Demonetisation is taking merriment out of Christmas and New Year celebrations. Shopping has been a low-key affair, so far, and party people, too, appear to be in low spirits. Sandeep Mishra and Sandeep Dwivedy of The Telegraph zoom in on trappings of the festive season.

Party pooper
Bhubaneswar’s youngsters may be getting ready to shake a leg or two on Christmas and New Year, but the venues that host such parties are yet to recover from the demonetisation triggered cash crunch. Bomikhal’s Rain Club, which did great business last year, is reeling from the cash scrap after effects. Ramesh Jena, a member of the club, rued that the dance floor might not be as crowded as last year. “The situation may spoil the New Year party,” said Jena.

Gift shift
People usually rush to buy gifts and greeting cards at this time of the year to send wishes to their relatives and friends, but the story is different this time. Pradeep Sharma, who owns a gift emporium near Ram Mandir Square, said business was down. “Business is down by almost 50 per cent since the scrapping of the high value notes. The effect of demonetisation is continuing even though we are nearing celebration times. We used to get bulk orders mainly from corporate houses for greeting cards and gifts, but so far, we haven’t got any. People do not have the cash. Even if they do, they are cutting down their expenses,” he said. 

Street un-smart
The festive season provides an opportunity to small businessmen to do seasonal business such as selling, greeting cards, gifts and accessories for Christmas and New Year. They hope to earn some extra money from their makeshift shops. However, demonetisation has dashed their hopes. Ashok Sahoo, who has been coming to Bhubaneswar to set up his makeshift shops near Big Bazaar Square for the past four years, said he had never seen such dull market. “Every year I put up the shop for 20 days here. The usual earning was about Rs 8,000 a day, which is down to Rs 3,000 this year. I was aware of the possible impact of the demonetisation, but I didn’t realise it would be so bad,” said Ashok, who sells mainly Christmas accessories. 

Bitter taste
Celebrations are incomplete without sweets and cakes during Christmas. No surprise here either as business is down. Brown-n-Cream Cake Parlour, one of the most prominent bakeries in Bhubaneswar, located on the busy Janpath, is witnessing low turnouts. “We usually get orders for birthdays and other parties almost throughout the year. Sales pick up during the end of the year for Christmas and New Year, but this time is very different. With just a few days left for New Year and Christmas, orders are not coming in the expected numbers,” said Pintu, who mans the reception counter. He added that sales are down by 30 per cent since November 8. Sweets shops are also feeling the pinch. “We used to get bulk orders for Christmas if not New Year, but so far, we haven’t got any,” said Jayaram Sahoo, who owns a sweet shop at Saheed Nagar.

Décor gloom
Sales at makeshift shops selling decorative items have taken a hit. Mohan S., one of the salespersons of a makeshift shop near Satya Nagar, said this year sales had taken a hit because of demonetisation. “Most customers who visit the shop want to buy things with the new Rs 2,000 note. However, we do not have enough change and they have to leave empty handed,” he said. Mohan said people cutting across religious lines bought decorative items for Christmas and New Year. “This year, however, people have become cautious about spending on Christmas festivities. This has never happened before,” he said.