Upload
others
View
0
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Economy
Prior to Chinese occupatio~ Tibet's economy, though primeval,
was essentially self-contained and presented a structure based
upon a peasant-feudal economy. But the economic structure was
never homogeneous, due to the natural conditions that were
different in different regions. The main occupation of the valley
was farming, inhabitants of mountains lived a nomadic life. There
was a trading class, moving with their caravans as per the
dynamics of demand and supply. Monk-hood in itself organised
as a class. ; and there is the monk-hood. The lay members of the
government formed another division of the population.
For social analysis, one can divide the traditional Tibetan society
into five main classes, clergy, nobility, traders, herders and
peasants. But most of the population depended on agriculture and
animal husbandry as means of livelihood. The secondary sector,
such as carpet-weavers, carpenters, goldsmiths and blacksmiths
are limited in number. Tibet had only a small group of organized
traders, as trading was not a specialized occupation. The two core
subsistence patterns, agriculture and herding, were the results of
the environmental factors. The subsidiary occupations were
forestry, hunting, trade and commerce, service sector, fortune
telling, magic, indigenous medical therapy etc. There were
menials and labourers as well. A privileged few were employed in
131
government services and monastic establishments, many of whom
had grants of agricultural land made to them for which they had to
pay some amount in cash. Table 4.1
Social class of respondents (based on household)
Catagory Number Percentage
Monks&nuns 19 23.75
Nobles & aristocrats 5 6.25
Traders 23 28.75
Peasants 18 22.5
Herdsman 15 18.75
Total 80 100.00
Source: Fieldwork
Tibetologists have observed that the gap between the rich and the
poor was not very wide in the Tibetan society, despite the fact that
the Tibetan economy was basically feudal and medieval in
character. The land tenure system of Tibetan society was feudal.
The state owned the entire land of the country, large chunks of
land were given away by the state to the religious institutions, i.e.
the monasteries, and also to the individuals who did some sort of
service to the state or the society. The beneficiaries on their part
leased their land to the landless labourers. In this arrangement
those who were the owners of land, enjoyed the fruits at the cost
of the serfs. However, only a few commodities are taxed in the
traditional Tibet, there was no land tax, but it was not that the
government was liberal. The poor land-less labourers and
ordinary peasants were exploited by both the government officers
132
and by the monks of monasteries. Their services were absolutely
free as far as government officials and monks were concerned.
Low literacy rate could be one of the reasons for exploitation.
Tibetan people were closed to all progressive ideas, Their blind
faith in the theory of Karma was very suitable to the feudal setup.
But it was not something new, such a system existed throughout
the world, prior to the Industrial Revolution.
Despite the feudal setup, an interesting feature of the Tibetan
economy was its self-contained nature. Due to various reasons the
Tibetan population level remained stable. Hence there was always
excess land in relation to the population. There was excess
production as well, which was stored locally for the rainy days.
Stable population was one of the main reasons for their stable
economic situation. Perhaps, it was one of the contributions of the
social practices of polyandry. The Tibetans in exile, consider that
they were better off in Tibet despite the fact that the land was
poor and unproductive. There was enough food for all and even
though life on the high plateau is hard and austere, there was a
serenity and contentment pervading the life of the individual and
the community.
Tibet is one of the highest plateau of the worl<L and due to the
high altitude, cold-beaten climatic conditions and poor soil, large
tracts of land are un-cultivable. Hence, the agronomy was at
subsistence level. Fanping was done in the river valleys in the
133
south and the east of the country where irrigation water was
available. Barely was the main crop, rice and wheat were also
grown in a limited quantity in the lower and warmer regions of
the country. Among fruits and vegetables, apple, peach, apricot,
pear, walnut and grapes, along with tomatoes, potatoes, onions,
radish and mushrooms were grown in valleys and escarpments.
Small quantities of mustard, maize and beans were also grown in
some regions. Ploughing was done by yak, dzo, or jhabbus, a
cross breed of Indian cow and Tibetan bull.
The available literature on Tibet also shows that Tibet was very
rich in its natural wealth. There were gold, borax, soda, rocksalt,
coal, silver, lime-stone and Shilajit deposits in different parts of
the country. Gold dust was also found in many Tibetan riverbeds.
