Broadway bustles with Onam shoppers, but rain dampens cheer

All roads led to Broadway on Sunday (August 23) as the market swelled with hundreds of shoppers and sales picked up sharply.

There was renewed enthusiasm among shoppers and sellers as business picked up after a sluggish few days. Rain and low customer turnout had dampened sales this season, said street vendors, who were among the worst affected.

Onam dresses for children being displayed for sale at Broadway in the city on August 23.
| Photo Credit:
THULASI KAKKAT

Holding a glass of piping-hot black tea and calling out at the top of his voice to attract customers snaking through the narrow streets, Ashiq N.S., a street-side vendor, said sales had not been good. Prices at most stalls started at ₹100, while the more expensive items cost around ₹500 to ₹600. As a woman in her thirties picked up a dress and examined it indecisively, he asked her to overlook the small dirt marks, saying they could easily be washed off.

Just as he had almost convinced her to buy the dress, the skies opened up. “This is the problem. It is evening, and sales are supposed to improve now, but that is precisely when it rains,” he said, as other workers and some customers rushed to pull plastic sheets over the clothes. “This has become routine. All we can do is wait for the rain to stop. By then, we will have lost several customers,” he said.

Muhammed Noushad, another street-side vendor, wondered whether people had enough money to spend.

“We brought in these Onam clothes for the festive season. We earn on a commission basis, and the rain has further affected sales. All we can do is fold our arms and wait for it to stop,” he said, folding his arms across his chest to demonstrate the dismal situation.

Abdul Razack (name changed), who was also selling Onam-themed clothes, said he had owned a shop on the street a few years ago.

“I lost the shop and suffered losses. I am starting again and am now selling these clothes on a commission basis.

“Sales have been lower this season, except yesterday and today. Perhaps people are buying from online stores,” he said. Even as online stores were said to be drawing customers away, the internet had also brought some shoppers to the market. Thahira, a young woman, could be heard playfully warning her sister-in-law Shahana that all hell would break loose if she failed to find the particular green outfit she had seen online.

“There was a video showing clothes being sold at very low prices and even by weight. We still haven’t found the place,” said Shahana, a native of Puthuvype.