Independence Day fervour was rife in the city on August 15, with a special emphasis on elaborate decor involving the tri-colour being the predominant theme.
That traditional flag and decor vendors in Bohri Ali and Raviwar Peth, apart wrist bands and hair bands, this year displayed caps in the Bhagat Singh and Army motifs.
Perhaps the biggest news of the day comes from vendors in Bohri Ali.
Saif Qureshi mans the counter at the Crown Paper Mart and busy as he is ahead of Independence Day, he says, “We don’t have much in stock in plastic. Almost all plastic products have stopped. Earlier, the pataka (festoon) were completely in plastic, now they are either in paper or satin; same ith the flags. Though there are certain products that are of last year’s stock that are plastic. All we have in plastic is leftover stock of last year - plastic straws with satin flags.
Paper flags, satin fabric flags, an entire festoon of paper or satin flags and small office accompaniments adorn the Manuraj Trading Company.
“There is a lot of demand for cloth or paper flags, balloons, even buttons and badges in shape of medals specifically made for offices. We have demand for paper stickers too, to put up in vehicles, besides a great number of people are buying tri-coloured festoons. The demand for non-plastic has gone up and products made out of wood, paper and cloth are selling fast,” says owner, Pukhraj Charoli.
{{/usCountry}}“There is a lot of demand for cloth or paper flags, balloons, even buttons and badges in shape of medals specifically made for offices. We have demand for paper stickers too, to put up in vehicles, besides a great number of people are buying tri-coloured festoons. The demand for non-plastic has gone up and products made out of wood, paper and cloth are selling fast,” says owner, Pukhraj Charoli.
{{/usCountry}}“We are buying only paper flags which can be reused as office decoration, and we have bought paper tri-colour festoons as well as metal badges for the entire staff. There is a celebration in office today (August 14),” said Vaishali Patil, Lakshya Computer Institute.
At various chowks, street vendors were busy urging the patriotism in commuters, selling various flags and badges.
The cheapest on sale, Rs 10, did have a plastic stick attached to a smal flag. “These are fast selling as people need it only for half a day,” says vendor Vijay Kale. Till 1pm, he had sold Rs 700 worth of I-Day goods at the University Chowk.
“We prefer using satin, but sadly this one is mounted on plastic. Paper flags get wet in the rain and get spoilt, hence the cloth flags which are eco friendly,” says Vikrant Bankar, Acu Tech Power Solution.
At Pune Handmade Papers, Shivaji Nagar, the counter boasted a beautiful handmade paper Indian flag sold at Rs 15, a piece. “These flags are very durable and made out of old rags and paper waste,” says Dinesh Lohapatre, COO, Pune Handmade Papers.