But it is reported that because of the superstitious fear that the
mining deity would get annoyed. the Tibetan government did
nothing to prospect and explore the mines scientifically for
commercial exploitation and development. "The mineral content
in the land is relatively unexplored. Since many rivers from Tibet
like the Yangtze and the Indus contain gold sands, it is reasonable
to expect Tibet to be rich in gold. Iron, lead, and coal mines have
been found. However, in the absence of any systematic
prospecting, Tibet's mineral riches remain a subject for
speculation. "52
"Shen. Tsung-Lien and Liu, Shen..Chi. Tibet and the Tibetans, Stanford Vniversity Press, Stanford, California, 1953, p. 17.
134
Tibetan economy was self sufficient. They produced their staple
food and wove woolen cloth to wear. They had indigenous leather
· and wood for their clothes, boots and tents and animal bones for
their musical instruments. China and India were two main
countries with which they had trade relationship. Requirements
from outside were principally brick-tea, porcelain, and silk fr9m
Chine, iron, copper, cotton textiles, broadcloth, rice, sugar, and
miscellaneous household goods, mainly from India. They also
imported rice and copper from Nepal. The Tibetan woolen
products used to be exported in large quantities to India. The
major Tibetan export items were wool, thulma (finer type of rug),
carpet, yar-tail, animal skin, jimbu (dried Tibetan onion leaves),
prayer-wheels, mani-slabs, thanka (Tibetan banner-painting
especially of Buddhists deities or Buddhist painted scroll), tusks
of musk-deer, fur, horses, mules, dorikeys, sheep and goats, borax
and salt.
Religion also played direct role in economic activities, it helped
some of the people to earn their livelihood by making relics like
prayer-wheel, rosaries, Buddhist images, thankas, portable shrines
made of gold, silver or copper, chortens, stetuettes, butter-lamps,
mani-cylinders, mani-stones, musical instruments, khatak (cere
monial scarf), hand-printed religious books, amulet-boxes, can
dle-stands and cups meant for religious purposes etc. Religion
was both subject and object of Tibetan art and craft. The business
135
was transacted mainly on the basis of barter. Yet Tibet also had its
national currency with coins of different denominations in
circulation. Paper currency was also reported to have been a part
of the fiscal system. But in matters of trade with the neighboring
countries foreign currency, for instance Indian and Nepalese
currency, was also freely used, especially in the Tibetan border
areas. The periodic trade-marts at different centres were always
very big affairs and of very great importance to the national
economy of Tibet. Several such fairs were held in the border
regions connected with Nepal, Indi~ Chin~ Bhutan etc.
Frequently combining business with religion, the Tibetan
tradesmen operated both within their national boundary and in
other lands like India which offered them the best scope for
combining business with pilgrimage.
Since regular marketing of the produce was not possible the
periodical marts and the occasional trips by the pilgrim-peddlers
filled up this vacuum. As per reports, at these marts merchants
and traders in large numbers used to collect from both sides of the
border. The duration of the marts varied from a fortnight to
sometimes a continuous period of a few months. The bridge
communities on either side of the border greatly facilitated the
functioning of the periodical trade marts. In the past one could see
visiting Chinese and Nepali merchants even at Lhas~ maintaining
cordial relationship with theU: counterparts in Tibet. In fact the
Tibetan merchants from the border areas were very mobile. At
136
times they could be seen coming down to the Indian hills and
plains, to Kalimpong, Siliguri, Calcutta and occasionally even to
the more interior parts. Within their own country the Tibetan
traders moved with their wares from village to village. Their long
caravans could be seen inching their way, fully armed, along the
insecure bridle paths. Tibet began to have some sort of trade
regulations, agreements, conventions and treaties with the neigh
bouring nations only in the second half of the last century. Earlier,
there was no formal trade regulations.
