Chor Bazaar, Mumbai


Chor Bazaar is one of the largest flea markets in India, located near Bhendi Bazaar in Grant Road, South Mumbai,. The area is one of the tourist attractions of Mumbai. The word chor means thief in Marathi and Hindi. According to popular legend, if you lose anything in Mumbai you can buy it back from the "Chor Bazaar".
In modern times, Chor Bazaar is said to sell mostly second-hand goods rather than stolen goods. The market is now famous for antique and vintage items. A store called Mini Market offers old Bollywood posters for sale. Others offer authentic Victorian furniture, replacement parts for automobiles, etc. Although bargains are sometimes staggering, haggling is considered mandatory. This is basically an "organized" flea market, where one has to rummage through junk to find what one wants.
A popular story about the origin of the name of the market is that a violin and some other belongings of Queen Victoria went missing while being unloaded from her ship while on a visit to Bombay, and were later found for sale in the "thieves' market".

In Popular Culture

The market has been mentioned in popular novels, including Rohinton Mistry's Such a Long Journey, where it is described as "not a nice place". The Spool Man - A short documentary about a Chor Bazaar shop-keeper, directed by Daniel Ifans, produced by We Are Tilt. Official Selection at Ethnografilm Film festival 2019.