GEORGE TOWN: Not only is there a festive mood in Little India but for some, wedding bells are in the air too.

       “Since traditional weddings are allowed now, people are taking advantage of the Deepavali festive promotion to shop for wedding sarees,” said textile store owner GP Asok Kumar.

       Beautiful sarees that used to cost RM4,000 are now going for RM2,000, some as low as RM600.

       Asok Kumar said he has been selling at least two wedding sarees every day since late last month.

       “Wedding sarees are special. The expensive ones are pure silk.

       “Usually, the bride and her family would want to feel the material and make comparisons before buying. It is hard to do that online,” he said.

       A check by The Star found another store in Little India with sarees that once cost between RM180 and RM200 going for RM75 to RM85 as part of its Deepavali clearance sales.

       “We are not looking for large profits.

       “We are happy to break even,” said store owner P. Ramalingam.

       He is glad to be having a festive sale and helping to keep the tradition of wearing sarees alive.

       Ramalingam noted that shoppers could be anxious about another lockdown, so now that interstate travel was allowed, they were coming from afar to get their shopping done.

       Shopper Mayuri Rengasamy, 28, said that discounts offered this year were much better than previous years.

       “I bought three good sarees for around RM250 each.

       “They would have been around RM350 each last year,” she said.

       Over the weekend, Deepavali shoppers were also seen patronising jewellery stores.

       “We usually have special promotions for Deepavali and with the wedding season, many are buying jewellery as gold prices are attractive now compared to last year,” said jewellery store owner S. Yuvabalan.

       He said the buying of jewellery had a major significance in Indian culture.