After loudspeaker row, spike in sale of Hanuman Chalisa booklets in Varanasi

"If we look at the sales in the last month, the figure has jumped to almost double than the usual or even more in some cases. Customers who used to buy 600-700 copies at a time from this wholesale market are now ordering around 5000 copies," a trader in Kashi's Prakashan Bazar said.

Varanasi:Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi has reported a significant increase in the demand and sale of Hanuman Chalisa booklets, seemingly in the purview of loudspeaker vs Hanuman Chalisa row occupying the public attention over the past few months. The local sellers in the famous Kachori Gali's Prakashan Bazar -- the hotspot for religious literature in the culture-studded city of Kashi -- are experiencing a significant momentum in the demand for Hanuman Chalisa copies over the past one month.

"The demand for all forms of books on Hanuman Chalisa is high at shops these days. The demand has increased surprisingly. Customers coming to this wholesale market are now buying Hanuman Chalisa in large numbers. The demand has almost doubled in a month," Vivek, one of the local sellers in the Prakashan Bazar said.

Books of religious importance sold here are supplied to the markets across Purvanchal. As told by other traders in the market, on average, around 20 to 25 thousand Hanuman Chalisa copies were sold in the market on normal days. "If we look at the sales in the last month, the figure has jumped from hundreds to thousands. Customers who used to buy 600-700 Hanuman Chalisa copies at a time from this wholesale market are now ordering around 5000 copies," another trader in the same market said.

When asked for the possible reasons for the sudden spike in the demand, the sellers said there could be several reasons, but 'it seems that people are becoming increasingly aware and realizing the value of their religion'. "Some are buying them to be kept in temples, while some are distributing them. A customer from Jaunpur who usually bought 500 copies per trip has bought 3000 this time, and his trips have also become more frequent," the trader said.

Though the Hanuman Chalisa controversy seems to have fairly cooled down by now, the business here at the Prakashan Bazar in the heart of Kashi seems to have considerably benefitted from the political slugfest.