Duffs,tashas,drums join colour sale on Holi

At the Mahatma Phule Mandai,Tulshibaug,the regular morning din of vegetable and fruit traders was silenced by the beats of duffs,tashas and drums a day before the festival of colours. Sellers of small daphlis,halgis,dholaks ,tambourines and other percussion instruments set up makeshift shops and kiosks. “We have sold more than 2500 drums in the last two days,” said Raja Dimber,who procured the instruments from Solapur and Tembhurni districts. The small tashas,made of plastic with a colourful paper-wrapped body,are priced at Rs 100. The small duffs or halgis,with a leather body,cost Rs 60 and more as per the size.

A little ahead of Dimber’s shop,more than 10 women from Balajinagar,erected temporary kiosks to sell plastic dumrus,dhols and tashas. These instruments are specially purchased from Warangal,Andhra Pradesh,before Holi. “Two of the ladies from the group visit Warangal every year to get the products in bulk as the quality of sound is much better,” said Sushila More who has been selling duffs for over 10 years now. “To avoid getting into trouble for selling original leather duffs,we stick to the plastic ones,” added More.

“Though the supply of the percussion instruments has increased by 40 per cent,there has been no comparative rise in the demand. People opt for high-end speakers and in-house DJs than these live instruments these days,” added Dimber who owns a fruit stall for a regular income. Even More and her team work as maids to support their family.

Shivaji Market,Camp,sold two lakh cow dung cakes apart from several hundred duffs and dumrus on Wednesday. Priced at Rs 25 for five,huge piles of cow dung cakes were delivered to several mandals in and around the city. Fancy pichkaris priced at Rs 700 also flew off shelves at shops in Mandai. Designed as a tank which can be carried with an attached gun,these colourful delights are a hit among kids. “Pichkaris shaped as toys and priced at Rs 100 are also in great demand,” said Mayur Tambe,a seller of Holi accessories in Mandai.