There is no fog in Dhaka yet, and winter cannot fully be felt in the air. Still, step into Karwan Bazar and it seems winter has quietly arrived in the vegetable baskets, in the farmers' sweat and in the vendors' calls. Every corner of the market is filled with baskets of cauliflower, cabbage, beans, local tomatoes, radish, mustard greens, olives and water chestnuts.

A winter morning means crispy fried cabbage or spicy mustard greens with hot rice, and that aroma seems to have reached city life early.

At Karwan Bazar the eye falls on a colourful display of vegetables: white cauliflower on one side, a flood of green beans on the other. Water beaded on the radishes like dewdrops seems to announce that winter's first call has travelled from the fields to the city.

Radish and cabbage are now selling at Tk 50 to 60 a kg, cauliflower at Tk 40 to 50, and local tomatoes at Tk 80 a kg. Shoppers say the market is far more colourful and far more enjoyable now than with the summer vegetables.

At this time of year city people are in a different kind of high spirits. Leaving behind the fatigue of summer and the dampness of the monsoon, the light winter breeze brings a new rhythm to the kitchen.

Most of the winter vegetables now available in Dhaka have come from Narsingdi, Manikganj, Tangail and Savar. The fresh vegetables arrive at the capital's wholesale markets by truck before dawn.

Dhaka's markets now have a festive air. Along with the vegetables have come winter olives and water chestnuts, which add variety to the market and remind people that the season is changing.

The mustard greens arranged in small baskets still carry the smell of the fields, mixed with the farmers' toil and the joy of city life.

Winter has not yet fully settled on Dhaka, but the vegetables at Karwan Bazar say the season is not far off. Before the cold wind reaches the city's streets, winter's message has arrived in the market baskets. The white of the cauliflower, the deep green of the mustard greens and the reddish glow of the tomatoes together bring a calm, contented season, the season of winter, slowly into the lives of Dhaka's people.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.