Looking for bargains as Avurudu gets closer

By Shezna Shums

As Avurudu gets closer, more and more people are making their way to Seasonal Sales and shops to finish their last minute shopping before they leave for their homes in the villages with presents for family and friends.

Shoppers flocked to the centres where there were bargain sales of clothes, shoes, food and other household items on 11 April as Avurudu got closer.

For traders the Sinhala New Year is a time when people spend on new clothes and gifts for their family and others at home to celebrate the dawn of a new year, which in turn gives them bigger profits. For shoppers this is a special time of the year when they spend what they have saved up during the year to buy clothes, gifts and other items to celebrate the dawn of the Sinhala New Year with their family.

Avurudu Sales have been organised in many locations around Colombo to meet the demands of the ever increasing number of shoppers during this Avurudu season, while individual shops and nodal commercial centres such as Nugegoda, Pettah, Maharagama, Pamunuwa etc. saw crowds of shoppers hurrying to finish their last minute shopping, and also seeking bargains at the same time.

Usually as the Sinhala New Year approaches more and more people from the surrounding urban areas make their way to Colombo or to other major towns to do their New Year shopping and also take advantage of the Seasonal Sales which offer items at cheaper prices.

With individual shops and shopping malls advertising Avurudu Sales, all roads in the city are chock-a-block with vehicles as the rich, the new-rich, and the not-so-rich all vie with each other to buy whatever they need for the New Year.  

The Daily FT visited some of the places where there were Sales were in progress and spoke to the shoppers who were looking for bargains.

Most of the shoppers said that the prices were reasonable although they weren’t rock bottom prices the quality and variety available were good.

However what seemed to be the case was that people were spending most of their money on essentials this Sinhala New Year — on items such as new clothes, food and gifts while the non essential items saw little movement.

The centres where these sales had been organised, were in fact crowded with shoppers, with many of them flocking to stalls selling clothes, shoes, gifts and food items, while there were only a few shoppers seen at places offering non essentials.

There were indeed large crowds of shoppers as always seen during Avurudu time, at shops selling clay pots and chatties — clay pots being a sine-qua-non for boiling milk or making milk rice at the auspicious time.

Despite food prices being relatively high, shoppers said they just had to buy them to be taken to their kith and kin in their home towns or villages. Even ingredients needed for sweatmeats which children and adults enjoy during the New Year were dearer and unaffordable for most people.

Supermarkets in and around the city were well stocked with Avurudu sweets, bananas, village vegetables and greens.

Daily FT spoke to some the shoppers and this is what they had to say: Upeka Senaratne said that despite the high prices she was buying new clothes and gifts for the family and the elders because it is the Sinhala New Year custom to wear new clothes and also give ‘presents’ to the extended family. “The prices are not cheap, but the quality is good and there is a good selection said Upeka, when asked for a comment.

Also shopping with her was Jayathri Kulathilake who said that she too came shopping because they needed these items for the New Year.

Another new year shopper Udayakumar Rajapakse said that he preferred to shop at the Convention Centre or the BMICH as prices are were better there than at the shops. He too said that the quality and selection was good, ‘as you can get something within your tight budget.’

V. Wasantha who is an Assistant Director  in a government office said that looking at the clothes put on sale; there was a great selection available in women’s clothing, but not so when it came to men’s clothing. “Here the prices are reasonable and the selection of things are good, than in the shops outside,” he added.

Chandralatha Jayasuriya whose home is in Gampaha and was seen browsing the shops said that the bags and sari’s were cheaper and the other items were ‘better priced’ as the last day of the sale was approaching.  She said she preferred to come to Colombo to do the New Year shopping due to the wide selection available.  

Mala Alwis who was also doing her Avurudu shopping said that there were more deals this year when compared with the previous years. Padmini Perera from Battaramula also echoed the same sentiments but added it was the price that decided the ‘quality’ of what one bought.  Good things are not cheap she added with a smile.

Kalyani Mangalika who comes from Maharagama said that she came with her son to do her New Year shopping and that she picked up some really good stuff at the ‘Seasonal Sales.’ Suganthi Kanchana and J. Indunil , both of whom are from Wadduwa had come to Colombo to finish their Avurudu shopping and said that it was better to visit places such as the BMICH or the Convention Hall for shopping as the prices were reasonable than at the shops. “The selection is also better and now there are fewer crowds; so it is easier to shop,” they chorused gleefully.

The Sinhala New Year is a time of the year when people spend quite a lot of money on clothes, food, gifts and celebrations; and this year it was not different with shops and streets crowded with beams and smiles adorning people’s faces.

Pix by Upul Abayasekara