Festival frenzy in Kollam hit its crescendo on Saturday evening as crowds thronged streets and shopping centres as part of ‘Uthrada Pachil’, the last-minute purchase spree. People poured into textile shops from morning to pick their ‘Onakkodis’ and the inflow of customers continued till night in and around Chinnakkada, the city centre. There were long queues in front of grocery and vegetable shops while a handful of fairs also had a steady footfall. Flower merchants made a fortune as there was a huge demand for various flowers. “The last day pookalam features ten different flowers and several shoppers bought all varieties we had. Then there is consistent demand for flowers to be worn with traditional attire till Thiruvonam. This year the business is good,” said Chandrababu, flower vendor. Street vendors selling utensils, toys, clothes, fancy items, vegetables, snacks and artefacts also did well as many families spent an entire day shopping for everything they needed for Onam. “We can’t store all items needed for the sadya in advance. They will buy a handful of items including the banana leaves on the eve of Thiruvonam, the Uthradam day,” said Sunny, a fruit and vegetable vendor. Traffic snarls were seen at some major points due to the rush and the city malls remained crowded from morning. “Since District Tourism Promotion Council’s Onam is not organising any event this year, the crowd may grow smaller in coming days. But we did brisk business on Saturday,” said Das, who sells bangles. While bakers saw long queues, restaurants in the city also had several customers waiting to book slots for sadya for Thiruvonam day on Sunday.  Published – September 14, 2024 08:42 pm IST