When Chandrashekar Pasarge, owner of Srishti Drishti Saree Centre, began giving away saris for a rupee each, fellow vendors thought he would go bankrupt. He has surprised them, by buying a second shop, bigger than the first and doubling the number of workers. What more, he also expanded the unprecedented discounts to all materials in his shop. Mr. Pasarge’s children, after whom the shop is named, had suggested that he sell saris for a rupee to help poor women affected by demonetisation.
“What can I say? The one rupee sari scheme has brought me luck, I think,” he said, with a broad grin, dealing with the countless customers who now flood his shop. “I will not close shop, I will keep growing,” he said.
The crowds has been swelling at the second shop, next to the district hospital compound, as well.
Though he has stopped the “A sari a rupee” scheme, he has introduced several similar schemes. They include saris for ₹ 20, ₹ 165, and ₹ 265. He is also selling silk saris at a face value of ₹ 2,000 at ₹ 450, and a pair of shirt and pant pieces at one fourth the actual price.
The surprise package is the wedding offer where one can walk away with a steel cupboard, refrigerator, bed or other household materials, if the total purchase amount crosses certain limits. Mr. Pasarge insists he is not making losses.
“We had 12 workers. Now we have 26,” informs Pushpak Kumar, store manager. “Our workers are like honey bees. They work without rest or break for over 12 hours a day. They go home at 11 p.m., but are back by 10 a.m.,’’ says Mr. Kumar.
‘A sari a rupee’ scheme brought us wide publicity. Now we are having customers from across the border from Telangana and Maharashtra. The lord has blessed us. It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who gave us this opportunity and we will continue to support him, the owner said.