The primitive nature of Tibet's international trade was a part of
the general backwardness of the country. The Tibetan government
had no bank of its own, nor did it control foreign exchange. There
was no restriction on imports and exports; therefore, the exchange
rate fluctuated according to the balance of foreign trade. Markets
were controlled by supply and demand. Trade within Tibet itself
was also controlled to a large _extent by the weather. The Tibetan
trader, however, possessed an inbred business instinct. None
could fail to admire his energy, cleverness and sharp eye for
striking a profitable deal. A large number of Tibetan refugees
have evinced the same aptitude for doing very brisk and profitable
trade in India. In fact most o_f the Tibetan refugees, now engaged
in small trade in India, have been found to possess shrewd
business instinct. It will not be wrong to make the estimate that
business is in the Tibetan blood. It is said that every Tibetan, be a
137
householder or a monk, does some sort of business by way of
selling and buying. 53
Women also played important role in Tibetan economy, "Tibetan
women are free from seclusion, and many of them manage shops
and engage in small retail business while their men-folk take
charge of the commercial dealings which necessitate long and
often arduous journeys. "54 The Tibetan society was of an inter
woven type in which an agriculturist was not exclusively an
agriculturist throughout but at times was given the responsibility
of governmental administration and was also engaged in business.
The same was the case with monks who were of all kinds and
shades, the holy men were also traders, cultivators, servants,
pony-drivers, shoe-makers, cooks, shepherds, high and low
officials as well as religious gurus.
Tibetan monastic economy was also prosperous. The Church in
Tibet was very rich and owned most of the land. It enjoyed the
revenues of enormous estates. Every monastery had its own
dealer, who procured provisions and other necessities. One would
hardly believe what enormous sums were spent on the upkeep of
the monasteries and their inmates. Monasteries also got offerings
from its followers in the shape of cash and kind, such as yaks,
sheep, goats, silver coins and butter etc; Much of peoples' and
53 Pranavananda, Swami, Exploration in Tiba_ Vniversity of Calcutta, 1950, p.120. ~ Moraes, Frank. The Revoh in Tibd, Sterling Publishers (p) Limited, London, 1966, p. 43.
138
government's resources were diverted into monasteries.
According to reports the large monasteries also had fabulous
hoards of wealth in the forms of statues, icons and relics made of
costly metal, lumps of gold and silver, precious gems and stones
and invaluable art treasures. This wealth did not come to any use
at all. At least the common Tibetans did not enjoy any good
accruing from such hoards except for occasional loans and
advances usually of small sums granted by the monasteries to the
common people at times of their need. One of the charges brought
against the Chinese invaders by the Tibetan refugees is that the
Chinese ransacked the monasteries and carried the loot to China,
just as they also seized the hoards of the wealthy individuals and
siphoned off the same to China. In India the newly established
Tibetan monasteries are definitely very impoverished replicas of
those in Tibet.
Some of the Tibetan refugees joined the Tibetan Administration
and some of them joined Indo-Tibetan Border Security Force in
the process of settlement. But very few have taken up domestic or
private jobs. Some of them were. found earning their subsistence
by writing religious books or painting thankas, religious books,
banners and painting, which were all in the traditional pattern and
have been transplanted on the Indian soil. But most of herders had
to change their traditional occupation. Of course in the border
areas of India where pasturage is available there are still some
Tibetan refugee herders who are engaged in their traditional
139
occupation. Initially the Government of India gave same financial
and material support to the Tibetan refugee monks as was being
given to the children and the infirm. But the Government could
not support the monks indefinitely and it was expected that
together with the rest of the Tibetan community, the monks
should also seek to achieve economic self-reliance. In the big land
settlements, it was gathered, the monks had also taken to agri
culture as their pattern of livelihood. Additionally the monks also
performed religious rites for which they were, at least to some
extent, paid by the members of the community. The Tibetan
monks knew it well that the Chinese authorities in the Tibet
considered monks and monasteries a great source of exploitation
of the masses. The Chinese had impugned the Tibetan monks for
doing no work and idling around the monasteries, wasting time in
praying and frittering away money on incense and large quantities
of butter in religious ceremonies. This was a stigma which
evidently the monks wanted to wash off. They appeared to be
very conscious and, as far as possible, keen to become self
supporting. In course of this study it was observed that the monks
were also engaged in trade and business; some of the small-scale
industries were being run and managed along with the lay
refugees by the monks also.
Most of the refugees, whose traditional profession was trade,
continued to be the traders, of course with certain variations. Very
few number of Tibetan refugees are in service. Amongst the
140
nobility, most of them had taken up different types of services in
the Tibetan establishments, a sure way to regain and preserve
their lost status and economic independence. But unlike
traditional order they are .no longer on the driver's seat as they
used to be at Lhasa.
