The festival of Akshaya Tritiya, which is being celebrated on May 6th, is considered an auspicious occassion to purchase gold and to start any new major ventures. The festival is one such occassion that has Indians flocking to gold stores despite 10gms of 24K and 22K gold being priced at Rs. 22,000 and Rs. 21,550, respectively.
Capitalising on the occasion, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) have decided to extend trading in gold Exhange Traded Funds (ETF) till 9pm on Friday, as against the usual 4pm. Akshaya Tritiya had always served as the harbringer of good tidings for gold markets, and gold sales had risen by 28% at the time of the festival last year.
The gold stores across the city, which were of late abandoned by the public due to the sky-high prices of the yellow metal, have come up with lucrative offers to woo customers.
On a more religious front, the Chandanotsavam of Simhachala Appanna Swamy is being celebrated with gusto. On the occassion of Akshaya Tritiya, around 1,200 gms of fresh, pure sandalwood paste is applied on the Lord for the first time in the Telugu calendar year. The idol is smeared with sandalwood paste 4 times every year.
On Akshaya Tritiya, the 4 layers of paste are cleansed off in the morning, and the devotees are allowed to view Him in his 'true form' (deviod of any paste). Later in the evening, a fresh layer of sandalwood is applied. The old sandalwood is given as 'prasadam' to the devotees.
Women wearing the traditional red-bordered-yellow-sarees could be seen playing dandiya at the temple in Simhachalam, and denizens of devotees were seen making a beeline for the Lord's darshan.