GREET IN BENGALI: The Chithi Babu cards

Say subho nava varsha, not Happy New Year. Judging by the sale of greeting cards, Bengalis in Calcutta preferring to wish their near and dear ones in their own tongue are increasing by the year.

This New Year has witnessed a boom, considering the slide in the sale of cards following the SMS onslaught.

?Bengali cards are doing very well this year and popular among all age groups,? said Shilpi Chopra, owner of In Touch Expression in Gariahat and distributor of ITC greetings cards. ?Overwhelmed by the demand for Bengali cards, we have dedicated a whole rack for them.?

Bengali cards, earlier sent only on Poila Baisakh (Bengali New Year), are increasingly finding relevance on other celebratory occasions as well, according to distributors. They are being preferred especially by those who intend greeting friends or relatives abroad or in other states.

?Bengali greeting cards represent Bengal to those staying outside the state. On receiving such a card, they feel they are not really far away from home,? said Purba Chowdhury, an advertising executive.

According to an estimate, there has been a 10 per cent increase in the sale of Bengali cards this year at stores across the city. Among them, Chithi and Chitrapat are the most popular.

More than a lakh Chithi cards, brought out by Sako Media and Communications, have been sold in the city over the past few days. ?The idea was conceived four years ago as an alternative to the run-of-the-mill cards,? said Prasun Bhowmick, chief executive officer of Sako Media.

Chithi New Year cards are available in 51 designs; the hot favourites are those featuring the Chithi Babu.

He is locked in a deadly boxing match on some cards and seated in a rickshaw pulled by US President George W. Bush on others.

Riding the craze for Chithi Babu, Sako cards has registered a 20 per cent growth in sales this New Year.

?Even in this SMS age, Bengali cards comprise around 35 per cent of our total sale pie. The sale of English cards, on the other hand, has dropped,? said Pankaj Saha of Phoenyx, a popular store on Raja Rammohun Sarani.

?Bengali cards are a welcome relief from the rutty designs and looks of English cards,? Saha pointed out.

?Earlier, we were compelled to send English cards as we did not have an alternative. Now, we have one and are going for it,? said Neelanjana Mukherjee, a HR consultant.

She has sent Bengali cards to relatives in Pune, Mumbai, Delhi and abroad. ?They are all thrilled and asking me how I get hold of them.?