One should know how to utilized the holiday on sunday from Bangaloreans.Yes, Bangaloreans made complete use of the holiday on Sunday, hoi polloi the markets and shops in Rajajinagar, Malleswaram and Gandhi Bazaar to shop for Makara Sankranti, which is the harvest festival which will be celebrated on Wednesday.
Not only the shops even the hawkers on pavements were seen doing a roaring business with people buying a number of items for the festival: ‘ellu-bella, sugarcane, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, ‘yelache hannu’, , groundnuts ,earthen pots, among others.
Savitri Nagaraj, a homemaker from Rajajinagarsays that in spite of the rise in the prices of all the commodities, the people’s spirit to celebrate the festival has not died down.
Homemakers normally prepare ‘ellu-bella’ at themselves, mixing the white sesame seeds with groundnuts, dry grated coconut and jaggery.
‘Sakkare acchu’ or the sugar candies, which were earlier traditionally prepared at home, too is sold for Rs 150 per kg.
Sugarcane, which is normally in demand during this festival, has also become a costly item. A pair of canes is priced at Rs 50 in the market.
One of the customer says that the price for the mix for 1 kg, which was available for Rs 100 to Rs 120, is now priced at Rs 150 to Rs 180. In Gandhi Bazaar, shops are selling the mix for Rs 200 per kg. The prices of the readymade mix too has increased.