Adam Matthews

On Tuesdays, people from the surrounding neighborhoods descend on South Delhi’s Bhogal market in search of bargains. From small tables or blue tarps extending on the ground out into the crowded bazaar, hawkers call out irresistible specials—“so rupae, so rupae, so rupae!” (Rs. 100 or about $1.66)–on everything from mango pickle to buckets to children’s clothes to wigs. This seemingly endless array of products shares one common trait: somewhere along the line, its arrival to Bhogal was almost certainly vouchsafed by a bribe, a kickback or a misappropriation of a government subsidies.