BHUBANESWAR: Rakshabandhan is round the corner and the markets are flooded with rakhis of all designs and special offers. While various traditional and stylish rakhis are being sold at temporary stalls which have come up in the bylanes of the Capital City, the festive mood is no less in the online market besides the Postal Department which has geared up to tackle the heavy rush of Rakhi mails.
Girls can be seen scouting the best rakhi for their brothers while children go for those with cartoon characters. There is something for every age and class with prices varying from `5 - `800 and above. The rakhis range from the traditional, floral, rudraksha and sandalwood to the evolved forms of precious stones, zardosi, zari, beads, pearl and bracelet and from the thin thread to the broad ones.
‘‘Youngsters generally choose diamond and pearl embedded rakhis besides the silver and golden coated bracelets as they last long and look trendy. Whereas the housewives opt for something with religious touch like a mark of om, swastik and Ganesha to usher in luck for their brothers,” said a trader.
Besides the usual ‘buy four get one free’ offers, the family packages have also made their way into the market. “Many married women are opting for the package which includes the main rakhi for brother, lumba rakhi for sister-in-law, cartoon rakhis for nieces and nephews and normal rakhis for parents,” said a shopkeeper who puts up his rakhi stall every year in Sahid Nagar. The gift and greeting cards dealer Archies is also not far behind. It has launched its Rakhi collection starting from `50 per rakhi to `200 for brother-sister-in-law combo packs. Rakhi thali comprising colourful gift paper wrapped container, rice, vermilion, diya and two rakhis ish available at `400.
“We see more rush at this time of the year besides March-June when most of the students send application forms for admission to various colleges,” said a staff of Sahid Nagar post office. At times we arrange for an exclusive rakhi counter but elaborate arrangements including the selling of rakhi envelopes are on at Post Office at Ashok Nagar in Bhubaneswar, he said adding that the Department has made special arrangements to ensure speedy and timely delivery of rakhis.
The specially designed colourful rakhi envelopes are available at `8-10 and were introduced by the Postal Department a few years back. These are easy to sort among other hordes of envelopes and carry an added protection layer so that the rakhis are not damaged. They are generally delivered across the country within three to four days.
For those with no time to visit retail sellers, they can opt sending rakhis online. Attractive deals and discounts are being offered by Flipkart, Rediff, Ebay, Jabong and Amazon for shopping and sending rakhis alongwith various other gifts like chocolates, flowers, greeting cards.
Personalised offers like coffee mugs with the picture of the siblings, photo frames with special imprinted text etc are also available. The chocolate giant Cadbury has launched a special contest ‘Meethi Memories’ on its Facebook Page inviting men to share their memories and gift their sisters with a special illustration.