Inflation plays spoilsport this Onam
Malayalis complained about the high prices of vegetables used in the sadya, a traditional feast served on a banana leaf, and flowers used to make the pookalam, a flower rangoli.
Malayalis complained about the high prices of vegetables used in the sadya, a traditional feast served on a banana leaf, and flowers used to make the pookalam, a flower rangoli.
"Vegetables like raw banana and lemons, which are some of the main ingredients to prepare the sadya, have become costlier by more than Rs 10 a kilo," said Laxmi Balagopal, a Goregaon resident, who also had to shell out more for flowers. "I paid Rs 20 for 250 gm of marigold flowers used for the rangoli. Last year, the same quantity cost Rs 15" she said.
This year, Goregaon Malayalee Samaj called off its pookalam-making competition so as not to burden people with the increasing cost of flowers.
Malayalis looking to enjoy the sadya at a restaurant will also have to shell out more this year. Several Malayali restaurants in the city have increased their rates owing to high vegetable prices.
"We had to increase our rates from Rs 150 to Rs 200 a person this year owing to inflation," said P Prabhakaran, manager of Sneha Restaurant, Mahim, which closed early on Tuesday to prepare sadya for 500 customers.
Other restaurants such as Murali Hotel in Powai and Hotel Deluxe in Fort have also marginally increased their rates for the sadya this year.
Avinash Patil, deputy secretary, Agriculture Produce Marketing Corporation (APMC), Vashi, said the price of vegetables was high as prices charged by retailers cannot be controlled.
"The wholesale prices of vegetables have been stable over the last few days, despite low rainfall. When retailers add charges to cover transportation and other costs, the prices rise," Patil said.