where hawkers and vendors ply, the street is a diverse geography of everyday uses. Street life — its bustle and complexity — is manoeuvred by the vendor in a jostle of negotiated interests.
‘What is the name of this street?’ ‘The name of this street is Street.’ ‘How would I ask someone to come and meet me here then?’ ‘Aah, you say come near the pulla, or near the cemetery, or the market, and so on.’
(Conversations with a shop owner in Dakshinpuri, Delhi, September 2013)
A couple of months later… ‘When was this sign put up?’ ‘Oh, a few days ago.’ ‘Why name it Maharshi Valmiki Marg? ‘Oh, a large number of Valmikis live here. It’s elections time.’
(Conversation with resident, on seeing a name for the street, finally, a night before Delhi Assembly Elections, December 2013)
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© 2015 Amlanjyoti Goswami
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Goswami, A. (2015). Where the Street Has No Name: Reflections on the Legality and Spatiality of Vending. In: The City in Urban Poverty. EADI Global Development Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137367433_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137367433_9
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