The Hindu : New Delhi News : A splash of variety in store for Holi

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Saturday, Mar 22, 2008
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A splash of variety in store for Holi

Staff Reporter

- Photo: V.V. Krishnan

Faith beckons: Prayers being offered to ‘Holika’ before being lit on the eve of Holi in New Delhi on Friday.

NEW DELHI: A day before the festival of Holi, the Capital’s markets on Friday were abuzz with shopkeepers trying to lure last-minute shoppers with fancy “pichkaris” and skin-friendly herbal colours to suit all budgets.

The new “pichkaris” in the market this Holi include the cartoon-face mask “pichkaris” that are being lapped up by children.

There are also “pichkaris” in interesting shapes like a trident, snake and elephant among others. Water guns in robot and godly figures like Ganesha and Hanuman are also among the new items to hit the market. It’s the Chinese “pichkaris” that have captured the lion’s share of the market owing to their designs. They are available for anything from Rs.125 to 1,200.

According to N. K. Jindal, who has been selling Holi colours for over 14 years in Noida’s Indira Market, business this year has been overwhelmingly good with herbal colours being much in demand. “These herbal colours both in liquid and gulal form are made from natural materials like dried parts of fruits and flowers and are being preferred over synthetic colours which are certainly more harmful,” he said. A 100 gm packet of herbal colour is priced at Rs.18 and synthetic colour at Rs. 12, with red, yellow and golden yellow being the most popular colours with customers. Despite the long-running campaign against use of water balloons during Holi, shopkeepers said there is no let-up in their demand. A packet of 50 small water balloons priced at Rs.20 is said to be extremely popular among children.

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