With Pongal round the corner, markets are crowded with people making last-minute purchases. The Goubert Market on Bharathi Street witnessed a brisk sale of sugarcane, turmeric bunches and jaggery on Sunday.
Sensing the huge demand, vendors have made arrangements to bring in additional loads of sugarcane and turmeric to markets in the city to continue the sale till Tuesday. Over 20 loads of sugarcane from Tamil Nadu have flooded the Goubert Market here.
Many traders here sell sugarcane in bundles (10 canes) at ₹350 to ₹400. The retail price is ₹30 per piece depending on the size and variety. Turmeric bunches brought from Erode are sold at ₹40 to ₹50 per bunch said Raghu, a vendor from Puducherry. However, the sale of colourful clay pots has been dull this year as a majority of people prefer to cook pongal in gas stoves. Traditionally, the practice is to prepare Pongal using clay pots.
“On the day of Pongal, clay pots are used to boil rice with milk outside the house thanking the Sun God. A turmeric plant is usually tied around the pot and sugarcanes are offered too. But, these traditional practices are slowly fading away. People no longer use clay pots to boil rice and milk,” says S. Lakshmi, a vendor on Ambalathadayar Madam Street.
The price of flowers has also skyrocketed on the eve of Pongal. The ‘jathi malli’ was priced at ₹1,500 per kg while the price of Chrysanthemum was hovering between ₹180 to ₹200. Despite the high prices, people thronged the market for buying flowers, said Selva, a flower seller on Bharathi Street.
