On a Friday evening, if you are around Pallavaram, take some time out and visit the Pallavaram Sandhai or Friday shandy. It is a weekly rural market that attracts people from far and wide. Apparently, the market is 182-year-old and dates back to the days of Freedom Struggle. As early as 1800s, soldiers bought animals from traders here but now the produce of the market has undergone a sea change to suit needs of the people.
It is held on the Old Trunk Road just beside the newly built PVR Cinemas. Covering a gigantic stretch of two kilometres, this sandhai has anything and everything you can think of. For a first-time visitor, the market is almost like a wonderland. It has widespread varieties of vegetables, fruits, plants, seeds, stationaries, homemade pickles, dresses, mobiles, furniture items and anything else you can think of.
As you take the walk along the Trunk Road, you will be amazed at the variety of products that are lined up. They even sell second-hand books at a much lower price. You can also find stalls selling rare varieties of athars, that attract you from a distance; exotic antiques like pocket watches, bronze trays, telescopes, cameras and many other trinkets.
But before you go, keep two things in mind - try working on your haggling skills and you will come back with really good deals and Chennai does not have many makeshift markets with such wide variety of products, so do keep a fair amount of time handy for this novel experience.
Location : Pallavaram Friday Market (Shandy), 1/23, Old Trunk Rd, Sriperumbudu, Pallavaram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600043
