On Sunday, ‘inauspicious’ hours came and went, but sales at jewellery shops in T. Nagar continued unabated.
Huge crowds had thronged the area on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, and the fact that Raahu Kaalam was from 4.30 p.m. to 6 p.m. — many consider it inauspicious to buy new things then — did not matter.
Over 60 jewellery showrooms in the locality did brisk business.
“My daughter is only free to shop on weekends, so we decided to shop today. We picked up some jewellery for my daughter and granddaughter. I ensure that the jewellery is sturdy and only buy ornaments that I know I will not want to exchange soon,” said S. Bhanumathi, a resident of Ayanavaram.
Amongst the crowds, it was easy to spot those who had bought the yellow metal, simply by the way they clutched their bags.
Over 250 policemen had been stationed in front of jewellery establishments to ensure the safety of the shoppers and their purchases as many had waited for this day to buy jewellery.
“We were told that it was good to buy gold on Akshaya Tritiya, so we bought a chain for our daughter, one of her first pieces of jewellery,” said E. Senthil of Velachery who had come to a showroom along with his wife, mother and young daughter.
Though the decrease in the price of gold over the last few weeks has been used by many shoppers to buy the precious metal, there were still thousands who had arrived to buy gold especially on Sunday.
“We shopped for ornaments a few days ago. But today, I bought gold and silver coins. The silver coins are for dhaanam . I make it a point to buy gold coins every year on Akshaya Tritiya,” said P.S. Subramanian of Saligramam.
Meanwhile, India Post has announced that it is selling gold coins at 48 selected post offices in the city in association with Reliance Money Infrastructure. Gold coins (24 carat) ranging between 0.5g and 50g are available.
