As the festival Eid-ul-Fitar is round the corner, so the Muslim brethrens have started gearing up for the festivities in the communally sensitive Kendrapada district.
As a result, the town, especially from old bus stand to Kakat, is witnessing huge rush following the Muslims thronged the shops to purchase new clothes and also to stock up for the festive needs. While men are buying colourful prayer caps ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 200, kurta pyjamas and scented atars (perfumes), women are busy shopping their salwar kammej, burkhas and henna powder.
If it is festive time for the Muslim brethrens, it is also the time to make fast buck for the roadside vendors who are selling dates (khajur), lachha, sewia, muraba, chuara, kaju and kismis etc. The holy month of Ramzan has made the fruit sellers a happy lot. Dates ranging from a modest Rs 60 for the home-grown ones to a whopping Rs 2,500 a kilo for the imported variants are picked by the devout, who break their daylong fast by chewing them during Iftar or fast-breaking after sundown, said Mir Abu Obeda, a dry food seller.
Meanwhile, dates from Hyderabad, Kolkata, Arab, Iraq, and Afghanistan are a favourite among the Muslims. The festival, which would be incomplete without the sweetness and hospitality of the sewai, also offers customers a huge variety of sewai in the market. White mounds of sewai are seen lining up in makeshift shops. Sewai sellers get their stock from lucknow. “Selling sewai is only a month-long business. On an average, I sell around 40 to 50 kg of sewai during Ramzan and I hope the business would pick up on Chandraat,” informed Abdul Haid, a sewai vendor.
“Similarly lachha (ranging from Rs 90 to Rs 500) that comes from Kolkota and Delhi is one of the favourite dishes during Ramzan and Eid in every Muslim household. So, the Muslim people are congregating in front of my shops to buy the product,” added Haid.
Peelu stick ,which is especially used by the Muslims to cleanse their teeth during the Ramzan ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 50, is on a good sale in the makeshift shops .The peelu stick comes from UP and Pakistan, said Sheikh Ansar, a dry shop owner of old bus stand.
With friends and family members visiting homes for extending Eid greetings, dry fruit gift boxes of Rs 250- Rs 800 are also popular in the city. “During Ramzan, dates from Oman, Iran, Medina and Saudi Arabia are the hot favourites, but for Eid, nuts, raisins and dry fruit munchies are preferred by the people, informed Mir Mohammed Tafique, a businessman.
But the garments businessmen apprehend that the low pressure could hamper their Eid business in coming two to three days. For, if rain would occur, then customers would prefer to stay indoors and here would not b much business on the day of Chandraat , informed Mohammed Taslim of Hazi store.