New Year shopping picks up steam as Avurudu approaches
Story and Pic.
by Maheen Senanayake
by Maheen Senanayake
As traffic built up on the Colombo Kandy road on Friday morning, many stores in Kiribathgoda found crowds already thronging at their doors, almost an hour to opening. The streets were filled and in a few establishments on both sides of the main road, baggage counters and car parks were already filling up.
Police had drawn markers and several crowd control measures were already effective as loud music filled the air as hawkers capitalized on crowds prior to shops opening getting a tidy piece of the action.
In this backdrop,We decided to check how festival shopping was affecting the landmark stores across Colombo. The smell of sweet cakes wafted as I drove passed the Hunupitiya Junction.
House of Fashion was first. Many throng to this establishment offering bargain prices for their festival shopping and what was on offer would have been interesting to know. Alas, no one of authority came to the phone.Then we called Odel. Sadly their official spokesperson never got back. Then we called Keells Super in the hope of an understanding of how the FMCG sector was doing. No luck there too. A nightmare for a journalist doing a seasonal piece.. they too never returned our call. So left with no alternative, We visited these places to make our own assessment.
The traffic on R.A De Mel Mawatha past the Vajira road Junction had painfully ground to a halt. The vehicle queue to the left virtually stood still. Security and police officials, exhausted, desperately attempted to keep the traffic flowing. Security staff kept people at bay until enough exited the store to enable others to enter.
Obviously this was a popular store and had kept its proposition to the full. I then made my way to town hall and negotiated my way around the Lipton Circus roundabout and gunned towards Ward Place. Within minutes I turned into the rear Car Park at Odel. Though there were two cars ahead of me, I was inside and shopping around contentedly with only a semblance of a seasonal buildup. There were several discounted offers. I chose to speak to a shopper.
"This time it's not so crowded and I managed to find some lovely clothes for myself", said Devika who had traveled all the way from Kiribathgoda. Shopping with another friend, their basket carriers were testimony to the shopping spree.
"Interestingly, most sizes seem to fit us, unlike those days", said Danisha from Dalugama.
There were lots of people around, with many foreigners too capitalizing on the season, but the store was just short of being crowded.
I spoke to an employee and asked him casually why the shop is not crowded.
"We have several branches now and ..people shop at these", said an assistant.
Main Street was my next destination. Mayhem seemed to have broken out. A sea of heads on both sides of Main Street had rendered second rate citizenship to vehicular traffic. This is where fruit sellers encroached into the textile and clothing stores' territory.
In true Avurudu spirit people moved helter skelter as the heat of the sun beat upon them. We spoke to Nilmini from Mahiyangana. "Times are difficult, but we have to celebrate Avurudu!,'' she said. "What is the purpose of living if we can't just go wild a bit on Avurudu"
What did you shop for I asked Nilmini. "Clothes, clothes and clothes" she said. "Were you looking for any specific colours? I asked alert to some of the nuances of auspiciousness.
"Not really, we just bought clothes for the rest of the year. The discounts are attractive and this is an opportunity". Nilmini and her mother were rushing through their shopping as they needed to get back to their hometown, Mahiyanganaya before the end of the day.
``How will you get back?'' , I asked.
"There is a special bus service from the state run SLTB and we should be alright," her mother replied.
Main Street was capitalizing on the season. Everything from clothes to electrical goods had special offers. The sari stores were in full swing.
It was indeed interesting to see harmony at least in the season. Caste, creed and religious affiliations nor fundamentalism or extremism seemed to have any place in the joyous atmosphere that enthralled Main Street. Indeed a hive of selling, buying and camaraderie. Avurudu, at least has come to stay and no soul on earth could deter people from this right.
Several shops were selling sweet meats. Prices ranged from Rs. 25 for a konda kavum to Rs. 100 for a pack of two asmis , the string hopper like sweet, flavoured with a signature streak of treacle. Kokis was going in packs of 10 for Rs. 150.Mung athiraha or mung kavum were selling for Rs. 25 each.
Prices appeared to be harmonized across both the specialist stores and the general. I checked the Supermarkets. Two of the bigger chains appeared fully stocked. Both had special offers and included the traditional sweetmeats too. Everyone had converted to the Avurudu uniform of jacket and cloth bar the boys who had not yet slipped into their shirts and sarongs.
The betel leaf which is an important part of Avuruduu could still be got only from specialized shops. The sheaf of betel proper consists of 40 leafs and was selling for between Rs. 50 and 70 based on the size of the leaf. Firecrackers as usual were of several variety and grade. Several small stalls manned by kids dotted street corners. The prices varied a great deal.
Category: Events colombo, Hot news, Local
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