Clothes, sweets, crackers, consumer durables… shoppers in Puducherry are busy.
Shorter days and early sunsets bring just one thing to mind – Deepavali. Jawaharlal Nehru Street turns bright and colourful a tad earlier than usual with the festival of sounds, lights, sweets, new clothes and gifts just around the corner.
Colorfully dressed mannequins are out on the sidewalks standing amidst clothes hanging from ropes, with shoppers feeling the fabric and enquiring about the rates. In offices, people are sneaking out to shop with family. Cooking at home and picking up children from school have taken a backseat.Shopping plans also depend much on the weather forecasts. However, the shopping forecast for this year’s Deepavali reads bright coloured designer saris and lightweight jewellery from Kerala and Bengal. Of course, no list is complete without the sumptuous sweets and fire works.
Embroidered saris
The only fad in traditional attire that is catching on is the embellishments such as zari, chumki, zardosi and embroidery. And this you get on every kind of fabric from silks, chiffons and cottons to Italian crepe and georgette.
“People want something different from the mundane and now for more than a year, people are opting for a lot of embroidered chiffons and synthetics. They come pinks, blues, greens and oranges. These days even in weddings you see a lot of women in such saris. Women must choose appropriate jewellery such as meenakari or silver pieces to go with these,” says V.V. Ramani, artist and designer.
Going by the “synthetic-spell”, we wonder if the silk sari has lost its sheen. Of the sari sale at Saratha on Jawaharlal Nehru Street, around 70 percent are synthetic and 30 percent, silk. “We cannot wear silk to small functions, temples or family outings and can only wear them to weddings. The synthetics are easy to maintain and last long.” Said sisters Latha and Santha, home-makers, who prefer to shop in Puducherry rather than in Chennai.
To stay in the race, silk saris are reinventing themselves with all kinds of embellishments. Sample the bright Benares silk saris at the new chandra Sarees showroom at 22, Chetty Street (at the cutting of Mission Street). “Kundan work, beads, sequins and embroidery add zing to the plain silk saris,” says Sanjay Kochar. Here you can also pick saris made of jute mixed with cotton and silk.
Shirts and trousers for men can be picked from places such as Casablanca, Megamart on Mission Street, Rajendras and Muthu Silk House on Jawaharlal Nehru Street.
If you are looking for discounts on clothes, it’s the wrong time of the year. You get offers and gifts only for consumer durables. Naresh of Naresh Appliances on MG Road said most customers come looking for television sets and washing machines.
Gifts for Deepavali
Gifts for friends and relatives are not forgotten and people buy casseroles, three in one containers, images of gods and goddesses and home décor articles. Offices too give away gifts, but mostly of eatables such as sweets, dry fruits and nuts and chocolates. Some pack crackers too, and these can be got from the special Deepavali Bazar at Anna Thidal and at select Khadi and Village Industries Board outlets.
Shopping festival
Source : THE HINDU
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