City markets come alive ahead of ‘Varalakshmi vratam’

Visakhapatnam : With hardly a day left for ‘Varalakshmi Vratam,’ markets in Visakhapatnam come alive for the festival.

Annually, the puja for boon-showering Goddess Lakshmi is performed on Friday in the month of ‘Sravanam’ before the full moon in various parts of South India. This year, it is celebrated on August 16.

However, ahead of the festival, markets in the city witness a beehive of activity on Wednesday as many preferred to bring home fresh flowers that could last for a couple of days, fruits and other related stuff to avoid splurging on them in the last-minute.

Keeping the demand in view, vendors are striking a great deal with consumers as they sell assorted puja-related stuff at makeshift facilities.

On Wednesday, a dozen bananas were priced at Rs.100, flowers were sold in grams and 50-gm of flowers was ranging anywhere between Rs.30 and Rs.40 and so were the other puja items used to worship Goddess Lakshmi. Rythu Bazaars in the city too saw shoppers thronging as they preferred stocking up some of the items much before the festival. “When we shop a day prior, we end up paying almost three to four times higher than the usual price. Even now, the cost of flowers and fruits has gone up. But it is better to stock now rather than wait for a day more and end up paying a higher price for the same product,” opines K. Rama Kumari, a resident of Visalakshi Nagar.

As a number of women invest in gold ornaments and Lakshmi coins for the ensuing puja, jewellery showrooms across the city witness a brisk business. “With fall in gold prices adding to the convenience, some of the buyers are also making advance purchases for special occasions,” shares Ashish, who is employed at a jewellery outlet.

While some follow the ritual of buying gold on the occasion, others offer a new sari for the boon-granting Goddess. Apparently, showrooms selling sarees also register an encouraging business on the occasion.