The national capital’s Meena bazaar, famous for shopping on Eid, has been decorated with flowers, and scores of people have started to throng the bakra mela to buy goats, ahead of the festival on Sunday. Goats of all kinds, colours, and sizes were readily available in the market, enticing buyers.
Hundreds of goats adorned with elegant anklets, and collars with bells in around a hundred tents that have been pitched in Urdu Park and Hauz, which are located on either side of Meena Bazaar. The 10-day 'mela' has also resulted in the opening up of several side-businesses, such as shops for anklets and bells for goats and food carts to cater to the merchants' hunger pangs.
On the other hand, the prices of sacrificial animal have skyrocketed in retail. The traders are saying that many families are together purchasing just one sacrificial animal for the annual festival.
Akhlaq came from Shahdara to sell his Turkey breed goats (Dumbe), said, “Our two goats cost us two lakh rupees each. They require special care. So we feed them cashews, almonds, grains, and other nutritious foods.” Salman, his son, claimed that because of our emotional attachment to them and our inability to sacrifice our goats, we sold them to others. He claimed his friend had brought this pair for him straight from Turkey.
Roshan Ali, another goat seller, had arrived from Badaun to offer Ablaq, a two-year-old fawn. Ali expressed his disappointment that despite offering his goat for sale at a low price, no one seems to be interested in purchasing it.
Many people in Delhi rear goats to sell on Bakra Eid. Besides, sellers come from UP, Haryana and Rajasthan to make fast bucks by selling their goats, some whom are sold for as high a price as Rs 10-15 lakh.
Rashid, a resident of Ghaziabad district in Uttar Pradesh, said that he has come here with 15 of his family members to sell off 100 goats.
"I came here on Wednesday along with family members to sell goats. We had booked the tent last month and the way people are coming to buy goats, we think we have to wind up our stall by Saturday evening and move towards our home,” said Rashid.
There are several biryani stalls also set up the market with people from Uttar Pradesh coming here and selling biryani. “We sell one plate of biryani for Rs 30 and in the last four days, I have made a good profit. Now I can return home and celebrate Eid with joy,” said Amir, a resident of Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
Guddu Khan, 35, the proud owner of the older goat, has priced it at Rs 30 lakh, even as he claims that his goat is “priceless.”
"They are rare goats. Nowhere to be seen. They are priceless. These goats have ‘Muhammad' and ‘Allah' inscribed on them," Guddu, who has come from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, said.
The other two goats, looking no less handsome, belong to his brother and nephew, who have fixed their price at Rs 15 lakh each.
Around 100 tents have been pitched in Urdu Park and Hauz, which are located on either side of Meena Bazaar.
Both areas which are lined up with shops, selling mostly garments, were emptied for the 10-day 'mela' to accommodate the livestock.
When asked how the prices of goats are decided, Sunny Sarohah, 21, from Haryana's Sonipat district said it depends on the animal's features - weight, looks, and height. Their prices skyrocket if they carry a mark resembling a star or a crescent moon, he added.