Rain fails to keep puja shoppers away on last Sun before Mahalaya
Times of India | 15 September 2025
Kolkata: An overcast sky with spells of rain failed to deter shoppers who flocked to malls, high-street shops, and hawking hubs on Sunday. Mahalaya, when early birds begin pandal hopping, falls on next Sunday.
South City, Acropolis, Quest, and the two City Centres in Salt Lake and New Town recorded a sharp spike in footfall this weekend compared to the previous one, with average footfall up by 20%. This led to a 25% increase in sales, enough to embolden some mall operators to forecast a 15% growth in festive season revenue over last year.
At shopping hubs, like Gariahat, Hatibagan, and New Market, footfall on Sunday was visibly more than that on Saturday, with traders and hawkers vouching that it was the season's best turnout.
Now that people have begun shopping, they expect the momentum to continue and make up for the deficit they experienced until now.
What helped stimulate sales in malls this weekend was the introduction of festive offers. The end-of-season sale, which was extended until the end of Aug, meant many shopped for puja during the event. Durga Puja being celebrated early this year also left some families confused about when to step out to make purchases.
This weekend, particularly Sunday, the dilemma seemed to be over as people stepped out to shop.
During the day, the rain kept shoppers away from Gariahat market. But the crowd started pouring in after late afternoon. Rajat Pal, a garments trader at Gariahat market, said, "This is the last Sunday before Mahalaya and we were disappointed during the day, fearing that rain would deter the festive rush. However, the situation improved later as customers started coming in the evening."
Suman Saha, a hawker at Gariahat, said, "The crowd swelled in the afternoon, and sales have improved slightly compared to Saturday. Many were eager to wrap up shopping early to catch the India-Pakistan match."
The Hatibagan market was also crowded on Sunday evening. Prasenjit Saha, a hawker, said, "There were many buyers but most were picking up low-budget items. We are selling items at moderate prices to ensure that people buy from us.
Between 4 pm and 5 pm, I attended to about 10 customers; half of them bought while the rest went away after bargaining."
At New Market, puja shopping picked up in the afternoon. While some traders said loyal customers would always buy from the stores they frequent, others were less optimistic. "Initially, there were fewer shoppers due to the rain. But as the rain reduced, people started to pour in," said a trader. "This is the usual New Market shoppers crowd. The rain was a dampener earlier in the day," said Pulastya Maji, a shopper who came with his family from Howrah.