*  INTRODUCTION
    (i)    These two chapters focus on aspects of life and commercial cycles associated with markets.
    (ii)    While some of these processes may be visible and, therefore, easily observable, there are also others that are relatively unfamiliar. 
    (iii)    In Chapter ‘Markets Around Us’, at one level, we study different market sites:-
        (a)     a weekly market, 
        (b)     neighbourhood shops,
        (c)    a shopping complex, etc. 
    (iv)    At another level, we explore the intricate questions as-
        ‘How do goods reach these markets?’ We examine how a chain of markets operates and  the role of wholesale markets within this. 
        (See NCERT Case Study of a wholesale vegetable Market)


*    WHAT IS A MARKET ?
    (i)    We usually associate ‘market’ with marketplaces, but buying and selling takes place in diverse ways. 
    (ii)    Markets offer people different opportunities. 
    (iii)    This is done through the ‘story of a shirt’, and the chain of markets involved in the process.

*    MARKET AROUND US
    We go to the market to buy many things – 
    (i)     vegetables,                   (ii)     soap,     
    (iii)     toothpaste,                 (iv)     masala, 
    (v)     bread,                         (vi)      rice, 
    (vii)     dal,                            (viii)   clothes, 
    (ix)     notebooks,                 (x)     biscuits, etc. 

*   TYPES OF MARKETS
    There are many kinds of markets that we may visit for our everyday needs:-     
    (i)    shops,                                             (ii)    hawkers,
    (iii)    stalls in our neighbourhood,         (iv)    a weekly market, 
    (v)    a large shopping complex,            (vi)    perhaps even a mall. 

*    WEEKLY MARKET
    (i)    A weekly market is so called because it is held on a specific day of the week. 
    (ii)    Weekly markets do not have permanent shops. 
    (iii)    Traders set up shops for the day and then close them up in the evening. 
    (iv)    Then they may set up at a different place the next day. 

*    WHY ARE MANY THINGS IN WEEKLY MARKETS AVAILABLE AT     CHEAPER     RATES ? BECAUSE
    When shops are in permanent buildings, they incur a lot of expenditure -
    (i)    They have to pay rent, electricity, fees to the government. 
    (ii)    Pay wages to their workers. 
    (iii)    These shop owners store the things they sell at home. 
    (iv)    They are helped by their family members and, do not need to hire workers. There is competition among the shopkeepers. 

*    ADVANTAGE OF WEEKLY MARKETS
    (i)    One of the advantages of weekly markets is that most things you need are available at one place. 
    (ii)    Whether you want vegetables, groceries or cloth items, utensils – all of them can be found here. 
    (iii)    You do not have to go to different areas to buy different things. People also prefer going to a market where they have a choice and a variety of goods.

*   SHOPS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
    (i)    We have seen that the weekly markets offer a variety of goods. 
    (ii)    However, we also buy things from other kinds of markets.     
    (iii)    There are many shops that sell goods and services in our neighbourhoods. 
    (iv)    We may buy milk from the dairy, groceries from departmental stores, stationery, eatables or medicines from other shops. 
    (v)    Many of these are permanent shops, while others are roadside stalls such as that of the vegetable hawker, the fruit vendor, the mechanic, etc. 

*    HOW ARE SHOPS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD USEFUL ?
    (i)    They are near our home and we can go there on any day of the week. 
    (ii)    Usually, the buyer and seller know each other and these shops also provide goods on credit.
    (iii)    This means that you can pay for the purchases later, as we saw in Sujata’s case, for example,98 Social and Political Life Why do you think the guard wanted to stop Kavita and Sujata from entering the shop? 

*   SHOPPING COMPLEXES AND MALLS
    (i)    There are other markets in the urban area that have many shops, popularly called shopping complexes. 
    (ii)    These days, in many urban areas, you also have large multi-storeyed air-conditioned buildings with shops on different floors, known as malls. In these urban markets, you get both branded  and non-branded goods. 
    (iii)    Branded goods are expensive, often promoted by advertising and claims of      better quality. 
    (iv)    The companies producing these products sell them through shops in large urban markets and,at times, through special showrooms. 
    (v)    As compared to nonbranded goods, fewer people can afford to  buy branded ones.

*    CHAIN OF MARKET

                         

*   MARKET EVERYWHERE
    (i)    We can place orders for a variety of things through the phone and these days through the Internet, and the goods are delivered at your home.
    (ii)    In clinics and nursing homes, you may have noticed sales representatives waiting for doctors.
    (iii)    Such persons are also engaged in the selling of goods. 
    (iv)    Thus, buying and selling takes place in different ways, not necessarily through shops in the market.

*   MARKET AND EQUALITY
    (i)    In this chapter, we have looked at shop owners in an weekly market and those in a shopping     complex. 
    (ii)    They are very different people. 
    (iii)    One is a small trader with little money to run the shop whereas the other is able to spend a lot of money to set up the shop. 
    (iv)    They also earn unequal amounts. 
    (v)    The weekly market trader earns little compared to the profit of a regular shop owner in a shopping complex.
    (vi)    Similarly, buyers are differently placed. 
    (vii)    There are many who are not able to afford the cheapest of goods while others are busy shoppping in malls. 
    (viii)    Thus, whether we can be buyers or sellers in these different markets depends, among other things, on the money that we have. 
    (ix)    We have also examined the chain of markets that is formed before goods can reach us. 
    (x)    It is through this chain that what is produced in one place reaches people everywhere. 
    (xi)    When things are sold, it encourages production and new opportunities are created for people to earn. 
    (xii)    However, do they offer equal opportunities? We will try to understand this through the story of a shirt in the next chapter. 

Illustration - 1
    What do you mean by Weekly market ?

Solution
    These markets are not daily markets but are to be found at a particular place on one or maybe two days of the week. These markets most often sell everything that a household needs ranging from vegetables to clothes to utensils. 

Illustration - 2
    What is a Mall?
Solution
    This is an enclosed shopping space. This is usually a large building with many floors that has shops, restaurants and, at times, even a cinema theatre. These shops most often sell branded products.

Illustration - 3
    What do you mean by Wholesale?

Solution
    This refers to buying and selling in large quantities. Most products, including vegetables, fruits and flowers have special wholesale markets.

Illustration - 4
    Define Chain of markets?

Solution
    A series of markets that are connected like links in a chain because products pass from one market to another.