Holi will be celebrated on Monday, but its political colours will show up on Saturday, two days before, with Assembly results of five states, especially Uttar Pradesh. With state capital Ranchi super excited about poll results as the indicator of the verdict on Modi’s DeMo, Holi this year sure has a political spin with festive masks of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president Amit Shah ruling the racks and to a lesser extent Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, RJD chief Lalu Prasad and even late Iraq president Saddam Hussein. 

Of course, kiddie favourites Spiderman, Doraemon and Chhota Bheem masks, fancy squirt guns and herbal and normal colours are to be seen both in Ranchi and Jamshedpur. Team Telegraph goes shopping for Holi gear in both cities on Friday to check what’s hot and what’s not 

FUN UNMASKED

Capital: If sale of masks during this Holi is any indication, fortunes are swinging in favour of BJP leaders Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Modi and Amit Shah masks in plastic and rubber, costing between Rs 10 and Rs 250, sold out by Friday noon at Holi market hub Upper Bazar. Around 40,000 Modi masks were sold in the last few days at Upper Bazar. Masks of Motu and Patlu, Doraemon, Chhota Bheem, Talking Angela, Captain America, Iron Man, Batman masks were new arrivals. Masks of Kejriwal, Lalu Prasad and Saddam Hussein were seen but in less numbers

Steel city: Colourful Kongo, skeleton, joker and Angry Birds, Ganesha and Spiderman masks priced between Rs 10 and 
Rs 250 are top picks

Sellerspeak: “I sold over 5,000 Modi masks last week. All of us are waiting for Saturday’s election results to see if Modi is demonetised or remonetised in the results. If Modi’s party wins, we will order new stocks of masks,” D.C. Jain in 
Upper Bazar, Ranchi.

Surprise trend: People from Jamshedpur and Gumla asked for Raghubar Das masks but there aren’t any 

COLOUR SHOTS

Capital: Modi squirt guns range between Rs 25 and Rs 100. Kids loved the 5-litre cannon costing Rs 850 that can spray water up to 40 feet! Backpack water guns costing Rs 650 are much in demand.

Steel city: Chhota Bheem, Motu and Patlu water guns come for Rs 300 and above. Magic balloons to be filled with water colours and hurled at others come at Rs 150 for a pack of 101. Colour spray, a deo-like bottle, and a favourite at Holi parties, comes for Rs 80 for 350ml and Rs 60 for 200ml. Whew!

Buyerspeak: “My children Aeav and Ashka insist on costly pichkaris. When we were kids, we used to make our own pichkaris with hollow bamboo sticks,” Sudhir Kumar, private employee

HOOKED TO HUE 

Capital: Synthetic and chemical colours have very few takers. Herbal and arrowroot gulal, costing Rs 20 and Rs 15 per 100gm, rules the roost. 

Steel city: An almost complete swing towards herbal and arrowroot coloursBuyerspeak: “Last Holi, my eyes swelled up and rashes came up on my face due to synthetic colours. This time, my Holi rule is gulal or nothing,” said Leena Vishwas, bank employee in RanchiSellerspeak: “Earlier, herbal colours were only for the elite. Now people irrespective of their budgets are very conscious about buying herbal gulal only. Also, herbal gulal has become more affordable,” Guddu Kumar Verma in Ranchi

Checkpoint: Is anyone monitoring how herbal are “herbal gulals”?

SELFIE MUST-HAVES 

Holi revellers at both capital and steel city are picking up funky add-ons for Holi like Baahubali and Raees wigs costing around Rs 100 and Holi crackers and coloured smoke — like you see in Bollywood songs — for parties. Rainbow fog, 
Rs 100 a piece, is like a Diwali anar and shoots multicoloured sparkles. Colour Smoke, Rs 40 for a pack of six, and Colour Poppers ranging between Rs 220 and Rs 320, give a Bollywood feel. Go click-click!

Sellerspeak: “So far, I have sold 200 pieces of Colour Smoke and 50 pieces of Colour Poppers. Use them and you will get the feel of a Bollywood Holi song being shot,” Ravindra Saini of Bhawani Gift, Ranchi. “People want innovation and are willing to spend on unusual things,” Rakesh Sonkar of Bistupur market, Jamshedpur

Compiled by Vijay Deo Jha and Antara Bose; pictures by Prashant Mitra