“Sale, Sale, Chaitra Sale…”

While walking through the streets of one of the largest markets in Kolkata, you will hear this every now and then. The Hatibagan market in Kolkata is renowned for its Chaitra sale offers. People of Kolkata wait for this time of the year to buy new clothes at a cheaper rate. The rates are fixed yet minimal.  It is like a shopping fest which is a quintessential part of Kolkata’s lifestyle. The year-ending stocks are dispatched with amazing discounts.

In the era of online shopping, people have nearly forgotten to enjoy the evenings at the Hatibagan market. But, such a place is beyond replacement, no matter how much digital people tend to become. The market of Hatibagan provides so many options that you can’t help but indulge in all the purchases. Things that you have been planning to buy all year-round.

Sari, salwar suits, fancy dresses, bedsheets, curtains, pillow covers, cushions, dupattas, jewelry, and much more. There are even opportunities of ‘buy one get one free’, because of which you end up buying a bulk of an item and then eventually struggle to carry them along during the ‘sale tour’.

The tour is certainly a test of patience. First, you have to make your way through the massive crowd to get your purchases, and then you will have to shift from one sale to another in search of the same item for an even a lesser price. You shall get no space to walk just like the pandal hopping in pujas. You shall have to literally dodge yourself out to reach the bus stand.