Bhubaneswar: With only four days to go for Raksha Bandhan — the festival that honours the eternal love and bond between brothers and sisters — the craze for rakhis have shot up in Bhubaneswar.
Rakhi stores have come up in every nook and corner of the city and different types of rakhis are on sale in the market. The price of rakhis begin at Rs 5 and go as high as Rs 1,000.
For children, Chota Bheem, Motu Patlu, Shiva, Doremon and similar variants of rakhis are a major draw. Similarly, stone rakhis with intricate designs are in high demand and command a high price. Rakhi can be found in grocery stores, shopping malls and roadside shops as well.
Besides, rakhis are also available online. Several e-commerce websites are selling rakhis on their websites. Rakhis featuring photographs of brothers and sisters are in top demand. For this, people have to place the order beforehand.
Lumba in trend
With passage of time, the concept of Rakhi as a festival has evolved. These days, sisters have begun to tie rakhis to their sisters and brothers have also begun to tie rakhis to their sisters to express their love. A specially made rakhi called ‘Lumba’ is available in the market for women. Lumba rakhis range between Rs 50 and Rs 1,500 depending on the design.
ORMAS celebrates Rakhi in a unique way
This year, ORMAS, which is part of the Panchayati Raj Department of Odisha Government has begun selling rakhis. It has set up a stall named ‘Niara Rakhi Sambhara’ in Unit-VIII area of Bhubaneswar. Here you can find eco-friendly rakhis. These rakhis are created by various self-help groups (SHG) using various organic components. The price of eco-friendly rakhis ranges between Rs 15 and Rs 50.
At a time when the economy is stalling and many people are losing their jobs, the eco-friendly rakhi industry provides hope for many SHG organisations. ORMAS has announced that their rakhi stall will be open from 8am to 5pm till August 22.
