AHMEDABAD, Oct 1: The price rise and the fear of dropsy did not keep fafda-chutni and jalebi loving Amdavadis off their Dussera fare, but sales did show a sharp dip.According to Ashwinbhai Mehta, treasurer of the Association of Mithai, Chavana, & Farsan Sellers, sales went down by nearly 50 per cent. ``Last year Ahmedabad is consumed some 4,000 kg of fafda and jalebi, but this year not more than 2,500 kg was sold.'' But the crowds were there from morning at the shops, and they were as enthusiastic as in the years before. As one buyer put it, ``This is an occasion to celebrate, so why should we not do so. Why bother about anything else''.The hold of the peculiarly Amdavadi tradition of feasting on fafda-jalebi on Dassera saw people queuing up outside sweetmeat shops on Thursday, and many of the shops had put up pandals and special fafda-jalebi counters, as is done every year. It is a tradition that has baffled scholars of culture. Nowhere else in Gujarat is Dussera an occasion for tucking into fafda-jalebi, according to scholar Chinubhai Nayak. Nowhere in the religious texts is it said that fafda-jalebi should be eaten on this day. There are a host of people who disparage the tradition, saying that in the enthusiasm to eat fafda-jalebi, Amdavadis have forgotten the religious significance of Dussera, which is the victory of good over evil.But the price rise told on sales. The cheaper fafda, which sold for some Rs 60 per kg last year, was tagged at Rs 70-Rs 90 this year. With prices of most other goods having gone up people's spending power has diminished. This saw people spending less on items like fafda-jalebi. But that does not bother the man who will queue up for over an hour to buy his fafda-jalebi. As a man lining up for a few kilos of the stuff put it, ``I don't bother about the thoughts of cultural experts. I want to enjoy, and for me enjoyment is eating fafda-jalebi''.
