Shopping has gained momentum in Old Dhaka, as only a few days are left before Sharadiya Durga Puja. Photo: BSS

DHAKA, Sept 21, 2025 (BSS) - Only a few days are left for Sharadiya Durga Puja, the largest religious festival of the Bengali Hindu community,   shopping has gained momentum in Shankhari Bazaar of Old Dhaka, where devotees are swarming the narrow alleys to purchase Shankha (conch), Shakha (white conch shell bangles worn by married Hindu women), vermilion and other traditional items.

About 100 items are required for Durga Puja, most of which can be collected from Shankhari Bazaar. Devotees from across the country, as well as vendors from nearby districts, have been coming here to buy puja essentials at wholesale prices. 

Families arrive in groups to purchase Shakha, Shankha, vermilion, sandalwood (chandan), and a wide range of worship and decorative items.

Starting from the decoration items of the idols, all the accessories for worship are available at Shankhari Bazaar.

When visiting Shankhari Bazaar, it is seen that buyers are busy buying crowns, saris, ornaments, lace, vermilion, flower garlands, symbolic weapons and pots, starting from the decoration of the idol. All the accessories for worship are available at Shankhari Bazaar. Many people have come from far and wide to buy these accessories.

Buyers not only from the capital but also from various surrounding districts have brought their families to this market to buy Shakha. 

There is a huge crowd in the shops selling Shakha, vermilion and Shankha. Buyers are moving from one shop to another to buy Shakha of different designs. Price of Shakha is sold ranging  at TK  300 to TK 6,000 per pair. Shakha are being sold  between TK four to five hundred and TK  two to three thousand.

Talking to the vendors in Shankhari Bazaar, it is known that once upon a time, most of the shops here used to make Shakha by skilled hands using the ancient method. However, that time is no more. The value of handmade Shakha has decreased. 

Now, conch shells with exotic designs are made by machines. 

Although the quality of handmade Shakha is better than that of machines, various designs can be made very easily by machines. Therefore, people now look for varieties in designs instead of looking for sustainable ones.

Kali Chakraborty, who came to buy Shakha at “Maa Manasa Shakha Shilpaloy” in Shankhari Bazaar, told BSS, "I always come here to buy Shakha. I bought a pair of Shakha at  TK  1,000. I will buy another pair if the design looks good, because I will tie gold on it. However, the price is high. When my relatives from outside Dhaka come to visit, I come here to buy their Shakha." 

Seema Rani Dutta came to Shankhari Bazaar from Gazipur to buy conch shells. She said, “My sister's house is in Dhaka. I came to buy Shakha from Gazipur. I bought a pair of Shakha at  TK  1100. I will buy another pair of different design. This time the price of Shakha having various designs is a little higher than last year.”

Regarding the sale of Shakha, Ripon Dutta, owner of 'Shankhashri' shop, said, "Shakha are sold all year round. However, it increases a little before Durga Puja. During this time, everyone buys two to three pairs of Shakhas. We also sell Shakhas starting from TK  300 to TK 5,000 per pair. There will be more sales two to three days before the puja."

He said people from different districts of Bangladesh come to buy Shakha from Shankhari Bazaar on the occasion of puja. Because the quality Shakhas available in Shankhari Bazaar are not available anywhere else in Bangladesh and here, buyers can also purchase shells by visiting various shops, he said.

Shyamal Sur, owner of Shyamal Bhandar shop, said that everything needed for puja, puja garland, puja decorations and puja priests are available here. That is why buyers from many places come here to buy decorative items, he said.

He said Idol’s jewellery is sold in sets. Each jewellery set starts from TK 4,000 to TK  15000.