Shoppers, left, admire sarees at a city market while a man, right, chooses clothes at a makeshift shop at footpath. Photo Anurup Kanti DasDwaipayan BaruaWith a week left for the Eid-ul Fitr, the markets are bustling with crowd as the shopping is picking up in the port city of Chittagong.
People of all ages are shopping around at different markets to choose the best dresses and other items for them and near and dear ones to celebrate the largest religious festival of Muslims.
Around 200 markets including 10 posh shopping malls, arcades, different fashion and boutique houses as well as the makeshift shops at footpaths in the city are bustling with the people from morning to late in the night.
To attract the fashion conscious people, traders have showcased their showrooms with garments with latest fashion and variety in design.
Gridlock, rains or heat nothing can daunt the festival loving people from thronging the markets.
On contrary to the buzzing atmosphere in the posh markets, middle and lower income people are in frustrating mood due to higher price of products.
People of well off section, who are in search of latest fashion in design and colour, are gathering at the posh shopping malls like New Market (Bipani Bitan), Amin Centre, Sanmar Ocean City, Yunusco Centre, Central Plaza, Mimi Super Market, Afmi Plaza, Highway Plaza, Central Plaza, Chittagong Shopping Complex, as well as some popular outlets like Pride, Aarong, Westecs, Revlon, Cat's Eye, Matra, Nari and Menz Club.
Reazuddin Bazar, Lucky Plaza, VIP Tower, Chawk View Market, Moti Tower, Moti Complex, Terri Bazar, Tamakumandi Lane Bazar, Bay Shopping Centre, Singapore-Bangkok Market and other markets are drawing attention of the middle income customers with necessary items at reasonable price.
Jahur Hawker Market and a number of city points where hawkers set up makeshift shops, however, remain the most popular outlet for the lower middle class and the poor.
In this year's Eid shopping, a remarkable trend for local boutiques is seen beside usual attraction for foreign garments.
To attract this section of people, ten renowned boutique houses -- Sadakalo, Deshal, Nipun, Nogordola, Rong, Banglar Mela, Kay Kraft, Bibiana, Probartana and Anjan's -- are displaying garments with local design and fashion on the same floor of the recently established Afmi Plaza.
Sadakalo and Anjan's introduced a package named as 'couples' containing dresses for a family with same design.
Cotton sarees are sold at Tk 700 to Tk 2,000 while katan at Tk 3,500 to Tk 25,000, jamdani at Tk 5000 to Tk 25,000 at Sadakalo. Three-piece suits are sold at Tk 1300 to Tk 5,000 and punjabees and fatuas for men are found at Tk 560 to Tk 1,800.
“We introduced a subject named 'Taray Taray Khochito' especially for the Eid as our designers used star as a mark of design in almost all of our dresses,” said Mozammel Hoque, show room manager of Sadakalo.
Sarees and three-piece suits for women with some brand names like Femina, Suhana, Waka and Octopus are now available.
Keeping consumers' demands in mind, traders showcased both the local and Indian sarees like cotton, silk, endi-cotton, endi-silk, synthetic, georgette, katan, benarosi, jamdani, zardouzy, net and tissue.
Rafiqul Islam of Odud Fashion at New Market said sarees and lehengas, usually seen worn by the actresses of different TV serials aired in the Indian channels, have already earned much popularity among the women and girls.
Indian chiffon sarees of 'Femina' are selling at Tk 8,000 to Tk 15,000 while chiffon sarees with diamond and crystal works are available at Tk 10,000 to Tk 30,000.
Suhana, another type of saree, with both machine and hand embroidery are available at Tk 3,000 to Tk 30,000.
Traders at Terry Bazar are selling Moslin-Benarosi saree, a fusion of the two popular products, at Tk 3,000 to Tk 7,000.
Sadeque Mohammed, purchase in-charge of Badhu Sarees at Mimi Super market, said they have stored Indian sarees with variety in design.
He, however, said consumers are also looking for local sarees like jamdani and Rajshahi silk.
Three-piece decorated with different artistic patterns imported from India has become popular among the young and teenage girls.
Indian three-piece suits are selling at Tk 2,000 to Tk 10,000 while those for teen age girls are selling at Tk 3000 to Tk 18,000.
Young men are gathering at popular outlets like Shailpik, Anjan's, Sadakalo, Handibazar, Khaki, Miabibi, Bangaliana, Khadighar and Paristhan for attractive and colourful punjabis selling at Tk 1,500 to Tk 3,000.
They are also thronging the fashion houses and popular posh outlets for T-shirt, pant, shirt, kameez and other dresses.
Consumers from middle income groups expressed dissatisfaction over high price of products.
Nurul Afsar Chowdhury, a service holder, who bought a frock for his four-year old daughter from Sanmar Ocean City at Tk 2,100 after roaming a good number of shops, said the price is too much this year.
Abul Kashem, general secretary of Reazuddin Bazar Traders Association, said they are pleased with sale this year as they have buyers from both middle and well off sections.
Thousands of buyers from lower middle class and lower class like garment workers, nurses, rickshawpullers, CNG-auto rickshaw drivers, domestic helps and guards of different offices are also gathering at makeshift shops on the footpaths in the city.