The nature of economic activities also depended on the location
of settlements. In Majnu-ka- tila (Delhi), Clement Town
(Dehradun) and hill stations like Dharamsala. the economic
activities are mainly non-agricultural as these are all urban or
semi-urban settlements, with little scope for agriculture. On the
other hand, in the big refugee settlements in Orissa, Karnataka
and other states, where thousands of Tibetan refugees have been
rehabilitated, there has been almost an exclusive emphasis on
providing the refugees with their most staple occupation at home
i.e. agriculture and various works connected with the agricultural
infra structure of composite and modernized agricultural
settlements.
~Tibetan refugees have not only achieved a fair degree of
economic stability but, as it has been observed, in some cases
even created a kind of business rivalry with the local Indian
businessmen. A majority of the refugees lacked any formal and
technical education; in the absence of any specific skill, it was not
possible to rehabilitate any substantial number of them in suitable
jobs. The yet unresolved unemployment problem of India also
141
created difficulties. The only alternative left was to put them in
some unskilled jobs. Hence refugees were initially sent to work in
road-building and construction projects on the Himalayan
borders. The Tibetan refugees thus employed were paid wages
according to the current wage rates of India. This was an adhoc
arrangement to be continued till through suitable rehabilitation
programmes the refugees engaged in road-building could be
transferred to the settlements specially meant for them. Some of
the settlements and construction project sites were in the Indian
border areas adjoining the Tibetan boundary, also called the
Hindu-Buddhist Cultural Contact Zone, where the climate and
terrain were favorable to the Tibetans. Ecologically and also
culturally these areas were not much different from the homeland
of the refugees.
For one thing the rehabilitation of the Tibetan refugees in India
was not an easy task. It will bear reiteration that the political
developments in Tibet just antecedent to the refugee exodus had
been sudden and unexpected. But the Government of India with
the help of national and international organizations took emergent
relief and rehabilitation measures for these refugees. As the
Tibetan refugees came from the background of traditional
economy and were abruptly exposed to totally new types of land
and labour syste~ money, economy and legal and economic
organizations. Their transplantation in this totally new economic
set-up caused them much tension and hardship. At times they had
142
--------------------------------------------------------------
to struggle hard to get some sort of stability and avoid failures.
The Tibetan refugees in India have been rehabilitated in different
settlements, agricultural settlements, industrial settlements,
handicraft centres, multi-purpose societies, directly under the
Dalai Lama's Trust, employment in the Tibetan establishments
and in the Tibetan Music, Dance and Drama society, and
individual small scale trade and business enterprises.
According to 1976 figures from the Home and Rehabilitation
Office of the Tibetan Administration, Dharamsala, approximately
40.50 percent of the refugees had been settled and rehabilitated by
that time in the various agricultural and land settlements, 2.61
percent through the handicrafts; 5.88 percent in industry, 3.32
percent through multi-purpose societies, and 1.60 percent through
service in the Tibetan establishments. Additionally 0.11 percent
had been rehabilitated directly under the Dalai Lama's Trust.
Further while 10.59 percent were still road-construction workers,
and 4.09 percent were living in Ladakh and yet awaiting rehabili
tation in the various projects. About 12.64 percent comprised the
students. Of the rest, which works out a percentage of 18. 76, a
majority should be included in the self-employed category. It is
clear from the above that the refugees have gone far ahead from
the early phase of uncertain life in various transit camps, they
have steadily advanced towards settlement and stability of life
pattern, though on a foreign soil and in a new environment.
143
Table4.2
Occupational distribution of Tibetan refugee
Occupation Person Percentage
Agricuhure 20 8
Business 25 10
Sen ice 23 9.2
Handicrafts 15 6
Labour 12 4.8
Household 9 3.6
MonkmWl 24 9.6
StudentSJinfantSJnon-worker 122 48.8
Total 250 100
Source: F1eldwork
There is also a great deal of shift from the traditional system of
occupational specialization. Category-wise, a majority of the
nobles still cling to administrative services and the rest of them
are engaged in business and trade. The monks of the former days
show the highest degree of change, since some of them have
renounced their monkhood and taken to different secular
vocations. Many of them as stated before, are also engaged in
business and trade. In the total Tibetan refugee context one can
observe that quite a significant number among them have taken to
cottage industry and household manufacture, largely woolen - ~-
garments and carpets, and have been pursuing · the line with
commendable expertise and organizational skill. The sale of hand
woven Tibetan carpet has shown a steady upward trend and is in
great demand all over the world. These items are sold on
individual, small group or cooperative basis. In this context a
noticeable change in the economic pattern is that while some of
144
the old-time monks have now taken to agriculture, many of the
former agriculturists have been absorbed in petty trade. Most of
the herders, excepting a few living in the border areas, have also
changed over to trade. On the whole the Tibetans who have been
absorbed in the Tibetan establishments are only a vety tiny part of
the entire refugee community. A fair number still live in special
encampments and are engaged in road construction works and
quite a few have been absorbed in the security services.
