Tori Hatri: Raipur’s 600-Year-Old Market Where Little Girls Once Ruled The Roost As Traders & Buyers
Built by the Kalchuris, this Raipur market Tori Hatri stands as a reminder of a time when women built their own economy.
Published : November 1, 2025 at 11:56 AM IST
Raipur: Hidden amid the noise of modern Raipur stands a marketplace where time seems have stood still. The Tori Hatri, a market believed to be nearly 600 years old, was then entirely run by young girls long before glass buildings and supermarkets became a reality. An open-air bazaar, the Tori Hatri had everything for the home - from vegetables to jewellery, and everyday goods under the shade of ancient banyan trees, which still stand testimony to the evolving business since the past five centuries.
“This market is approximately six centuries old. During those times, girls aged between 12 and 15 would conduct all the business here. The word ‘Tori’ in Chhattisgarhi means little girl, and ‘Hatri’ means market. Hence the name Tori Hatri came up meaning the market of little girls,” says historian Ramendranath Mishra, who has studied the city’s Kalchuri-era heritage.
The Kalchuri rulers, who established their dynasty in Chhattisgarh around 1000 AD, are known to have built this market. Raipur, under their rule, was the seat of the Raipur branch of the Kalchuris, with Budha Talab serving as the capital. Tori Hatri came up within this settlement setting an early example of a gender-inclusive economic space, much ahead of time.
Mishra explains, “There were no tin sheds or permanent stalls like in the present day. The traders sat on the ground, spread their goods on mats and sold their wares. The Marar and Patel communities were the ones to sell fresh vegetables from their gardens, while the Tambolis dealt with betel leaves. Each caste had its own designated trade and they followed that.”
Local resident Vijay Kumar Jha narrates the stories passed down generations. “This was a market run by women and for women. Little girls were in charge of the market. They sold and women came to buy. It was a dignified, safe space where women could earn and shop freely. They had then set a trend which we have not been able to emulate even today,” he adds.
Even today, locals remember Tori Hatri as a place that valued harmony between the males and females. “Shopkeepers here conduct business with a sense of community. And you get everything here - vegetables, silverware, textiles, herbs, and funeral items, everything is available here,” they say.
Over the years, standing guard over Tori Hatri are two ancient trees - a Peepal and a Banyan which are believed to be around 500 years old, along with the Jagannath temple. “The Rath Yatra procession that moves across Raipur every year begins from this temple. The trees and the temple were here then, and even now. They are living witnesses to the market’s evolution from a small women-run bazaar to a bustling city hub,” says Jha.
Mishra explains that Chhattisgarh once had 14 princely states and 36 estates, each with its own market. “When the Marathas came, they built Gol Bazaar in Raipur, which was known as Hatri at the time. But Tori Hatri continues in the same name, making it one of the few surviving Kalchuri-era markets still in use.”
People in the locality believe, Tori Hatri is not just a market but a memory of Raipur’s living history, where trade, tradition, and womanhood flourished, setting an example for generations to come.
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