After Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Raghubar Das’ face printed kites are on high demand this Makar Sankranti. It is for the first time that the city’s oldest kite house has received orders for Das’ pictures printed on the kites.
“Since the inception of Jharkhand State, we have never received orders for a Chief Minister print kites. Around 1,000 kites have been printed. All have been sold-out. The list of customers includes public as well as supporters of the BJP,” Mohammed Talib, owner of Talib Kite House said.
“The concept has started after the BJP won majority of the State Assembly seats,” added Talib.
Notably, hundreds of Raghubar Das face print kites with Modi’s face will be flown during the NaMo Kite Festival scheduled at Argora Chowk ground on the occasion of Makar Sankranti on Wednesday. These kites were sold at a rate of Rs5.
The latest concept seems to influence senior citizens. “I have come to purchase the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister printed kites. Afterall, it is new in the market,” said Vinod, a resident of Ratu Road.
Similarly, Doranda College’s B.Com Part 1 student Shahrukh said he will fly NaMo and Das kites in the first half of Sankranti and in the second half he will fly cartoon kites.
However, like always, the demand of cartoon printed kites is high especially among children aged below 10 years.
“Customers from other districts like West Singhbhum, Simdega, Gumla and Hazaribag prefer cartoon kites.
Around 5,000 kites of Chota Bheem, Doremon, Spiderman, Batman, Disney characters, Spiderman and Batman worth Rs5 each are being sold everyday,” Talib said.
“Around 2,000 NaMo kites sold in the same price of cartoon kites are sold everyday,” pointed Amir Hansda, Talib’s son.
Even the customers buying kites at this shop were more attracted to cartoon kites. Maroof Alam, a Class V student of KBA Academy situated at Main Road said like every year, kites of latest cartoon characters are his first preference.
The new mini-kite available for one rupee is also on demand. Hansda said the cheap price is attracting large numbers of customers from school, Ranchi Club and Malls.
The rate of thread and Manja has increased this year. Chinese Manja is available within Rs5 to Rs480 whereas latai is available within Rs20 to Rs800. Compared to previous year, there is an increase by Rs10.
On one side, where the prices of kites has increased, the cost of tilkut, a special food item for Sankranti has decreased. Shopkeepers at Harmu, Kadru, Doranda, Ratu Road and Hinoo said rush of customers for tilkut have increased due to this reason.
As always, the pre-celebration of Sankranti beginning with lohri was marked with joy and fervour in city’s Guru Nanak Higher Secondary School, Baralal Street and at lala lajpat Rai Bhawan on Tuesday evening.