Varalakshmi Vratham, the festival of the goddess Lakshmi has just passed. And as wives settle down from the day-long fast, it's the turn of the sisters to gear up for Rakhi.
The festival of Raksha Bandan which is just around the corner, is a celebration of sibling-hood and is a day that is almost unanimously celebrated all through the country.
As always, capitalising on the Indian sentiment and their need to celebrate most every occasion, most everyone has come up with Rakhi options, ranging from your roadside bright coloured `10 rakhis to very expensive, gold crafted and diamond-studded `30,000 ones.
And it's not only the physical stores bringing in the rakhi cheer, online portals like Bluestone and Tradus, are major players in the market too. Here’s a look at what’s hot in the virtual world. Bejewelled
This year’s online market did so well, that online jewellery store Bluestone actually ran out of stock a good week ahead of the festival.
Styling their wrist bands around religious and auspicious symbols like Om, Shri, deities like Krishna and Ganesh, the site offered rakhis in the precious yellow metal, the price depending on how adorned it was.
“We had rakhis designed in plain gold, studded with ruby and emerald, and for those who were looking for something really pricey, even diamond-studded rakhis,” explained Shipra Jain, chief merchandizing officer of Bluestone.
Though s h e couldn’t pick up one herself, Jain was quite happy with the response. “We had 34 designs in 18 carot gold, which ranged within the price `3700 to `30000. We also gave out complimentary chawal boxes.
” However, Bluestone’s USP was perhaps the fact the band could be converted into pendants later on. “Our rakhis are made as proper jewellery pieces. And hence, those buying it were looking at it as a full-time investment. So, we made them into convertible pendants that a guy can later string to chain.
That made our rakhis really popular,” opines Jain. Quirky Tradus.com has on offer a more economic price range and rakhis that catered to a larger age group, with the Angry bird rakhi being a huge hit.
Other characters like Chota Beem, Doremon and Ben 10 also made the list, with these rakhis costing an average of `400. Tradus also experimented with sweets on rakhis like the Kaju Kathli rakhi. Explaining, Kartik Venkatraman, the marketing vice president says, “We have a lot of people from abroad who order online and their kids aren’t much into religious symbols.
So, besides the traditional kinds, we also introduced these characters and sweet combinations. Our price range begins from about `100 and goes up to `2000. ” After placement of order, the website takes about 24 to 48 hours to ship the delivery, depending on where the destination is.
More than a rakhi If you think tying a rakhi and giving money in return is all one can do, Comin Con India launched merchandise like coffee mugs and t-shirts with characters like Super Kudi and Wonder Bai to give a comic twist to things.
Available on Buzzingaa.com and BombayMerch.com, the mugs come at Rs 225 a piece, and the t-shirts are available at Rs 500. The merchandise also includes a badge set of 4 with the characters Wolver Anna, Badge Super Mummy, Super Kudi and Wonder Bai, priced `149.
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