GREETING CARDS STILL GOING STRONG

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Bhubaneswar: In this digital era, when everyone is connected to oth- ers through the click of a button, where messages, photos and videos are sent instantly through digital media, traditional methods of greet- ings can be expected to lose sheen. But some traditions never die. With New Year just a few days away people are busy buying New Year gifts and cards. Although some gift sellers expressed con- cern about digital greetings, they still think that the sales of greet- ing cards have not declined much. Mihir Mishra, a shop owner who sells gifts at Vani Vihar, said that although nowadays people sent greetings via social media and WhatsApp, greetings cards are still the rage for many. He said the young, especially girls, prefer coloured greeting cards without any message so that they can write messages of their own. Apart from that Mishra also sells a wide range
of cards of different sizes rang- ing in price from Rs 10 to Rs 250. He said designer New Year cal- endars and diaries are also picked as gifts by many. He said that he had orders worth Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 for New Year gifts. This is likely to increase as NY approaches.
Lalita Lohia, a gift shop owner of Saheed Nagar, who has been in this business for 20 years, said that compared to last year the thinking about New Year gifts had changed due to technological advances. Earlier, people used to visit each other personally to give gifts, now a sweet message with picture is enough. She said the nature of gifts has also changed. Soft toys and chocolate are popular during New Year. Big sized greeting cards are more popular than small ones. Rishabh Singh, a BTech student, said that greeting cards are still the favourite for New Year. He said cards will remain in memory, can be preserved, and adds to sweet memories. Priyadarshini, an HR profes- sional, said she had bought a soft toy for her friend as a New Year gift. She had also purchased a colourful greet- ing card with a sweet message. Priyadarshini said that greet- ing cards give a personal touch to
greetings which can’t be found in digital messages. She said she feels
irritated by the random messages from strangers. “How can I find out whether the person had wished me truly or not,” when the message comes via the phone. During New Year people sent gifts and messages to loved ones through the post too. A postal of- ficial said that nowadays very few gifts are being sent through post dur-
ing New Year, compared to festivals like Rakhi.