Author: TNN
Publication: The Times of India
Date: August 3, 2012
URL: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-08-03/hyderabad/33018871_1_sweet-shops-rakhi-raksha-bandhan

It was festival time in the city on Thursday as families celebrated Raksha Bandhan with great fervour. Most schools and colleges remained closed on the occasion while sweet shops and gift stores cashed in on the festive boom to report 25%-40% increase in sales. Special mithais and gift boxes of assorted chocolates sold like hotcakes this year according to some store managers.

 While some celebrated at home in the traditional way with the sister observing fast until she tied the rakhi on her brother's wrist after taking elders' blessings, others celebrated at their workplaces by wishing their co-workers. City roads were not as clogged as is usual and many restaurants organised rakhi-themed lunches and dinners with special and traditional items on their menu.

 Rajesh Dadu, proprietor of Dadu's Mithai Vatika, said, "Sales today are three times more than on a regular day and 25% better than last year. We were not expecting such a good response from the public but customers started pouring in from yesterday itself. We made the most of the rush by making special festive sweets like sitaphal rasmalai, pineapple mazab, badam and kaju sweets shaped like rakhis and other snacks like mini pizzas."

 He added that the special rakhi thali, which contains four to five kinds of sweets, a rakhi and kumkum was a huge hit with the crowd as they sold nearly 500 to 600 of these thalis at each store.

 Other sweet shops in the city too managed to make the most of the festival. Agra Sweets in Charminar did brisk business on Thursday, recording a 30% jump in sales. Rajesh Agarwal, store owner, said, "Special preparations like ghevar, Bengali sweets, malai puri and kaju katli were in huge demand. Although the month of Ramzan is a slow business period for us given that our shop is in the Old City, where hawkers block the road during this time, festivals like Rakshabandhan always help boost sales." Almond House stores in the city too saw the number of customers go up by at least 10%.

 Meanwhile, gift stores in the city were crowded with customers looking for the perfect gift for their family members. "We have never recorded such high sales of chocolate during raksha bandhan. Our profits this year are at least 50% greater than previous year's figures," said Sayeed Abid, supervisor at Himalaya Book World.

 Shraddha Extensions, another gift store in Secunderabad too reported a 40% rise in sales and said that they had doubled their stock of special gift items like imported chocolate, imitation jewellery and perfumes, which drew a good response from the public.

 Meanwhile, Chanchalguda prison authorities permitted more than 30 students of St Francis Degree College, Begumpet, into the jail to tie rakhis to undertrials and convicts. The students spent nearly an hour with the prisoners in an open area near the administrative block inside the jail.