Imported goods rule 200-year-old Ranchi market

RANCHI: Teeming with colourful caps, designer kurtas and sevaiyas, the 200-year-old Daily Market, the biggest Eid bazaar in Ranchi, looked intriguing.
Even as heavy rain lashed the city on Monday, people here made no bones about it as they queued up to shop fancy imported goods along with the last minute essentials. People from other communities too were seen stocking up dates and attar traded from Saudi Arabia and war-torn Iran.
With the holy month of Ramzan drawing to an end, sales of imported items have risen manifold, say leading market players.
Wahid & Sons, one of the oldest shops of the town, boasts of a colourful array of merchandize, caps and drapes from abroad. Tauheer Ahmad, owner of the shop, said: "The demand for Arabian attar rises during Ramzan. Priced something between Rs 300 to Rs 500, the small bottles of perfume are usually imported from Dubai."
A petite bottle of Sultan or Firdaus perfume from Saudi can burn a hole in many pockets but as Ahmad said, "People don't mind shelling out extra during this one month even if that meant making some adjustments in the monthly budget."
Shops selling 'surma' and 'kajal' also do brisk business during this time. "Surmas, red, blue and even green in colour, are sourced from Pakistan. If not throughout the year, people usually buy surmas during Ramzan and the blue variety is currently in vogue," Abdul Quasmi, a shopkeeper at the Daily Market, said.
Multi-coloured prayer rugs with an arch-shaped mihrab (niche) on the top and intricately-woven head caps, too, are sourced from Oman, Indonesia and Malaysia. Asif Aslam, a local college student, said: "The head caps have almost become a style statement for the youngsters here. The youths are often seen flaunting imported caps, priced reasonably between Rs 100-Rs 350."
Even the thriving dry fruit markets in Ranchi sell dates manufactured abroad. The demand for the popular varieties - Zahedi, Ajwa, Medjoul and Kalimi- surpasses supply on certain days here. "A 500g pack of regular dates imported from Saudi Arabia and Iran costs anything between Rs 200-Rs 250. However, even the costly varieties priced at Rs 2500 per kg are sold out during Ramzan," Mohd Afzal Ansari of Bharat Bakery shop said.
Asked about this fetish for foreign products, Imtiaz Ali, a shop owner at the market, said: "People have a notion here that foreign products are better and that is not completely untrue."