A Ram Navami like never before means business like never before for some.
In Bengal’s chock-a-block festive calendar, Ram Navami is a relatively new addition.
A festival restricted to small pockets five years ago now has traders across the city stocking up on saffron paraphernalia well in advance.
“Paanchso jhande, teenso t-shirt, teenso head patti... (500 flags, 300 t-shirts, 300 headbands),” a man was shouting at a Burrabazar shop last week. The owner of the shop was writing it down on a pad. He was preparing a bill.
“Ramji ki kripa hai. Business bahaut achha hai (By Ram’s blessings, business has been very good),” said a smiling Rohit Gupta, the second-generation owner of Novelty Traders, on Wednesday.
He has been selling more than 4,000 saffron flags every day in the run-up to Ram Navami, to be celebrated on Sunday, April 6. T-shirts, bandanas and scarves are moving briskly off the shelves.
The flags have Ram with his trademark bow and arrow. In some, he is accompanied by Sita and Hanuman. The Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is in the backdrop. Also printed on the flags are the favourite phrases of the saffron ecosystem — “Garv se bolo hum Hindu hai (Proudly say I am a Hindu) and Hindu asmita (Hindu pride)”.
Novelty is one of a series of shops along Basantlal Murarka Road and Mahatma Gandhi Road in Burrabazar that sell the Tricolour and campaign material for political parties — party flags, badges and uttariyas (scarves). The market is known as Pageya Patty.
For the past three to four days, all of that has been superseded by Ram flags, Ram badges, Ram scarves and Ram pagdis.
“The demand will peak in the coming days,” said Sanjay Chandarana, owner of Shiva Textile, another store in the same market.
The price of a headband starts at ₹20. A giant flag costs more than ₹500.
Some buyers this newspaper met were small traders from the districts.
Deepak Pandey from Mehdibagan in East Burdwan left a shop with three large bags stuffed with saffron flags, t-shirts and the like.
“I have bought 4,000 pieces in total. It includes everything,” said Pandey, who came on a train.
“Even five years ago, Ram Navami would hardly matter for us in terms of business. Now, almost every neighbourhood is witnessing a rally almost every day in the run-up to Ram Navami, urging people to celebrate,” Pandey said before getting into a yellow cab for Howrah.
Kush Jana, the co-owner of a dashakarma bhandar — stores that sell puja paraphernalia — in Gariahat market, echoed Pandey.
“The beginning of April has traditionally been associated with Annapurna Puja and Basanti Puja. We would sell items needed for these pujas. Now, we have to stock up on saffron flags as well because people come looking for them,” said Jana. The co-owner of the shop is his brother Labh Jana. They are named after Lav and Kush, the two sons of Ram.
Nimai Pal, who works at a store in Jadu Babu’s Bazaar in Bhowanipore, said the sale of Ram flags was on the rise.
“It has not yet reached the frenzy that we saw in January last year (during the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya). But there is steady demand,” he said.
The BJP is raising its Hindutva pitch in the run-up to the Bengal Assembly elections next year. In keeping with that effort, the party is attempting to leverage the festival to try to consolidate Hindu votes.
Banners have flooded the city. People dressed up as Hanuman are knocking on car windows to seek money for and urge participation in Ram Navami.
“Earlier, I said there will be 1 crore people (on the roads on Ram Navami). But now, I am saying there will be 1.5 crore people. No one should stay at home... everyone should come out on the streets,” leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari told a rally on Wednesday.