The social media campaign against China seems to have worked during festival of Rakhi this year, as ‘Made in China’ Rakhis are not available in the market.
The shopkeepers claim that they have unitedly boycotted the Chinese products this year, as China has been posing threat to India on borders.This year, in the market, Rakhis are available from Sandal wood rakhis to traditional mauli.
This Raksha Bandhan State capital's denizens are all set to celebrate the festival of sibling love in a unique way. The markets are all flooded with new varieties of Rakhis which have been succeeded to woo the buyers.But, this time the ‘Made in China’ rakhis are not seen anywhere. After scanning city market The Pioneer found that people this year are interested in buying only the made in India rakhi and not the Chinese product.
According to the shopkeepers and even the buyers, they have boycotted the Chinese product for coming rakhi due to the current Indo-China scenario. “Though we have been facing a huge market loss, but I think boycotting Chinese product is a little gesture from all of us,” shares a shopkeeper Raju who sells his products in New Market.
Another vendor Rajesh said that their sales have gone down to 50% this year. “Chinese products as known to all are cheaper, even for us. This year after boycotting the Chinese products we have faced a lot of trouble.”
Elaborating further, he said, “We all have decided not to sell China made rakhis despite facing loss. But we can’t let China do business from our country,” he said. The rates of the rakhis have also increased due to the boycott of Chinese products.
“The rakhi which was of Rs 10 last year, this year we are selling a same rakhi in Rs20. But, people are ready to pay a little extra,” added Rajesh.
From handmade rakhi to diamond studded rakhis are all in demand. Also the traditional mauli is still loved by the buyers. The show stopper for this year is the sandal wood rakhi. The famous zari zardozi designed rakhis are catching the eyes of the buyers.
The market is swamped with different varieties of rakhis, and with huge options. The buyers this time are most captivated towards rakhis, which have arrived in the market with new designs and new adornments.
The different varieties of Rakhis for the tiny tots are also displayed at the market as well. Battery-operated glowing Rakhi, Rakhis featuring teddy-bear, car, mobile and mouse rakhis are a major pick-up among children. Some of the rakhis have been made of resham and zari threads and are decorated with different items like pearls, beads, stones, gems or imitation jewellery material.A shopkeeper Gautam said, “Earlier such rakhis were only made in China, but this year these designs are available in Indian brands too.”
Rakhi is one occasion where brothers and sisters express their unconditional love for each other and the crowd at the market streets shows the picture clearly.
This is not all, but the people are even ordering rakhis online for their brothers. The musical rakhi is one which is enchanting the buyers. Priyanshi Gupta who has just ordered a musical rakhi online says, “I am sure that this would be loved by my younger brother. It plays a unique music which will surely surprise my brother.