A day ahead of the reopening of schools, Ahmed Ashraf of Ceylon Fancy House, a shop in Mylapore that flaunts dozens of gleaming school bags grandly announced that the crowd in his shop is “ten times more than usual” this weekend.
Having sold at least six school bags in fifteen minutes, he clearly had no time to draw accurate estimates. School students added to the weekend rush at many shops that were selling school bags, shoes, water bottles, stationery. Even pavement shops selling handkerchiefs were swamped.
Customers adopted a variety of methods to deal with what they unanimously called a steep rise in prices. K. Raja, an autorickshaw driver, took a break from work to buy school bags for his children from a shop on the pavement in T. Nagar. “I come to the same shop each year. He is my customer; so he does not overcharge me and I don’t bargain,” he said even as he lamented the spiralling prices.
A. Rosy, who had come to shop for her niece and nephew, said that price rise had specifically affected school bags and water bottles.
“Their school reduced the fee but stipulated that we buy uniforms and even shoes and socks from them although their supplies are costly” she said.
It was not just shops selling shoes, bags and knick knacks that were swamped but those selling uniform material too. With retailers offering readymade uniforms for some schools, parents such as K. Divya, whose son’s admission got confirmed only last week, could still manage to get a pair. “I had to buy one size larger because they did not have stock, but at this age, he will grow,” she said.
L. Pavithra, who is going to class V, had come to T. Nagar to buy an extra pair of uniforms for a rainy day. She said she looked forward to another year, during which she would not miss a single day of school.
