Though winter has set in the city, it seems to be sweating by the day still. The ever-smiling faces of Tibetans at the Patola Sweater Market in Kutchhery have been shadowed by the scorching sun. The sun is blazing at a good 28 degree celsius during the day only witnesses a dip of about 12 degrees by nights.
The Tibetans who have come down from the hilly terrains of Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, North Bengal, Karnataka and others are not looking forward to a great sale this season. The traders arrived here by September and would stay till the end week of January.
“Winter is yet to set in the city and we are expecting the temperature to dip soon or else the season looks too bleak for us. We are not making good money and the prices have also been cut down by a decent 20 per cent. Sales have registered a drop of 20 per cent in the past two months,” said Tsering Dorjee, a 56-year-old, Tibetan trader from Karnataka.
These woollen sellers have been coming to Ranchi for the past 44 years. But, this year they predict a weak season as sales seem yet to gain momentum. The month of October and November that had witnessed sale of Rs 8,000-12,000 per day previous year, is currently managing to fluctuate in a narrow range of Rs 4,000-7,000 per day. In the peak winter of December, sale even reaches to whopping range of Rs 15,000 per day.
Dorjee fondly remembers several years wherein winters in this plateau would cheer up their sale. Dorjee said, “We are very fond of people from this state and city. They are friendly and we have been able to build that relationship for over four decades now. People in Ranchi have always had a knack for superior quality and design. They have always flocked this market to buy the trendy sweatshirts, jackets, cardigans, shawls, caps, mufflers and even socks.”
Usually, the profit margin on every thousand rupee sale is in the range of Rs 80-Rs 150. “If the temperature would have dropped by now like every year, we would have been able to earn a profit of about Rs 200-250. We expect the sales to pick up soon or else it is really becoming difficult for us to earn a living here this year,” said Kimi Roy, a young Tibetan woman from North Bengal.
Roy also believes the several discount offers and promotional schemes at the malls in the city are one of the factors that have pulled down the demand for their woollen items. The roving se traders based in Himachal, Uttaranchal, Orissa, Chattisgarh, Karnataka source their stock from ludhiana, Punjab and spend most of the time of the year in procuring material, selecting designs, availing loans, if required and then come to Ranchi in the winters.
The woollen clothes on offer include sweaters, jackets, sweatshirts and blankets for men, women and children. The jackets for men and women are available in the price range of Rs 700-2500 whereas sweaters at Rs 350-990. The price for sweatshirts starts at Rs 350 and varies to Rs 750. The blankets are available at a range of Rs 400-1,500.
“I am a regular at this market and have been shopping for my entire family for the past five years. They have all the garments that we need during the chilly winter in this city. Due to the festive season and with prices going up on all commodities, we have cut down on our purchase capacity not only on woollen item but on every commodity,” said Chetna Tigga, a customer at Patola Market.
Along with Tibetan refugees, even the local traders by the roadside surrounding Patola Market have been witnessing a drop in sales.