‘Baba Bulldozer’ pitchkaris selling like hot cakes in Varanasi

Varanasi shopkeepers say the bulldozer pitchkaris were attracting a good number of customers and sale of this product was brisk even days before the festival

‘Bulldozer’, the word often mentioned by chief minister Yogi Adityanath to warn criminals with, has gained so much popularity that makers of Holi paraphernalia have found it an opportunity to cash in on.

Water guns (pitchkaris) made of plastic in the shape of a bulldozer have become quite a craze in Varanasi. (Rajesh Kumar/HT)

The result is that markets selling Holi goods here are flooded with ‘Baba Bulldozer’ pitchkaris (water guns), along with the traditional Banarasi ones. The water guns, made of plastic, are shaped like a bulldozer.

And, according to Varanasi shopkeepers, the bulldozer water guns are attracting a good number of customers and sale of this product is brisk even days before the festival.

Children are the main buyers of the unique water guns, with some adults, too, making purchases.

Shopkeepers of the wholesale market in Harha Sarai area of Varanasi say that they are doing brisk business these days.

According to wholesaler Mohammad Asif, “Bulldozer pichkaris are available for ₹135 per piece. So far, thousands of these water guns have been sold. The demand for them is very high.”

He said traditional water guns were also drawing customers.

Banaras Hindu University (BHU) prof Gyaneshwar Chaube said he was surprised when his 10-year-old son Vedant asked for a ‘Baba Bulldozer’ water gun.

“Vedant came to know about this water gun from a neighbour. I then took my son to the market in Lanka area here, but the shopkeepers there told me that all ‘Baba Bulldozer’ water guns had been sold out. They were running out of stock,” Chaube said, and added that the water guns had become a craze among the children here.

VOCAL FOR LOCAL

Mohammad Asif said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘vocal for local’ appeal has revived the traditional Banarasi pichkaris this season. These water guns are available from ₹4 to ₹10 per piece depending on the size of the water gun.

He had purchased traditional pichkaris worth ₹2 lakh from local craftsmen. In the last four days, all the traditional Banarasi pichkaris were sold, he said.

Asif said Chinese water guns dominated the local market for the last two decades. As a result, demand for Banarasi pichkaris fell. There were no takers.

But PM Modi’s appeal to buy things produced by local craftsmen worked wonders and in this Holi season, Banarasi water guns are also in demand for their quality and low price.