Vedic festival boosts Arabian Gold sales

[Guest guest]

Gold rush on festival day  

  By Alistair Baptista 

'According to Vedic legend, ancient Rishis, or priests, performed 

the first 'Yagya' Vedic ritual in the history of mankind on Akshaya 

Tritiya, the day on which the sun and moon are simultaneously at the 

peaks of their brightness. 

It is also believed to be the beginning of the 'Golden Age' of 

Indian culture.' 

JEWELLERS around Bahrain recorded bumper gold sales during Akshaya 

Tritiya - one of the most prominent days of the Hindu calendar and a 

day when buying gold is considered auspicious by Hindus. The BD2 per 

gram increase in the value of gold last Saturday did not deter 

customers and sales remained steady throughout the day, according to 

jewellers. 

Some said their sales increased by as much as 200 per cent. 

Joy alukkas Jewellers manager Henry George said this year there was 

a record number of customers. 

"We had never seen such a crowd before," said Mr George. 

"Salesmen were dealing with two to three customers at once and there 

were about 25 salesmen on hand." 

Mr George also said he did not expect the sales to be so high 

considering that the rate of gold had increased. 

"Our computer system was hanging for a brief period, but the 

customers were patient enough and some even waited for two to three 

hours!" 

"At the end of the day we had over 700 invoices and well over 1,000 

customers. 

"We had even called in extra security to make sure things remained 

calm." 

Devji Group marketing manager S Rashmi said the sentiment of the 

holy day contributed to the large sales. 

He said its jewellery store had recorded 10 times more sales than a 

regular day and a 36pc increase from last year's sales on the day. 

"You can't compare the sales from Akshaya Tritiya to a normal day," 

said Ms Rashmi. 

"It was very exhausting because we had so many customers, but it was 

really a vibrant and festive atmosphere in the stores. 

"We were expecting it to be a busy day since it's an auspicious day, 

but we were really amazed at how busy it was!" 

Meanwhile, Mignas Jewellers general manager Ketan Kansara said they 

recorded 1.5 times more sales on the day. 

"Akshaya Tritiya is traditionally a very good day to buy gold by 

several Hindu buyers and some of our regulars," he said. 

"We had to stay open till about 9.45pm to handle the extra 

customers. 

A 200pc increase in sales compared with a normal working day, was 

meanwhile recorded by Atlas Jewellers' Gold City branch. 

"We usually make around BD5,000 on a normal working day, but we made 

around BD20,000 on Akshaya Tritiya," said Atlas Jewellers showroom 

manager Clint Lobo. 

"There was an absolute rush from 5pm till about 10.30pm and we 

usually close up at around 9pm. 

"It was very crowded and much better than last year, but we managed 

without any extra sales staff." 

Akshaya Tritiya is the name of the third day that falls after the 

'no-moon day,' and is one of the most sacred days of the Hindu 

calendar  

It is considered holy by communities all over India and usually 

involves the buying of gold called 'Akshayam' to incur blessings and 

prosperity in the year ahead. 

The word 'Tritiya' means the third day and 'Akshaya' means 

never-ending and good deeds performed on this day are considered to 

last forever and increase and multiply with time. 

According to Vedic legend, ancient Rishis, or priests, performed the 

first 'Yagya' Vedic ritual in the history of mankind on Akshaya 

Tritiya, the day on which the sun and moon are simultaneously at the 

peaks of their brightness. 

It is also believed to be the beginning of the 'Golden Age' of 

Indian culture. 

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