As already noted, before the refugee exodus from Tibet began, for
centuries together the Tibetans living close to the Indo-Tibetan
border had been carrying on brisk hawking and peddling type of
selling of Tibetan products in the neighbouring Indian areas. Now
this kind of business has been expanded and extended many-fold
by the enterprising Tibetan refugees. The Tibetans' great business
astuteness is not confined only to the people of Amdo who were
reputed to be very successful businessmen and who could 'never
die of hunger', as a common Tibetan saying goes. It is a common
sight in the winter season all over India to fmd Tibetan peddlers
selling either superior or inferior quality knitwear, manufactured
in Ludhiana, Punjab. In the winter months almost every town in
India is thronged with Tibetan refugees-men, women and even
children-who have almost established a strong hold on the woolen
knitware market in India. The great advantage for a Tibetan's
selling such knitwears is that these are supposed to be knit from
pure Tibetan wool. It has been estimated that in Delhi alone over
145
4,000 Tibetans gather every winter to carry on briskly the woolen
gannent trade. 55
Apart from selling woolen clothes and carpets, the Tibetans have
also a reputation for selling genuine hinge, i.e., Fern/a asfoetida,
shilajit and kasturi, which are widely used for medicinal
purposes. The Tibetan refugee traders have already become well
known in the Indian market as the dealers in the above products.
Pictorial displays of the typical Tibetan motif, Tibetan curios,
thankas and many other items of Tibetan handicraft have also
caught the fancy of the Indian and foreign-tourist purchasers.
Through these trades the older trade links between the two
countries have been strengthened and extended; additionally the
economic rehabilitation of the refugees in India and their coming
closer to the Indian people have been greatly augmented. Catering
and running of restaurants are also popular trades among the
Tibetan refugees. Such establishments have grown almost in all
the urban areas where the Tibetan refugees have settled in large
numbers. The Tibetan restaurants are quite popular and much
resorted to for their Tibetan and Chinese cuisine. Upon
investigation the prices were found to be relatively cheap, though
the upkeep and standard of cleanliness left much to be desired. It
was also found that the eating houses, in many cases in temporary
sheds or tents, supplied not only the Tibetan and Chinese
delicacies such as momo, thukpa, various varieties of noodle
"Tibetan Review, Vol VIll, Nos. I & 2, Jan.-Feb., 1973, New Delhi. P.5.
146
dishes, but also the Tibetan brew called chang. This practice
along with the fact that the Tibetan female folk are also employed
in these establishments and pursuing the work in the normal way,
almost as a part of their household work, would be seen as a
continuance of similar practice and usage in the Tibetan
mainland. In the Indian situation however, there is evidence to the
haunts of the anti-social elements. Commonly known as dhabas,
many of the Tibetan eating and drinking houses were unlicensed
and unauthorized, in some cases the government machinery got
scent of the matter and took steps to close down these shops. It
was found that sealing of the dhabas has meant loss of livelihood
to a large number of Tibetan refugees reckoning on the fact that at
least four to five families lived on the earning of each such dhaba.
But most of these eating joints cater to lower segment of society.
A novel attempt at diversification of the trade pattern was the
setting up of the Apso shows. Apso in Tibetan means the long
haired one and is the name given to a special Tibetan canine
variety distinguished by its long hair and fleecy coating. The
Apso shows so far have been greatly successful and some Tibetan
dogs have fetched even as high price as Rs. 1000 per animal. The
proceeds from the dog shows have also gone as help the welfare
institutions of the Tibetan refugees just as individual breeders
have received a lot of financial help and a greater impetus to
breed the better varieties of Tibetan dogs in larger numbers.
147
It could be observed that the average Tibetan had a better standard
of living than the average Indian. It is a fact that they have got
various types of relief and aid from Indian and international
agencies. A general tendency, however, was to hide the actual
mcome.
