Customers swarm markets to make festival shopping
Busy time
Saturday, being a shandy day at Dibburhalli village in Shidlaghatta taluk, was unusually different.
With Deepavali festival round the corner, several buyers swarmed the market place with a lengthy list of purchases required for the gala week, termed to be the most-awaited and one of the last in the row of festivals of the year that concludes.
The festival of lights has indeed ushered in a wave of shopping delight among the people. Everywhere the market is filled with traders selling auspicious colourful threads which are tied on the hands of children during the festival, turmeric, areacanuts, betel leaves, flowers and decorative lights. From serial lights to terra cota lights, from traditional to modern, diyas form an essential part of Deepavali shopping.
People were busy buying spices, grains, various variety of dals, coconuts, jaggery, etc. Different variety of pooja items like trays, flowers, agarabattis, oil, vermillion, an array of items were being sold on the occasion.
Most sought after
Sweet dishes and snacks were also most sought after. The aroma of the fried pakoras, ambode, vade and bonda wafted in the air, tempting even the diet-conscious.
Fruits including bananas, apples, suppotas, pomegranate, were the popular choices among the customers. While, brinjal, onions, potatoes, greens, cucumber, peas were prominent in every shopping bag.
The farm equipment like axe, sickle, etc are in great demand because, the farmers usually buy their new equipment during the festival time, as it is believed to be auspicious. The shandies have their own rustic sheen and glamour, and are enough to entice the rural shopoholics.
The charm in the rural markets is more so genuine, thanks to the absence of middlemen and agents who bag a major chunk of the goods. In the villages, the farmers directly cultivate the grains and sell the produce in the market, without the hindrance of middlemen.
However, another prominent drawback of the rural shandies it that, the Panchayats which collect taxes from these traders and farmers should at least take measures to provide toilets and rest rooms in the market place. Also, it should ensure that the market area is kept clean and tidy and measures of hygiene and cleanliness must be adhered to strictly, so that the markets become more better places for exchange of not just goods, but also good thoughts and ideas.
In Chikkaballapur
In Chikkaballapur market also, the stage is set for the festival. With markets already illuminated with beautiful diyas, the elders are making last minute purchases required for the festival. While the children are keen on the purchase of crackers, the womenfolk are busy with groceries and jewelleries.
Sunday saw a good number of people arriving to the market with huge shoppings bags and returning back with bulk consumer items. More are expected on Monday also.
According to the traders, it was only during Deepawali that the diyas had a good number of takers. After the festival, there would be hardly any demand for it. The diya-makers could generate a good revenue only around this season, and after that, they will have to wait for the next year, said a few traders.
Irrespective of the hike in the prices of goods, people continue to throng markets. Every year, there is a hike in the prices of goods and yet the markets draw crowds in large numbers. Ultimately, the consumers are forced to buy, irrespective of the prices.
