Although people are facing the heat of inflation, they won't budge from celebrations even if they have to pay the price.
It’s that time of the year when you decide to throw the calorie factor in your food out of the window and decorate your homes, even if it costs the moon. This season, fruits, flowers, and vegetables have made a new record in drilling the largest holes in your pockets. Although people are facing the heat of inflation, they won’t budge from celebrations even if they have to pay the price. Two days of festivals — Ayudhapuja and Vijayadashmi—have opened doors to the festive season for the rest of the year with Deepavali coming up next, making the markets and the city even more bright and colourful.
Flowers have reached an all time high this year. Jasmine has reached `60 a meter while Shyamanthige has reached `50. These flowers are mainly used during the festival for decorating vehicles and homes. “We buy flowers every Friday for prayers at home.
Last Friday, the rate of Jasmine was only `30, and now it has doubled. But it was much worse during Varamahalakshmi puja,” said Mythili Sampath, resident of Basavanagudi. Kanakambra, which was already costing `30 a metre, has gone up to `40 this season.
Prices of fruits and vegetables are also skyrocketing. Ash gourd and Pumpkins are selling like hot cakes even with the prices practically drilling a hole in the pockets. A small ash gourd costs Rs110 which was only `30 a week ago.
“We have to use them to perform puja for vehicles. Lemons are crushed with wheels inviting good fortune. Usually for four-wheelers, we keep one lemon for each wheel and crush to ward off evil. We are paying `5 per lemon. A week back, we could get three for `10,” said Siddharth, a software engineer.
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While pomegranate and apples are not for the middle-class, the faithful banana and plantains are also joining the upper class. A kilo of elakki plantains, which cost `50 a week back are now sold at Rs70 in the market. Raw bananas have reached an all-time high of `30 per kilo. Plantain leaves and plantain stems, which are usually tied as decorations to vehicles cost `20 for a small
pair and go up to `50 if they are bigger.
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