Youths pick jeans over kurta-pajama for Holi, sale at khadi counter down
The traditional practice of wearing white ‘kurta-pajama’ on Holi seems to be fading, especially among youngsters.
The traditional practice of wearing white kurta-pajama on Holi seems to be fading, especially among youngsters. Youths say they prefer trendy outfits like jeans and t-shirts for Holi as they are more comfortable than kurta-pajamas.
Salesmen at khadi counters in Ghaziabad said the sale of white kurta-pajama has not been very encouraging this year.
“The maximum sale of kurta-pajamas takes place at the time of Gandhi Jayanti when we offer discounts. People do not prefer wearing kurta-pajama on Holi as their prices are high, ranging between Rs 430 and Rs 1,000,” said Vijay Bahadur from Shri Gandhi Ashram Khadi Gramodyog Bhawan at Ambedkar Road in Ghaziabad.
Regional office bearers from Shri Gandhi Ashram at Hapur said they sold nearly 1.5 lakh sets of kurta-pajama, white and multi-coloured, in the week before Holi, which is less than the previous year.
“The sale (for all khadi products) stood at around Rs 4.5 crore in 2014-15 at our 18 counters in Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Hapur districts. This year, the sales have come down by nearly Rs 50-52 lakh,” said JP Shukla, secretary, Shri Gandhi Ashram regional office, at Hapur.
Youngsters, meanwhile, said they are planning to celebrate Holi in their ‘purani (old) jeans’ and t-shirt.
“A pair of jeans with t-shirt looks trendy and is also convenient when we visit our friends and relatives. The kurta-pajama is old-fashioned,” said Class 12 student Arnav Kumar from Ahimsa Khand in Indirpuram.
Youngsters said they prefer t-shirts as they are cheaper compared to kurta-pajamas. They said they can buy t-shirts from weekly markets for around Rs 200.
“Why wear a new kurta-pajama and feel uncomfortable when we have old jeans and t-shirts? Jeans do not get torn easily and they also look good in photos. Kurta-pajama is suitable for festivals like Raksha-Bandhan or Diwali,” said Ayush Sinha, a Class 12 student from Kavi Nagar.
However, kurta-pajama does not seem to be completely out of fashion, at least in Noida.
“We sold 23 sets of white khadi kurta-pajama to a customer yesterday. The customer was from a media house and he purchased the sets for his colleagues. We sold 50 pairs of white kurta-pajama each in the past five days,” said Narender Singh, in-charge, Khadi India outlet in Noida Sector 27.
