It seems the whole of the delta has descended on the markets on the eve of Pongal, the harvest festival, which falls on Sunday.
Buses and trains are running full while bus terminals and railway stations are teeming with passengers hurrying to reach various destinations to be with their families during the rather long festive period.
People are swarming various markets on Pongal eve with traders doing a brisk business be it dress materials, sweets, vegetables, groceries and the like.
In the rural markets, farmers are thronging the shops for purchasing new ropes, rings, tethers, Netti Maalai, plastic decorative garlands, flowers, earthen pots, turmeric and ginger plants and of course the ubiquitous sugarcane. “This year seems to be better in terms of business being transacted,” acknowledges T. Aalalasundaramoorthy, a grocer belonging to Tiruvaiyaru.
He also sells ropes and other items for farmers’ needs besides expanding his makeshift shop to accommodate fruits and flowers to cash in on the festive demand.
Perhaps that has something to do with the better fortune of the farmers this year unlike the previous years when they faced drought and despondency.
In the old delta aycut areas, the kuruvai crop was reasonably good and farmers were able to get a breather. So far, their samba and thalady paddy crops are coming up well though they are expecting water till the end of February.
What is important is the air of positivism that pervades the farming community as of now and that has ushered in a true festive spirit, observes a farmer K. Manikandan of Thirukkattupalli.
The sprawling market at Darasuram on the outskirts of Kumbakonam is filled with people doing brisk festive business.
The market is a hub of activity for vegetable, fruit, coconut, sugarcane, earthen pots and such other things.
“See the number of trucks from various States that have lined up outside the market. That much agricultural produce has arrived from numerous destinations and the business has been reasonably good this year. Though the prices of major farm products have seen upward revision over that of the last year’s their availability has sharply increased pointing to better days to come,” notes a wholesale trader V. Ravi of Kumbakonam.
The Gandhi Market and Uzhavar Sandhais in Tiruchi also witnessed brisk business on Saturday and teemed with people buying various commodities to celebrate Pongal.
According to a rough estimate, more than 10,000 customers thronged Uzhavar Sandhai at Anna Nagar, one of the popular farmer markets in Tiruchi, where farmers and traders had set up special stalls to sell banana, turmeric, jaggery, coconuts, banana leaves, fruit and vegetables.
Several part time traders also brought farm fresh sugarcanes at Uzhavar Sandhai. Temporary shops have been set up at junctions and various corners of important streets in the city to sell sugarcane and turmeric plants.
Compared to last year, the markets are said to have been flooded with sugarcane and turmeric thanks to reasonably good rain in recent months.
