Africa-Press – Mauritius. Like the rest of the island, Port-Louis is covered with a gray coat, clouds that take nothing away from the good mood of the people in the street. Around the market, street vendors have reinvested the main street.
Less numerous than in the past, they are mainly merchants of imported fruits – oranges, apples, pears, plums and grapes. These are unlikely to grow income that will allow them to put up a four-story building in the future.
Not very long ago, the noise pollution due to the presence of too many so-called ‘travelling’ merchants described as ‘fixed’ ended up irritating the public.
In a style all his own, the then Prime Minister, the late Sir Anerood Jugnauth promised to take the bulls by the horns saying aloud: ‘mo pou fer zot fone’.
This was done immediately in 2015. Instead of a bullfight, there was a game of cat and mouse with the police before a semblance of discipline was established.
Over time, a bit of indulgence during the holiday season ends up bringing tolerance for a little nuisance to which motorists invite themselves in the middle of a crowded street.
While appealing to passers-by, merchants place bets, even challenges, on the results of the major sporting event: the World Cup. The advertisement on ‘our teams’ has won many minds.
A whole art of Mauritianizing, of making “own” what is foreign, a bit like “Cheddar, a taste of Mauritius”. Essential in the commercial landscape of the district, the semi-wholesale retain a local clientele who find their account well.
Sold in variable quantities at the customer’s will, rice, flour, dried grains, various spices, dried fish and dried ourites are cheaper than in the supermarket. Also exhibited in bulk, the good old bomli is one of the foodstuffs offered by the food tradition.
The bizarre little river snake-like animal is presented in skeletal form; the open and clenched jaws testify to its agony before the killing of its short life and evoke terror in the frozen gaze of its fellows on the high seas. These small animals land in the fishermen’s basket in the shade of the trees in the coastal areas.
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