Tracing the tricolour in Sadar Bazaar
From fidget spinners to flag brooches, there is no shortage of tricolour-themed items on sale at Sadar Bazaar one of Delhi's oldest wholesale markets
{{^adFree}}
New Delhi: The busy by-lanes of Sadar Bazaar in New Delhi are always bustling with street food vendors, wandering dogs and bovines alongside shops selling household goods in wholesale and the long queues of people outside them. But there is one item that outsells everything else in this congested bazaar—the Indian tricolour.
{{^adFree}}
Although the tricolour is a hot commodity throughout the year at Sadar Bazaar, thanks to the demand from schools, colleges and political parties, the scene is chaotic as we inch closer to 15 August.
“Apart from 15 August and the Republic Day, we recently saw a lot of ‘kavarias’ (pilgrims) purchasing flags for their ‘kanvar yatra’," says Umesh Arora of Muskan Enterprises, one of the makers and suppliers of flags in the market. “That’s their way of showing some patriotism."
{{^adFree}}
There are also specific events that have driven the demand in recent years. In 2011, for example, a combination of the ‘India Against Corruption’ movement and India winning the cricket world cup at home saw the country’s flag fluttering everywhere.
“During the Anna Hazare movement, everyone from a rickshaw puller to a Mercedes owner wanted the Indian flag," says Saurabh Gupta of Anil Bhai Rakhi Wala, one of the oldest flag manufacturers and wholesalers in the market. His father, Anil Gupta, has been in the business for more than 35 years and has seen the market evolve in the last two decades. “There were just a handful of flag traders earlier. Now there are more than 200 sellers," adds Anil Gupta.
Most traders say if they sell, say, two flags on a normal day, they end up selling close to 100-200 flags daily in the run-up to the Independence Day. While small items like a paper flag sell for as low as 50 paise, bigger variants (a 40x60 feet flag) can cost up to Rs1 lakh. “Another popular item this year is the hair party wig in the three colours. Apart from that, tricolour keychains are also selling a lot. The party wig costs around Rs50 per piece, while the keychains cost Rs90 for a dozen," says Neeraj Dhingra of Sindh Traders.
{{^adFree}}
Traders say the implementation of goods and services tax (GST) has affected the market this year with sales down almost 30%. “Not every trader has a GST number yet," says a trader from the Rui Mandi area of the market who did not want to be named. “So customers are buying the items in bulk from those shops where they don’t issue a bill."
But even in this seemingly subdued atmosphere, customers flock to shops decorated with tricolour hats and buntings. Inflatable tricolours, stickers, umbrellas and heart-shaped balloons in saffron, white and green are just some of the many items on display.
The Flag Code of India, 2002, carries detailed instructions by the government about the shape, size and colour of the tricolour, but Sadar Bazar is replete with variants of the national flag. The flag, says the Code, has to be in the length-width ratio of 3:2 and should be made of hand-spun and hand-woven wool/cotton/silk khadi bunting, two of the rules most commonly flouted in the bylanes of Sadar Bazaar.
{{^adFree}}
“You will find flags made of cotton, polyester and satin cloth," says Anil Gupta. “Customers like to buy flags from here rather than from the Khadi centres because here, the prices are lower and there is a greater variety to choose from."
As I prepare to leave Anil Bhai’s shop, a customer dressed in a green kurta and white pyjama is busy inspecting a stack of flags in front of her. “Bhaiya, do you have those hanging peacocks in the tricolour design," she asks. She’s in charge of decorating a mall in east Delhi for Independence Day. She leaves for another shop to find this elusive peacock.
But peacocks are not the hottest selling items anymore. The latest fad is tricolour fidget spinners that cost Rs200 each.
{{^adFree}}
"Exciting news! Mint is now on WhatsApp Channels 🚀 Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest financial insights!" Click here!
{{^adFree}}
Catch all the Politics News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
Updated: 15 Aug 2017, 04:54 AM IST