Jasmine, sandal, musk… the fragrances tease you as you walk into Karumbukkadai. Women in stylish burqas brush past purposefully. After all, it is Ramzan, and there’s shopping to be done.
Karumbukadai, just another regular locality otherwise, turns into a dazzling marketplace during Ramzan. It has grown in size and popularity over the past decade. People head here from across the city for sweet bargains. Business must be good, for those from neighbouring Kerala have set up stalls, selling everything from surma, perfume and attar to prayer caps, prayer mats and plastic flowers, sourced from Mumbai and Chennai.
“London seruppu, London seruppu,” sings out Shamsuddin. Sandals and heels studded with sequins twinkle at you. At Rs. 100 a pair, they seem irresistible. A few women try them out, pay, and carefully squeeze the purchase inside their already-bulging bags.
Nearby, two men sell laser lights. They sit on a bench and shine the light on the ground, illuminating it in a hundred colours. Sights like these draw kids Yasser Arafat, Abdullah and Suhail Fasith to the fair. They jump on the light patterns on the ground and coax the two laser light annas to direct the light at them, so that they are covered in a kaleidoscope of colours. For them, this is nothing short of a rocking street party that goes on till the wee hours, till Ramzan…
An old man in a prayer cap sells poosani and muscoth halwa, made specially for this season. A colourful board announces the availability of Kerala-special Kalakki, in many flavours. Wonder what it is!
Amid all this din, there’s calm inside the tailoring units on this stretch. Men enquire hopefully if their new clothes are ready. At Ahha’s designs, owner Ramar is working on a shirt. He and his team will stay up till three to finish late orders.
Outside Roshan Burqa, men hold wailing babies as the mothers rush in and out of shops. At Fayas, a wholesale and retail outlet, trendy burqas hang on the walls — studded with sequins, stones, lace, gold zari, appliqué and patchwork. Among the hot designs this season are burqas cut like a coat, and those with smocking and frills.
Three sisters walk briskly to make it for the night prayers. They go to the big stores in the city for their main purchase, but come to Karumbukkadai every day during this season to take in the ambience. And yes, buy something small to remember this trip by.
After this come the dazzling stalls selling ear rings, hair clips and everything else festive. “Amma, vaangatta?” beseeches a teen, as her mother carefully inspects a stone-studded butterfly clip she has chosen, only to reject it. The girls looks crestfallen, but is soon distracted as she sees another store. Hope floats.
