Visakhapatnam: Ushering in good fortune on auspicious ‘Dhanteras’

Visakhapatnam : It was a hectic day for women as many of them had plans to execute from morning.

Besides cooking and keeping the house spic and span, wrapping up office work early, their to-do list for the day contained appeasing Goddess Lakshmi, purchasing gold or silver jewellery, shopping, making viable transactions and, more importantly, keeping themselves happily engaged.

Unlike a regular Friday, it’s ‘Dhanteras’, also known as ‘Dhantrayodashi’, and many marked their calendars much ahead to buy a piece of jewellery or at least get confined to a gold or silver coin.

Many consider ‘Dhanteras’, auspicious as it is believed that Goddess Lakshmi emerged from the milky ocean on the occasion while churning. As gold is considered as a symbol of wealth and abundance, people believe in investing in it to usher in prosperity and good fortune and seek blessings of the Goddess of Wealth.

“Many customers made advance bookings for the jewellery. Keeping the rush in view, people opted for advance booking. All they did was pay the bill and get the product delivered at the counter. Special offers coincided with advance bookings and the trend turned out to be quite encouraging among consumers,” opines E S Madhavan, marketing in-charge of Jos Alukkas in Visakhapatnam.

It was a busy day for the staff at jewellery outlets as they witnessed increased footfalls on ‘Dhanteras’. “Keeping the footfalls in view, the showroom has extended its working hours on Friday. Normally, the working hours at the jewellery retail outlet is from 10.30 am to 8.30 pm. But on Friday, it was open for 15 hours at a stretch,” shares K Balakrishna, a jewellery consultant.

SMS alerts from jewellery stores started trickling in from the morning. The CaratLane alerted its customers by sending a message: ‘Shubh Muhurat is in full swing! Avail 25 per cent off on diamond prices of 4K-plus designs’. A text from the Kerala-based jewellery major included, ‘Be Diwali ready with Jos Alukkas Jewellery, visit your nearest store for the finest festive jewellery. Great offers and deals await, hurry!’

Also, Joyalukkas wished their clients ‘Joyful Diwali Festival! Enjoy free cash back vouchers on every purchase’. The list seems to be endless, while shoppers are spoilt for choice.

It was a long day for the jewellery retailers as some of them kept their doors open as early as 8 am marking Dhanteras. As women got busy to zero in on the jewellery pattern during the ‘shubh muhurat’, men appeared a tad concerned as they waited at the counter expecting a fat bill.