The Tibetans had a fairly good standard of living as was reflected
in their possessing lots of foreign goods, some of which they had
got as gifts or earned, and some others, in all probability, had
been obtained through other sources. In most of the Tibetan
houses in India one can fmd an assortment of sophisticated
'foreign' goods, Tibetan hand-woven carpets, sleeping bags,
transistors, large and costly thermos flasks etc. To a certain extent
these household articles indicate their standard of living despite
their refugee status. The Indian shopkeepers always noted the
Tibetans' purchasing capacity, especially for meat and milk
Some of the Tibetans stated that there was no dearth of dairy
products in Tibet. These formed their daily food and minks. But
in India due to high prices they were forced to eat less and felt a
craving for their favourite edibles and drinks. One could
justifiably interpret this as an expression of their feeling of lack of
satisfaction in the Indian surroundings. However, it was found
that the Tibetan refugees had continued their traditional food
habits. They consumed the saine edibles and drinks as at home in
Tibet. Of course, there was the inevitable process of economiza-
148
tion in the refugee state, less elaboration and careful confonnity to
what their pockets would pennit in the refugee situation.
The change of geographical location also had some impact on the
class status of the Tibetan refugees. Obviously, clever
enterpreneurship counted for the change in class status. There are
examples when a poor person became rich after migration and
vice versa. It is true that most of the Tibetan nobles who were not
used to hard work, would have perished if they had got no
patronage from their leadership and Tibetan administration. There
is no doubt that those who are working in the Tibetan Administra
tion in exile do not get attractive salaries but have substantial
'perks' and enjoy many amenities, facilities and better opportu
nities for their children. They have thus preserved a part of their
old status.
Tibetans have, on the whole, successfully emerged from a self
sufficient barter economy in to a competitive market economy,
and have adjusted to the new situation which is a tribute to, the
Tibetan community in exile. They have learn new skills 'ln.
agriculture and industry as well as new trades. Modem education
has opened many avenues to them and a great majority have
improved their economic condition in comparison to what
prevailed in the old feudalistic structure where the people were
exposed to various types of economic exploitation. The Tibetan
refugees in India have a feeling that those who have migrated to
149
the western countries are better off than them. This they feel
purely in terms of material prosperity. The younger generation
have a strong lure and attraction for the affluent western society.
For the upper-age group respondents it was the religious
atmosphere which was more important than economic prosperity.
It was significant that the younger generation which was a strong
critic of Tibet's traditional leadership favoured a new educational
system, progressive economic structure and open and just
opportunities of life. This indeed is an ideological change.
The factors responsible for attitudinal change, includes, cultural
differences in the new set-up and the ways in which new torces
are stirring in the traditional life of the Tibetan refugee society. In
Tibet, land and live-stock along with gold and silver were the
main criteria for measuring economic status. Another factor was
that the traditional economic life was familial, based on a network
of obligations, to labour on one side and, to be supported on the
other. But in exile with the disintegration of the familial life, the
old idea of cooperative effort and economic security within the
family has been replaced by the acquisition of new skills both
general and technical, capitalization and acquisition of personal
property. The economic well-being is now being measured in
terms of increased income, and possession of the means to buy
creature-comfort goods and services, rather than of acquisition of
land and live-stock. The economic profile of the changing Tibetan
society is that of a gradual shift from preoccupation with other-
150
worldliness to a consciOus pursuit of worldliness. There is a
distinct clamor for economic betterment, for raising of income,
for acquiring worldly goods and services, and for gaining all
round prosperity.
Tibetans have a strong tendency to patronise the shops of their
compatriots. This has forced many_ local Indian traders and shop
keepers to cut down their business. The Tibetan Administration
and the institutions it runs also substantially support their o\Vn
shop-keepers and traders. There is a flow of foreign money too,
coming from the foreigners who visit the place and also from the
foreign aid and sponsorship programmes. Anyway the business is
brisk and profitable. Tibetans themselves, when asked, indicate
three reasons for which they thrive in business. Firstly, the
Tibetans are hardworking people, Secondly, their womenfolk
also work as hard as men, thirdly, the Tibetans have a natural
instinct for trading. The trading instinct is quite apparent even
from the assortment of goods displayed by pavement-sellers.
151