Friday October 9, 2009
Little India comes alive
By K. KASTURI DEWI
GEORGE TOWN: Shoppers are flocking to Little India for clothes, prayer paraphernalia, provisions, traditional Indian delicacies and decorative pieces in preparation for Deepavali, which is just around the corner.
The shops are decked with festive decorations and, in the background, popular Tamil songs from the latest movies are blasting away on speakers placed outside the shops to the sweet smell of incense wafting in the air.
Current craze: Cousins Thiloshini (left) and Logeswari checking out the latest patiala punjabi suits. Among those spotted doing their shopping were S. Sangetha, 25, from Perak and B. Sumitera Devi, 22, from Johor Baru who were carefully selecting the latest sarees – named after movies like Kanthaswamy, Ayan, Athavan and Vettaikaran.
The friends who are studying in Universiti Sains Malaysia said they usually shop in Penang for their apparel, especially for their parents and siblings, before heading home for Deepavali.
They said they were more keen on getting the latest “punjabi suits and salwar kameez” for themselves.
“We can find almost everything here for ourselves and our family members. Since we do not have much time to go around, this is the best place to get our Deepavali shopping done,” Sangetha said.
Cousins S. Thiloshini, 30, and R. Logeswari, 23, were at V.K.N. Sivasamy & Brothers to look for the latest punjabi suits.
“We usually follow the trend, and this year we want to get ourselves the patiala punjabi suit which is the current trend,” Thiloshini said.
Logeswari said they each planned on getting two or three punjabi suits for themselves this year.
V.K.N. Sivasamy’s co-owner P. Ramalingam said shoppers began flocking to his shop to get their Deepavali attire a month ago.
“The latest punjabi suit, which is the patiala style, is a hit especially with the young girls,” he said.
Umayal Textiles owner G.P. Ashok Kumar said shoppers were drawn by the sale at his shop which began on Sept 15.
“People took the opportunity of the sales I had, such as the Merdeka and Hari Raya sales, to do their shopping.
“The long break during the recent Hari Raya festivities also saw large crowds coming here from other states to do their shopping,” he said.
Ashok Kumar added that designer cotton sarees and designer silk sarees. which are exclusive items at his shop, were a hit with customers.
“Shoppers can get lovely, high quality designer sarees from just RM100 this festive season,” he said.
He added that young girls were more keen on buying patiala-styled pants, which could be matched easily with different types of tops.
“It is cheaper and it is also the current craze with the younger generation now,” he said, adding that for the boys, the current trend was short, sequined “kurtis and kurtas”.
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