(From left) Kogila with her sister Suria trying a saree on their cousin K. Seema at Little India, Penang. — Photos: CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
WITH just a week remaining before Deepavali, the Little India enclave in Penang is abuzz as shoppers hunt for the best bargains.
Despite the rainy weather, enthusiastic crowds are still flocking to Penang Street, Market Street and King Street.
Textile and saree shops have been crowded with mostly women shoppers checking out the latest fashion trends while comparing prices at several stores.
Young women are also heading to costume jewellery shops to buy matching accessories to pair with their outfits.
Lalitha says her handmade costume jewellery are popular this year due to the high prices of gold items.
S. Tamil Arasee, 49, was with her two sisters and cousins at a textile shop in Market Street looking at sarees and salwar kameez.
“It’s a tradition every year for us to do our shopping together. It is a joy to shop and walk along the streets which are decorated and brightly lit with festive lights,” said the senior bank executive.
Her cousin K. Vighneshrii, 36, was looking for a saree for her mother.
“I plan to surprise her with a beautiful Deepavali saree.
“It’s customary for us to shop for our mother and children first, as a mark of respect to elders and to bring Deepavali cheer to the young ones,” said Vighneshrii.
Tamil Arasee’s sister S. Kogila Vaani, 46, a teacher, was looking for bharatanatyam dance costumes for her children who will be performing the traditional dance.
Navin says he has two teams for walk-in and online customers.
“Both my daughters, aged 14 and 12, will be making their dance debut, arangetram. The show is a Deepavali present that my husband and I are looking forward to early next month,” she said.
Logistics company executive V. Kiran Raj, 30, was seen shopping for sarees and kurta with his wife, Niroshini Suresh, 23.
“We decided to check out some of the shops in the area, although the trend is to shop online.
“Nothing compares to trying on clothes to select the best size, colour, and material.
“With only a week left, we also have other preparations before the festival,” Kiran Raj said.
Sisters K. Geethanjali, 32, and K. Vasugi, 29, were looking for costume jewellery along a row of shops in Market Street.
“We are searching for handmade costume jewelry that resembles gold, and some shops have the latest accessories, which are perfect for Deepavali,” Geethanjali said.
Asok Kumar says store owners are facing stiff competition from online vendors.
“It doesn’t look like the gold price is coming down anytime soon so we have to settle for costume jewellery,” added Vasugi.
Decline in festive business
Traders in Little India claim that business this year has dropped, compared to last year’s festive period.
Umayal Textiles owner Datuk Asok Kumar Poduval said this could be due to shoppers preferring to buy online.
“Online shopping is a significant trend now, offering competitive prices and better designs due to vendors’ low overheads.
“However, the festive period is the time when we see substantial business and this year is no different as we have brought in the latest clothing designs for our customers.
K. Nanthini, 26, and niece, Y. Neevitha, 10, picking out home decorations for Deepavali. (Right) Traditional snacks, sweets and cakes being sold along Penang Street.
“Punjabi suits or salwar kameez seem to be selling more this year compared to sarees, which is usually worn for special occasions,” said Asok Kumar.
RK Gold Covering owner R. Arasu, 47, said while there had been a drop in sales of costume jewellery, he expected it to pick up in the last week before the festival.
“Costume jewellery is usually bought at the last moment compared to textiles and sarees. We usually see a big crowd during the last weekend.
“We have yet to see the mainland crowd in Little India, who typically account for a large portion of our business from the northern region,” Arasu noted.
Vastra Empire owner S. Navin said his online venture in the past few years had been rewarding as he now has about 58,000 online customers.
“Deepavali is a time where we are really busy handling both online customers and those at our store in Market Street.
“I have staff manning the online business while another group handles walk-in customers,” he added.
G. Lalitha, who owns a costume jewellery store on Market Street, said the high price of gold was a boon for her business.
“Fewer people are purchasing gold jewellery this Deepavali. Many are opting for costume jewellery due to the skyrocketing gold prices,” she said adding that many were drawn to her handmade products because they resemble gold pieces.
Traditional snacks, sweets and cakes being sold along Penang Street.
Most of the restaurants in Little India are also bustling as hungry shoppers head there to recharge.
“There is a smaller crowd in our restaurants compared to last year as many new restaurants have sprung up,” said Datuk Seri N. Ramanathan, who owns three restaurants in the area.
He said the new restaurants were doing brisk business.
“However, we are still getting a decent crowd due to festive season shopping.”
Malaysian Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Penang chapter president Datuk S. Parthiban said about 150 registered members were allowed to set up stalls along Little India.
“We understand there is congestion due to this but the roads are closed only during the weekends,” he said.
He said most of the stalls were busy, which was evident from the weekend crowds at the shops.
Commenting on textile and saree traders lamenting the impact of online businesses, Parthiban urged them to confront the realities of today’s market.
Shoppers enjoying the festive atmosphere at Little India in Penang.
“Traders must embrace both online sales and in-store shopping to keep up with the trend.”
Festive gifts to community
Meanwhile, Penang PKR organised “Program Edaran 10,000 Muruku Madani and 1,000 Teh Masala” at Market Street.
State PKR chairman Nurul Izzah Anwar distributed muruku and tea to shoppers in Little India.
Programme coordinator R. Harikrishnan said the event was to cultivate harmony among the races during the festive period.
“The highlight of the programme was people of various races making muruku together and distributing it to the B40 group,” he said.
To deliver Deepavali cheer, about 50 children from the Gurunatha Ashram from Sungai Petani, Kedah, were brought to the Little India enclave to shop for festive outfits.
Security firm Listen Security director S. Arumugam said for more than 10 years, the company had been bringing children from orphanages to buy festive clothing.
Arumugam helping a boy from the Sungai Petani orphanage to pick a shirt at a Market Street store.
“We have 140 branches nationwide including Sabah and Sarawak, so each year, we make it a point to bring children from orphanages where our branches are located, to shop for clothing during the major festivals such as Hari Raya, Chinese New Year and Christmas,” he said.
The children and several senior citizens were taken to a textile shop on Market Street to pick out their new clothes.
At the shops, the children could not hide their joy as they eagerly tried on the outfits.
The group was later taken to Air Itam for a scrumptious lunch and were each given cash for Deepavali.
