Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

For never ending fortune

Jewellers are stocking up gold to celebrate Akshaya Tritiya while city folks are readying to spend a Sunday at the jeweller's for prosperity

GOLD RUSH It's deemed auspicious to buy gold on Akshaya Tritiya that falls tomorrow

The heat is on. It's the last week of `the cruellest month', April, and two words seem to have captured the imagination of the entire city. No, they are not `Assembly Elections', or the summer favourite, `Ice cream', but `Akshaya Tritiya', considered to be the most auspicious day of the year to buy gold. Jewellers are stocking up even as marketing executives come up with innovative strategies and aggressive ad campaigns to make the hay while the sun and the moon shine together at their brightest on the April 30.

With roots in the Vedic traditions of India, its popularity seems to have spread through the whole of India now. Parashurama's birthday too is believed to be on Akshaya Tritiya day.

Says Ramanatha Pai of Giripai Jewelers"We have been celebrating Akshaya Tritiya in Kochi for over 25 years. Recently, there has been an increase in the awareness, amongst both jewellers and the public, of the significance of this day."

A phenomenon that Ravikumar K. of Kirtilals attributes to the efforts by the World Gold Council to promote the festival. Pre booking, discounts, freeze rates and surprise gifts are some of the terms doing the rounds this season. So what exactly is happening?

Although Akshaya Tritiya falls on a Sunday this year, all gold showrooms in the city are open, from as early as 7.00 am, to late at night. Keeping in mind the unprecedented rush seen last time round and to avoid any inconvenience to the customer, all the city jewellers have highlighted the concept of advance booking, with plenty of special offers for those who choose to do so.

Says Suresh Kumar of Tanishq, "We are offering pre booking with just 25 per cent advance payment." Freebies are aplenty.

Alukkas, opposite the Maharaja's College grounds, is giving half a gram of gold free with every eight gms of gold purchased, whereas Bhima Jewellers is giving away a surprise gift to anyone who shops at its outlet on MG Road on that day. The House of Alukkas on MG Road is offering a 10 per cent discount on collections by well-known brands such as Karma and Dhivvya Dhyan amongst many others and a special gift for purchases above Rs.8000.

While most jewellers are going with the newly arrived wedding collections, some like Kirtilals and Giripai have come up with exclusive Akshaya Tritiya collections including navaratna rings, necklaces and earrings. Alappatt jewellers on Broadway has on display traditional Dashavatara bangles.

Although gold jewellery is traditionally favoured, with the economy booming and diamond prices coming within the reach of the middle class, diamonds set in gold is fast becoming a preferred alternative. Sunny diamonds on Rajaji road, in connection with Akshaya Tritiya, is in fact offering a Belgian diamond pendant for just Rs. 999.

As Francis Alukka of the House of Alukkas puts it, "What is important on Akshaya Tritya is to buy some amount of precious metal. How much and what kind is a matter of individual choice. Although there are wedding parties who choose to shop on the day, the trend is to make a token purchase of gold and hence we are stocking up on small and lightweight jewellery including pendants, studs and rings."

An important concern this year has been the rapid fluctuations in gold prices.

Freeze rate policy

Stores are emphasising the standard freeze rate policy- freezing the rate of gold on the day of booking so that a possible rise in prices on the day of delivery does not affect the customer. Coupled with the guarantee of paying the difference in case the price drops on the delivery date, this has led to a general increase in advance bookings, says Sajeev K. Varghese, manager, Josco Jewellers, who is expecting a 200 per cent increase in sales this Sunday.

Primarily a Hindu- Jain tradition, the concept of Akshaya Tritiya has found takers cross all communities, a fact vouched for by all the major jewellers.

Also interesting is the fact that the number of men visiting jewellery stores increases this time of the year. Desire for prosperity, it seems, has no religion or gender barriers. Gold seems to be the thread weaving together the fabric of a society as diverse as ours. The possibility of a divine opportunity to multiply one's fortunes is hard to resistWhat is certain is that irrespective of whether they themselves make a token purchase on D-day or not, jewellers around the city seem all set to strike - what else - but gold.

SANTHY BALACHANDRAN

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail