Borderline bazaar

It8217;s noon, but there is not a soul in sight as we begin our walk down the wide street. The roomy shops too seem deserted. We enter one and are pleasantly surprised to see a middle-aged woman with sindoor. 8220;Are you from India?8221; I ask her. 8220;No, Nepal,8221; she says. It is a big shop selling all kinds of electronic goods. And it8217;s run by an all-woman team of mother, daughter and daughter-in-law. They moved here from Nepal about 20 years ago. We ask them about the business and they frown. Radhika, the daughter, says there has been a slump ever since the government set up a market on its border with Moreh in 8217;97. 8220;Now most Indians buy goods from the border bazaar and don8217;t come here.8221;

The market came into existence after India and Myanmar signed a pact to open a stretch of border in 8217;97. Called Gate No. 2 by customs officials, it remains open from 5 am to 5pm every day and allows people from both countries free access up to 40 km into one another8217;s territory. Although there is an immigration counter at the gate and you need a pass to visit Tamu, the authorities are amazingly liberal. A woman immigration official posted there had her back to us when we entered through the smallish gate. She was in the same position when we left a good three hours later.

The market on the Myanmar side is chock-full of goods from China, prompting fears that after flooding Europe and the US with its goods, the red giant is now turning to India. There seems to be some truth in this, for no one buys Indian goods in Imphal any longer. Even the juices and cigarettes are made in China. And why not? At prices half of those charged in India, they are quite a steal. Interestingly, Manipuris remained untouched by the onion crisis in India last year as they bought their quota from Myanmar.

Customs officials, who are kept away from Gate No. 2, resent this fr-ee flow. Their superintendentat Moreh, who sits a stone8217;s throw away from the Myanmar market, says that though the government has okayed only some edibles as it-ems for trading, most people are bu-ying electronics and blankets. 8220;It8217;s nothing but smuggling,8221; he fumes.

But what is never mentions is the heroin and sex tr-ade. Forty per cent of the world8217;s heroin reportedly makes its way to the West through this border. The sup-erintendent blames it on the dense jungle and abse-nce of any fencing. We ask Radhika, and she frowns. 8220;No one wants to talk about it.8221; She is right. Sex also comes cheap on the border. A Myanmarese commercial sex worker we met claimed to be making only Rs 30 a day.

But it8217;s not these things alone that attract people to Tamu. There are some who come here only to savour pure8217; Chinese fare. My companion is one of them. So am I, I discover, as we wolf down some yummy preparations from Yunan and head back to India.

Manraj Grewal travelled in the Northeast on a National Foundation of India fellowship