Christmas Cheer

A walk down the retail market of Bohri Ali in Shukrawar Peth fills one’s mind with the buzz of Christmas. Even the two oldest shops at Camp,East Street,are abounding with bells,stars and other embellishments. Mustaffa Sabuwala of Hatimi Papers & Stationers at Bohri Ali says,“This time,several new items have made their into the market. Ninety per cent of the decorations are made in China and we get them from Delhi,Mumbai and Kolkata.” At his shop,one spots Christmas trees in all sizes,colourful stars,acrylic bells,decorative paper strips and so on. It’s a potpourri of colour and culture.

Another retailer at Bohri Ali,Rakesh Agarwal,shows off the White Christmas Tree which is the highlight of his shop this season. He says,“For the first time this year,we have a White Christmas Tree in our shop. Other attractions include the six-ft musical Santa Claus and special mistletoes.” Besides the decorative articles,there are Santa costumes,masks,a snow man as well as wood and paper sets depicting the birth of Jesus Christ.

In Camp,the J P D’mello shop,which was started in 1942,is known for its stock of crosses,candles and festive knick-knacks. Owner Ivo D’mello says,“We have more than 3000 different types of Christmas decoration articles in our shop. They range anywhere between Rs 20 to Rs 80,000.” His store stocks rings,Santa masks,snow-flex,laser lights,and so on.

D Furtado & Sons also has a history of 60 years in the business. Owner D Furtado says,“Christmas is our main festival and we love to celebrate it. Though there is a craze of China-made items,we still stock some local hand-made products in our shop.”

That China-made knick-knacks have captured the market is true. It has affected the business of local craftsmen. Fayyaz Akhtar,whose whole family is engaged in making such decorative goods,says,“Now,the demand for hand-made goods has reduced. So,we only make paper stars and small decorative items from plastic.” Another artist Ravindra Jadhav adds,”There’s a craze for those imported goods. Very few customers come to us for hand-made items.”