Ramen Haldar and Vandana Agarwal have little in common. One is a flower-seller awaiting custom at his makeshift stall in Mullickghat, the other is a businessman’s wife awaiting motherhood in Belle Vue Clinic. Both are, however, bound by the spirit of Poila Baisakh that refuses to be dampened by rain or price rise.

Ramen’s 10 square feet shop was razed in the Friday night blaze but that could not stop him from selling tuberose and marigold on the eve of Poila Baisakh. “We have been selling flowers here for 50 years and Poila Baisakh is very special,” he said, eyeing the remains of the flower market but not forgetting to wish a buyer “Shubho Nava Varsha”.

This Nava Varsha will be extra special for Vandana. Her tryst with motherhood had been set for May 6 but she and her husband Ajay Agarwal urged the gynaecologist to bring the date forward to April 14. “It is an auspicious date being Poila Baisakh and Ram Navami, so we want our child to be born on Monday,” said Vandana, who will be wheeled in for a Caesarean section on Poila Baisakh morning.

The operating theatres in hospitals will work overtime between 6.30am and noon for a baby boom. “There will be 40 per cent more Caesarean delivery cases on Monday morning compared to a normal day,” said P. L. Mehta, the CEO of Bhagirathi Neotia Women and Child Care Centre.

But for those not swayed by the whiff of flowers or the wail of babies, the dominant feature of this Poila Baisakh is price rise.

With inflation touching 7.4 per cent, the highest since November 2004, everything from rice to red chillies, mustard oil to meat, is dearer this year. “I have never seen such a huge difference in prices between two successive Poila Baisakh days,” said Tarak Nath Trivedi of the Federation of Traders Organisation (see chart).

“The prices of food items have hopped, skipped and jumped so fast that we have been forced to cut down on our grand Poila Baisakh meal plan,” rued Sarbajit Chatterjee, a software developer.

The hit taken by kitchens cooking up a special meal on Monday would be 40 to 48 per cent. “The price of even basic items like pulses and branded edible oil have gone up in the past few months, hitting consumers where it hurts. The rise has been so steep that it has affected the overall mood of Poila Baisakh,” felt Murari Agarwal, the president of the Lansdowne Market Byabasayee Samity.

“There used to be a sense of fun earlier, particularly on the eve of Poila Baisakh. Families would turn up looking for special items to rustle up delicacies. That is missing,” agreed Samir Pal, the secretary of College Street market.

If the spike in Basmati rice and fish prices have forced caterers like Bhoj to raise plate rates, the Rs 19 per kg tag on sugar has prompted several sweet-shop owners to go easy on Poila Baisakh specials.

But like Ramen Halder the flower man, there is no keeping Sourav Chatterjee the foodie down. Favourites like Kewpie’s off Elgin Road and Oh! Calcutta in Forum have raised rates by 10 per cent this April 14, but the Sunday-Monday table bookings are booming.

“Eating out is a must for us on Poila Baisakh. And since it is a special family lunch, we really don’t mind paying a little extra,” smiled Sourav, 32.