It has been that way for the past two weeks as shoppers thronged the streets of Kuala Lumpur’s “Little India’ to prepare for the first major festival to be celebrated since most Covid-19 restrictions were lifted last month.
Swarms of customers have been buzzing from shop to shop looking for bargains on festive wear, decorations, prayer items, Deepavali sweets – and everything else in between.
Policemen and Rela volunteers were also busy controlling the heavy traffic in the area.
Even Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob was impressed with the festive spirit when he visited the area yesterday to see how shoppers were preparing for the festival of lights, describing the atmosphere as “very lively”.
Business has been so good that some shop owners have hardly had time to catch their breath.
“I had customers throughout Sunday and I didn’t have any free time. We (the staff) didn’t even have any time to eat,” said Sahil, 23, who has three stalls in Brickfields selling a variety of Indian sweetmeats.
“Covid-19 has been a problem for the past year, but we are seeing people coming back (to the shops) now.”
Sales have been just as encouraging at Mangala Theebam Pattu Mahligai, which sells a wide range of Indian traditional clothing at one branch and household products and prayer items in another branch across the street.
“We had customers until 12.30am on Friday and Saturday, and I think we will see a lot more just before Deepavali,” said Christalann, a member of the staff. “Last year, sales were very poor, but it’s good this year.” She said business felt like it was nearly back to pre-pandemic levels.
However, Christalann said disruptions to supplies meant that customers were not able to get the latest designs from India.
Flower seller Rajeswary Subramaniam doesn’t have the same problem and is looking forward to a boost in sales in the next day or two.
Rajeswary, who has been in the business for the past 13 years, said shoppers seemed intent on making up for not being able to fully celebrate Deepavali last year.
“I’m seeing a lot of shoppers here now,” she said. “People couldn’t celebrate during the pandemic, so I hope business will be good this year.”