MiD DAY's quick dipstick tests indicate that not much is happening in the city
MiD DAY's quick dipstick tests indicate that not much is happening in the cityTHOUGH many stores are offering special promotions for Raksha Bandhan, which is celebrated tomorrow all across the Hindi-speaking belt of the country, South India doesn't have many takers.
Some companies have special offers, notably Swarovski, which has a watch costing more than Rs 25,000 and Kaya Skin Clinic with its Raksha Bandhan packages just for sisters.
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Spoilt for choice: A young school girl checks out her options file pic |
When we contacted Swarovski, we found that sales of this watch are not doing too well, though the company representative we contacted said that this was predominantly because the product was still new and therefore yet to gain traction in the market.
Kaya Skin Clinic too had the same story to tell: "We have just started the offer and the promotion is still going on," said an employee.
This lack of progress among companies trying to cash in on Raksha Bandhan could possibly be because the festival down South doesn't generate too much of an interest.
C Dinesh, a programmer analyst with an IT company, says that last year, his sister tied him a rakhi and he gave her a small gift in return. This year, however, he says they are not celebrating the festival since she is pregnant.
Low-key affair
Even people from the Kannada film industry are not very enthusiastic about Raksha Bandhan. Actor Balaji says that he has no sisters, and Loose Maada Yogish says that, while he doesn't have any sisters, a certain Kavitha, who used to stay close by earlier and tied a rakhi to him regularly, still continues the practice.
"I have cousin sisters, but they live in villages so they can't come all the way to the city for Raksha Bandhan." Even with Kavitha, he says, it is a low-key affair and doesn't involve any flamboyant gifts.
