Shopping marks beginning of festivity

Allahabad: Think of Holi and the first thing that comes to one's mind is 'gujhiya'. With the festival of colours merely a day away, every sweetmeat shop in the Sangam city is full of 'gujhiyas' and 'barfis'. Almost all markets are witnessing a last-minute scramble of people outside shops selling assorted Holi items like colours and sprinklers.
Shopping for sweets is a must during festivals especially Holi.North Indians enjoy this crescent-shaped sweet made by filling dry fruits and 'mawa' inside a coat of 'maida', the must-eat delicacy during Holi. Even 'malpuas' and 'chandrakala' are a hot favorite among people.
Keeping in mind the rising number of diet-conscious customers, several shops are also offering low-calorie sweets. There are also low-calorie sweets like 'gond ke laddoo' and 'kaju barfi'. Special 'namkeens' like 'dalmoth' and 'samosas' are also available.
"For Holi, we specially prepare 'gujhiyas'. Malai-ki-gilori, malai sandwich and malai barfi, sprinkled with dry fruit are also preferred by buyers," said owner of a prominent sweetmeat shop.
Those with a sweet tooth prefer delicacies like 'chandrakala'available in different varieties. Kalakand is the only low-calorie sweet that we offer as the demand for sugar-free sweets are lower, he added.
"I have purchased a variety of sweets, with gujhiyas and malpua in bulk, to give a choice to the guests," said a homemaker. "Even though gujhiya is a high-calorie sweet, we don't miss out on it as Holi is incomplete without it," said another.
Sale of dry fruits too has picked as many people prefer to prepare food items at home. Sale of 'khoya', milk and curd besides 'besan', 'maida' and 'suji' along with dry fruits is always high during this time, said a shopkeeper in Chowk. "It's a tradition in our family that Holi sweets are all prepared at home. So, I have come to purchase cashew nuts, golden resins, walnuts, almonds and pistachio nuts for the filling in gujiyas," a housewife said in Chowk area.
Meanwhile, all city markets -- from Chowk, Katra, Civil Lines, Kydgunj to Talirgunj, Rajroopur, Rajapur, Preetam Nagar etc -- are abuzz with activities.
Stalls selling gulal, colours, cap, masks, pichkaris, water balloons, papads of various tastes and colours are seeing a brisk sale. Besides, different flavours of namkeen too are selling like hot cakes.
Likewise, shops selling readymade garments are also witnessing a bee line of customers. The shops at Civil Lines, Katra and Kydgunj are full of new stock of readymade garments, matching the choice of both youngsters and middle-aged people. Among several outfits, kurta-payjama is the most picked outfit of the customers.
Anurag, a resident of Fetehpur Bichuwa, said: "After dresses, the shopping list contains a wide variety of colours and pichkaris."
Along with other items, many roadside vendors were seen selling synthetic colours, paints and even varnish, both in golden and silver colour.