Tucked in corners in the markets that you visit, you may find some shops selling items like rangoli colored rice, Deepavali decorations, murukku and vadee powder (to be used to prepare these delicacies). As Deepavali is nearing, these shops are also selling colored rice- they can easily make these rice from home and sell it to those who have no time to make. But as my friend had told me, they’re really much more expensive compared to if you make them yourself:
Below are powder used to make murukku, ghee balls and other delicious Indian delicacies. All you need to do is to mix the powder with water and fried it. If you love these delicacies, you can buy these packets back home to fried them yourself. These are available at shops selling Indian spices and groceries- located in places like Little India (Brickfields), Masjid Jamek and Little India in Klang. You can also find these stalls in markets that are not open air- in buildings.
Here’s an example of a store selling Indian items. Most of these people majority of their waking hours looking after these stalls. They have been here for 40 or 50 years- some migrating from India and now becoming citizens of Malaysia. These people work very hard to give their children education- and the next generation who have grown up would usually become professionals or white collar employees. Seldom you see them taking over such traditional business.
Still, even though they can well retire, most of them still choose not to because operating such stores had become a part of the lives. They had worked hard and cannot evision life just staying at home. For some who are unable to work anymore (probably due to health problems), they would employ foreign workers.
