‘Golden’ rush on Dhanteras
Gold shops across Bahrain were jammed with shoppers on Monday as people, especially the Indian community, rushed to purchase as much gold as they could on Dhanteras, a day believed to be the luckiest day in Hindu faith for the purchase of precious metals, particularly silver, gold and diamond.
Speaking to DT News, Vinod Kumar, Regional Head of Joyalukkas, said that there was an unprecedented rush in their showrooms on this auspicious day.
“The rush was almost uncontrollable. The number of buyers was too big to be handled by the existing number of our salesmen,” he said, “In gold, the sales were three times higher than last year, while in diamond they were doubled.”
“People make more purchases on the Dhanteras as this is an auspicious day, but this year decrease in gold prices have also multiplied the number of buyers,” says Vinod, “The current gold prices are BD13 per gram and if this rate sustains, as expected, then people would come for more purchases in the coming days.”
Mohammed Rafique, Country Head, Malabar Gold and Diamonds, told DT News that the sales in their showrooms were three times higher in both gold and diamonds as compared to last year. “The rush was greater during the evening hours,” he said, “Lower prices of gold also were one of the reasons for higher sales.”
Syeed, Operations Manager, Damas, said that there was definitely a huge rush in their showroom, but the number could have been even higher if Dhanteras would have fallen on some holiday instead of Monday.
Dhanteras has an interesting history that goes back to the ancient times.
The legend goes that the shadows of death were hovering over the head of a 16-year-old son of King Hima as there was a prediction that he would die of snakebite during sleep on the fourth day of his marriage. But his newly-wed wife was a very clever woman.
She decided to defeat death with a very wise plan - by not letting her husband sleep even for a moment the whole night.
She set out all her ornaments and plenty of gold and silver coins in a heap at the gate of their sleeping room and adorned the entire place with the dazzling lights of the lamps made of clay, lit everywhere. She then started telling old tales and singing songs in order to keep her husband awake. Her plan worked well and when Yama, the God of Death, entered their house in the guise of a serpent, the dazzling lights of the lamps and the charm of ornaments blinded him.
Instead of going to their chamber, Yama climbed on the heap of gold coins, spent the whole night listening to the princess and slid away silently in the morning, sparing the life of the prince. That day is commemorated as Dhanteras.
It is believed that buying gold, silver or utensils on the day can bring good luck to the family for a year. In Indian villages, farmers adorn cattle, their main source of income.
Dhanteras also precedes Diwali, the celebration that marks the victory of good over evil and the victorious return of Lord Rama to his kingdom Ayodhya after defeating demon king Ravana.
Photo Caption:
The rush at the Malabar Gold showroom
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