My last stop before I fly back home from a holiday is always the fresh produce market. And when it is the incredible Iewduh in Shillong, Meghalaya — one of the largest and busiest markets in the Northeast — one must bring cloth shopping bags and an open mind. The sheer variety of wild foraged produce is mind-boggling. Then there are the seasonal sources of protein: silkworms, snails, grasshoppers, and the like.
Spring in Shillong is all sorts of beautiful and the market is thronging with people and produce. The local Khasis and people from the Jaintia and Garo hills have set up shops in the narrow alleys. I love the hustle: hawkers with carts piled high with local greens and herbs, woven cane baskets packed to the brim with rice, overturned crates serving as low tables, sacks spilling over with fresh turmeric, and brightly lit shops full of vegetables, fruits, spices and meats. There is a constant buzz of conversation and banter, all in a language that I don’t understand, which feels strangely liberating.
