THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A salted mango and a glass of buttermilk; a taste that would immediately take one to his/her childhood. This potpourri of tastes makes journey through Bypass road enjoyable to the motorists these days. A number of makeshift shops have cropped up in this area selling salted fruit items. They also sell buttermilk, a temptation hard to resist during a journey. There are usually more than five such shops on a one-kilometre stretch. Some of them even sell small packets of pickles to the travellers. Most of the tented shops have come up in the past 5-6 months. A halt on the Bypass Road is a habit for most travellers now. Most of the sellers are local people. One such seller, Kavitha, said that she started the shop seeing the popularity of salted fruit items. All products in Kavitha’s stall would be sold out whenever there is a driving test on the ground near the Bypass Road. “We usually sell salted mangoes, gooseberry, ‘lovi-lovi’, etc. Small packets of pickled fish, lemon and carrots are other hot favourites. Each packet costs ` 10. The popularity rises during summer season,” says Kavitha. The seller collects fruit items from Chalai market. Buttermilk is often a great refresher for the motorists, especially when temperature soars in the city. The makeshift shops on the roadsides are quickly becoming a travellers’ delight.SNACKSRed, orange and yellow glass cubes. Some resembling Colosseum of Rome, some a hill, some flowers. If not charmed by the sight of piled sweets, the smell would tempt you. The smell of sweets and snacks are so appealing that you will end up buying something during a walk through the footpath in Karamana. Karamana can be considered an abode of sweets and snacks in the city. The proximity of Brahmin streets might be the reason for the accumulation of confectioneries in the area. Sweet lovers from various parts of the city opt for shops in Karamana. Lovers of homemade snacks and sweets in the city would probably take a ride either to Valiyasala or Pallichal. Both in Valiyasala and Pallichal, a group of families has been engaged in sweet-snack making for years. There are commercial production of sweets and snacks in Killipalam and Aryasala. Sweets of both south Indian and north Indian varieties are available, while snacks are mostly south Indian. Festive season are heydays for these shops.
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