WHY ARE THESE RAKHIS SO LAST YEAR?
The market is down this year, say rakhi sellers, who are displaying old but hit designs
THE NEWISH RAKHIS YOU’D GET IN LOCAL MARKETS ARE THOSE INSPIRED BY THIS YEAR’S ONLINE HITS — THE ONES WITH ‘BRO’, ‘VEERA’ WRITTEN ON THEM. ALSO GOING STRONG ARE THE BAAHUBALI RAKHIS
Every year around Rakshabandhan, city markets are flooded with rakhis (thread that sisters tie on their brother’s wrist as a testament of love) — decorative pieces to quirky ones that add swag to the festivities to those cashing in on newsmakers, be it top films, celebrities or politicians. What’s new this time around? Nothing actually!
Most of the rakhis are from last year, including the ones inspired from the Baahubali film franchise. “The market is down both in terms of variety in rakhis and the number of customers,” say shopkeepers.
“One of the reasons is Goods and Services Tax (GST). We’re paying 18% tax on raw materials, while the customers are not paying any. We can’t be too creative with rakhis this time,” says Prem Kumar, who has been in the business for 25 years. He adds, “You might’ve seen Rahul, Modi and other such rakhis last year, but not this time!”
Pappu Patwa, who has been selling rakhis for 40 years, says, “There is less craze this time. We’re displaying most of our products from last year because the GST was 28%, so the sales declined.”
The only new-ish rakhis you’d get in the local markets are those inspired by this year’s online hits. We mean those with ‘Bro’, ‘Veera’ and ‘Brother’ written on them. “I saw it on my Facebook timeline and thought of ordering it, but it was too costly (₹100 per piece). got similar ones from Sadar Bazaar — six rakhis at ~1 0. ld Delhi is the best,” says Money Sharma, who lives in Mayur Vihar, Phase-1.
The Baahubali rakhi is going strong this year, too. “My brother is muscular; we call him Baahubali at home. So this rakhi is perfect for him. He will love it,” says Shreya Mishra, a resident of Uttam Nagar. And for kids, just like every year, there are cartoons and Marvel series’ heroes. “We have Spider-Man, Superman, Motu-Patlu, Pokemon and rakhis with other such characters on them. Kids love these characters. Sabse zyada sale inhi ki hoti hai (These rakhis are the hot-selling ones every year),” says Mohd. Imran, who has been selling rakhis for 27 years.
PREM KUMAR
One of the reasons is Goods and Services Tax (GST). We’re paying 18% tax on raw materials, while the customers are not paying any. We can’t be too creative with rakhis this time.